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In the 1920's the Labrador Retriever began gaining popularity with American sportsmen. Although a few "English retrievers , " as Labradors were called in 19th century America , had made their way to our shores , few could be located in American shooting kennels prior to the 1920s , as setters and pointers were the dogs of selection in those days. In 1917 , the basic Labrador Retriever registered by the American Kennel Club was imported from Scotland. Her
name was Brocklehirst Floss.

The mode of shooting in United States at that time was unalike from that practised abroad. A group of affluent enthusiasts upon the East strand with ties to Britain began producing the Labrador Retriever among themselves in enjoin to carry upon the mode of pass shooting to which they were most accustomed and partial. To aid in this , they not only imported fine dogs but similarly lured notorious Scottish trainers to America.

In 1931 the Labrador Retriever Club of America was founded and sponsored its basic field test in December of that year. The competition was held in Chester , New York , with a complete of 16 entries - all but one of which were imports. The winner was Carl of Boghurst , a yellow owned by Mrs. Marshall Field. This annual event would impel popularity in the sport to the point where today there are supplementary than 150 trials a year held for Labrador retrievers!

It was not until May 18 , 1933 , that the basic specialty display for bench competition was held by the Labrador Club of America. From an entry of 34 , Boli of Black was chosen as best. Boli , owned by Franklin P. Lord and purchased from the British breeder , Lady Howe , was the basic American bench-champion Labrador retriever.

The Arden kennels of W. A. Harriman became the driving strength in the field , claiming the basic American field champion in Blind of Arden and the basic womanish American field champion in Decoy of Arden who were litter mates. Mr. Harriman's genius for breeding top-quality Labradors from his stock earned him the recognition of having developed the finest American
kennel to date. His credits include four dual champions , five field champions , eight bench champions , and scores of champions that descend from this line. The shining star among the Arden Labradors was Shed of Arden , owned by Paul Bakewell. He embodied all that a Labrador should: genius in the field , beauty and intelligence , and the ability to produce quality offspring.

A mating of Mr. Harriman's Decoy with Dr. Milbank's Ch. Kaffles of Earlsmoor produced a litter from which Earlsmoor Moor of Arden emerged. Moor went upon to win the Labrador Club of America Annual Specialty in 1938 , 1939 , 1940 , 1941 , and 1943. Winning a national specialty five times is an astounding accomplishment that can never be repeated again by whatsoever dog of whatsoever breed.