Lawrence R. Macqueen

1903 – 1979

Larry MacQueen was one of the foremost professional trainers and handlers of spaniels in the early era of cocker trials. In 1954, he accomplished an almost impossible feat: he won the Springer National Championship and then, two days later, won the Cocker National Championship. He won the Cocker National with Shawfield Glenfire, the 1952 British Cocker Spaniel Championship winner owned by Andrew Porter who had imported the dog from England.

Larry worked as trainer and handler for both Andrew Porter and Dean Bedford. These gentlemen imported and owned some of the most important English Cockers of the early era. He began training bird dogs in Stirling, Scotland, in 1922, following in the footsteps of his father. He came to the U.S., and, in 1935, established Ramornie Kennels in New Jersey, initially working with Labradors but soon switching to spaniels. By 1959 he and his son Stanley MacQueen were training and handling more than a hundred spaniels every year.

Speaking to his success and his reputation, Larry MacQueen was inducted into the Springer Field Trial Hall of Fame in 2001. He has been referred to as a famous international spaniel authority and he was a respected mentor to other highly respected field trialers who followed him in the game. He handled the winning dog at the National Cocker Championship twice: first in 1954 with Shawfield Glenfire and the second in 1959 with Greatford Charlie. He also handled the second place dog in the National Cocker Championships twice: in 1958 with Greatford Charlie and in 1960 with Bronze Bouy of Elan. On top of this he also earned field trial championship titles on other dogs owed by Dean Bedford, all this making Larry MacQueen a most distinguished professional trainer who participated in the early era of cocker field trials. He is well deserving a place in the English Cocker Spaniel Field trial Hall of Fame.