Welcome to Aiken Barn Hunt
Information on Barn Hunt taken from the Barn Hunt Association website, www.barnhunt.com
Barn Hunt is the new and quickly growing dog sport catching fire across the country! Barn Hunt is based on the traditional roles of many breeds in ridding farms, barns, crop storage areas, and homes of destructive vermin. Some breeds were specifically created to fill this role, and for many of those breeds, Barn Hunt provides their first true opportunity for responsible breeders to test proper working traits in their dogs. Barn Hunt is also open to any dog of any breed or mix who wishes to play the game and can fit through an 18" wide by bale-height tall tunnel. Barn Hunt has titles, levels of increasing difficulty, and championships. Barn Hunt is an independent sport, but titles are recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), the United Kennel Club (UKC), and the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC). To see how to get your title recognized, go to www.barnhunt.com and go to FAQs and About (AKC/UKC/CKC).
Barn Hunt is committed to creating a safe and fun sport for dogs, that also holds rat care at the highest level of consideration. The rats used in Barn Hunt are beloved family pets. They jump eagerly into their safe, comfortable aerated tubes and truly enjoy interacting with the dogs.
We're a great sport for older dogs, and older people too! Tripod dogs can compete, and so can deaf dogs. To get started first read the rules, then find a club near you, or even think about forming your own club. You can also find events near you on the Barn Hunt Association event calendar. If you are looking for Aiken Barn Hunt Events then head on over to the Events page on this website. We hope you try it, we think you'll like it!
Denise Parmentier
Established December 16, 2018
“Aiken Barn Hunt was created on a calculated whim and a bit of logistics. Most horse people I know have a dog or three. And many of those people own barns. I also had 600 loyal dog lovers from my Aiken Dog Walks Group to add to the “barn hunt” mix.
It seemed like I had all the elements to start a great barn hunt group right in Aiken’s own backyard. I saw Aiken as the ideal venue to attract a group of dog loving people willing to try a new sport with their dogs... Barn Hunt.
What started as a virtual Facebook chat group called Aiken Barn Hunt became practically an overnight sensation. In four days we had 70 members in the group.
A month later the group was invited to a barn hunt demo and the week after that I held our first general meeting at Maria’s restaurant. We had double the numbers we expected and ran out of chairs. In that 12-week period we saw rapid growth. The Club now stands at 230+ members.
From a virtual Facebook group, the Aiken Barn Hunt became a reality, thanks to the original group of volunteer members and to Elizabeth Shea Brooks our first Barn Host and Club Administrator. They’ve done a phenomenal job of taking my virtual Facebook idea to Aiken Barn Hunt . . . the Club!” -Denise Parmentier
Shea Brooks
A dear friend of mine from my agility class told me about a fun group she was a member of that organized group dog walks around town. Soon after joining the group I saw posts from a group called Aiken Barn Hunt. One of the posts stated they were looking for a barn to set up a practice area to practice Barn Hunting. I happened to have a pole barn that was only being used for storage since I had recently gotten out of horses. I offered the barn up to the group and quickly realized I needed to make some major renovations to the barn for it to be useful for the group. I bought the materials and several of our members volunteered their time to change my little pole barn into an incredible Barn Hunt training and show facility. Aiken Barn Hunt members have shown time and time again that they want Barn Hunt here in Aiken!
Aiken Barn Hunt is the first fully approved Barn Hunt Association club in South Carolina and hosted their first approved trial on November 23rd and 24th of 2019. I fully expect this club to continue to grow and continue to host incredible shows for many years to come.
I have so enjoyed watching the dogs that come to practice train and have met so many new friends with a passion for training their dogs.
I feel honored to be the one to bring a great idea to functioning reality. -Shea Brooks