Category: Club News

Maryland Sporting Dog Association (MSDA) is pleased to announce that MSDA Member Bill Burland will be taking over as Event Chair for its Spring Community Event (aka “Spring Event”). Bill brings extensive knowledge and experience to this position. Living in Pennsylvania, he is currently President of the Bucks County Kennel Club and has  been on the Board of the Kennel Club of Philadelphia (KCP) for more than 20 years. He has chaired 25 all-breed shows, including for the KCP from 2003-2013 (“The National Dog Show”) and for Bucks County Kennel Club from 2015-2018. He also served as Assistant Show Chair for Bucks from 2019-2023 and chaired the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever 2022 Specialty when they achieved the largest entry in their history (225 Tollers!). Bill, with wife Lisa and daughters Katie and Kelly, is a Breeder and Exhibitor of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers under the kennel name Travelda Tollers. Bill and his family currently share their home with many Tollers and Arabian Horses.

MSDA’s Spring Community Event has included three days of AKC conformation shows and obedience & rally trials. Just the Saturday show by itself has ranked as the largest Sporting Group dog show in the United States, and the Sunday show is usually not far behind. A Friday dog show was added for the first time in 2024. The weekend has enjoyed the support of up to 20 other dog clubs as Supporting Clubs as well as several individual breed Specialties each year. MSDA also offers Bird Instinct Clinics that weekend to introduce sporting dogs to field work. Other activities vary from year to year but have usually included Canine Good Citizen (CGC) testing and “fun matches” (dog shows that are just for fun – no points awarded) as well as special events such as AKC Fetch testing and an introduction to the dog sport of Barn Hunt.

MSDA Spring Event dates for 2025 are Friday February 28, Saturday March 1 and Sunday March 2. The event again will be at the Howard County  Fairgrounds in West Friendship, MD.

Bill already is getting the ball rolling for MSDA’s 2025 Spring Event. In addition, he is looking forward to implementing a three-year plan focused on: growing entries across all three days, bringing in great judges and breed specialists, building a deep bench of volunteers and continuing to develop Spring Event as a premium show while also ensuring solid financial management.

Bill is being handed the reins by Richard Jackson, who bravely stepped in to take over as Chair in early 2018 after Laurie Doumaux, the previous chair, passed away. Richard brought to the role an incredible attention to detail, and he has dedicated countless hours to managing all aspects of the event. However, with an ever-increasing number of requests for his attention, including frequent travel to judging assignments, Richard made the difficult decision to step down. Although he will be leaving the post of Event Chair, Richard is remaining on the MSDA Board, including serving as Vice President, and is fully committed to supporting MSDA.

We know you will join us in thanking Richard for his service and welcoming Bill Burland as the new Event Chair. If you have questions about MSDA’s Spring Community Event, would like to participate as a volunteer committee member or in another role, or would like your breed club to be involved with this event, please contact Bill Burland via Burland@mdsportingdog.org.

Learn more about volunteer opportunities for Spring Event.