About Us
The Yankee Chapter is proud of our continued contribution to improvement of the versatile hunting dog through our breeding, training and testing programs. We are a very family oriented chapter and thus strongly encourage all family members to participate at our events.
Yankee Chapter History
In 1978, those who became the first Yankee Chapter members had the honor to meet NAVHDA’s founder and creator, Bodo Winterhelt at a Judge’s Clinic in Bowdoinham, Maine. That weekend, Bodo shared his expertise with many young versatile dog trainers and hunters. The tremendous energy sparked that day has grown into a glowing flame of shared commitment to the training and hunting of our versatile dogs.
In 1985, a small group of versatile dog enthusiasts gathered at a member’s home in Auburn, Maine, and established the Yankee Chapter of NAVHDA. Prior to that evening we were all members of one of NAVHDA’s first chapters, the Northeast Chapter.
In 1992, the chapter hosted the Invitational at the Thurston Farm in New Gloucester, Maine. It was a great event and many dogs from Maine had the privilege to run NAVHDA’s most prestigious test. Many of NAVHDA’s founders were judging that weekend……Bodo Winterhelt, John Kegel and Bill Jensen were there. Again, in 2005, we were honored to have Bodo in attendance as the Yankee Chapter hosted the International Annual Meeting. It was the largest meeting in the history of the organization up to that point.
In the decades that have followed, the Yankee Chapter has embraced members from all over northern New England and beyond. Our calendar is full, featuring training clinics, workshops, event demos, tests, and youth events from February through September. The Yankee membership has expanded to nearly 150 members annually with a variety of versatile hunting dog breeds represented.