Bill Mengert
Bill Mengert began his bird dog career as an avid bird hunter hunting quail in southern New Jersey and pheasant in the central part of the state in the 1960s. A good friend, Bob Perline, took him to watch a field trial at the Assunpink grounds in New Jersey, and he was hooked on field trialing. Bill’s lovely wife and partner of 43 years, Ellie, and his two children, Sandy and Craig, would work with his dogs doing yard training while he was at work. They helped develop Bill’s first field trial dog, Stoney’s Jake Von Hewletts, who won seven hour championships. Jake was a unique dog—a family pet, a hunting dog, and companion on long trips to field trials as well as the many quail hunts in Delaware with Bills’s good friend Jan Zarebicki in Delaware.
Training and running bird dogs has been a big part of Bill’s life. He stated that “there’s nothing better than watching a good bird dog work a hedgerow and find a covey of birds.” Bill will always be grateful for the opportunities he has had to travel all over the country to watch outstanding dogs and to meet so many great people in this wonderful sport.
Bill has had the pleasure to have campaigned German Shorthaired Pointers for over 36 years. He has been fortunate to own and train multiple champions: NGSPA National Amateur Champion Stoney’s Jake Von Hewletts, who was inducted into the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America Hall of Fame in 1988, 3X Champion Cross Country Mike, Champion Cross Country’s Cracklin Jack and 3X Champion Cross Country’s Rock N Roll whose call name is “Buddy.” This dog, trained by Dan Burjan, has won the NGSPA Amateur Pheasant Championship three years in a row, has multiple wins as runner-up in the NGSPA Pheasant Open Shooting Dog Championship, and runner-up in the Region III Championships.
As an active member of the Eastern German Shorthaired Pointer Club since 1972, Bill has served as president, vice president, and board member for most of the past 30 years. He has been field trial chairman for the Eastern club on three occasions, field trial chairman for the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America in the 1980’s, and on the board of directors of the National German Shorthaired Pointer Association (NGSPA). He has been deeply involved with the NGSPA Pheasant Championship both as president and a board member since 1975.
Bill has had the opportunity to judge many field trials, including the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America (GSPCA) nationals on two occasions, the GSPCA Futurity, the NGSPA National Championship and National Futurity on two occasions, and the National German Pointing Dog Championships on three occasions. His judicial assignments also include American Field and AKC trials too numerous to list.
Bill wants to thank his wife, Ellie, and his children, Craig and Sandy, for all their support throughout the years. Without this support, he does not feel that he would have enjoyed the success he has had. Bill now has three grandsons, Marc, Michael, and Brian. The oldest Marc has started coming to field trials and loves training “Buddy”—he loves riding the horses and watching the dogs work as a potential budding field trialer.
