The Pacific Northwest’s premier truffle festival opened this weekend in Eugene, with a flurry of four-legged fungi foragers fighting for the coveted spot of top dog. KLCC was on-scene at the Oregon Truffle Festival’s big kickoff event: The Joriad North American Truffle Dog Championship…and has this report.
In a dense copse of forest just off of the Lorane Highway, a large group of dogs, handlers, referees, and judges stood on a muddy road.
Jarrod Holmes congratulates his Spinone, Bruno, after finding a truffle-scented decoy in the Truffle Odor Recognition Trial.
Brian Bull / KLCC
“You got one hour, when I say, ‘go,’” said the event’s Master of Ceremonies, Bob Walker. “So, everybody ready? Ready, 2, 1, go….see you in an hour! Good luck.”
The dogs and handlers immediately went off into the dusky contours of the Douglas Fir stand. Within minutes, a pair went astray.
“Okay, come on back in,” a referee said, back to her side of the road. “That’s the boundary right there.”
A variety of coveted Oregon truffles lay hidden in the soil, awaiting discovery.
There were five dogs altogether, whittled down from 27 earlier that morning: Stevie, a Lagotta Romagnolo, handled by Nora Heider of Granite Falls, Washington; Pixel, a border collie, handled by Courtney Vandyke of Seattle; Bunny, another Lagotta Romagnolo owned by Rachel Su of Seattle; Raji, a Pembroke Welshi Corgi, owned by Ashley Rau of Grants Pass, Oregon; and Wilga, a Wirehaired Pointed Griffon, handled by Becca Book from Seattle (“Who’s a little distracted right now,” laughed Book.)
Fair to say it’s good to have some distractions after a long, busy day. These five competitors spent the first half of the day at the Lane Events Center Livestock Arena, doing their best to distinguish themselves apart from nearly two dozen rivals. A truffle odor recognition trial and second round arena hunt narrowed down the pack.
Kara Briggs and her mini-Heeler/Aussie, JoJo, participate in the TORT. Briggs says the orange bandana is to promote awareness of the boarding school era that saw thousands of Native American children taken from their families.
Brian Bull / KLCC
Charles LeFevre is co-founder of the Oregon Truffle Festival, marking its 18th year. He told KLCC that the truffle dog championship is definitely a highlight.
“Everybody loves dogs. But the idea to go into the woods and find treasures under the ground is exciting. The fact that this is an event for amateurs, lot of these people are very new at it, and yet they’re doing, it, they’re succeeding at it.”
Succeeding indeed. At the base of a Douglas fir, Pixel, the salt-and-pepper border collie, has already unearthed her twelfth truffle, with 10 minutes left to go.
“Good job, Pixel! That was a hard one, huh?” said Vandyke, giving her pooch a high-five. Referee Barbara Fredericksen-Love put the round, prized fungus into a container.
“Pixel’s on fire,” I said.
“She needs a minute to warm up, and then…” Vandyke said, before feeling another tug from her border collie.
“And then she is a truffle-finding monster,” chuckled Fredericksen-Love. “She’s doing good.”
When the hour was up, Walker blew three times on a storm whistle, which resonated across the hills. The truffle hunt was officially over.
Out of 27 original competitors, these five won their way into the finalist round (from L to R): Becca Book and Wilga, of Seattle; Rachel Su and Bunny, of Seattle; Courtney Vandyk and Pixel, of Seattle; Ashley Rau and Raji, of Grants Pass, Oregon; and Nora Reid and Stevie, of Granite Falls, Washington. The truffle hunt happened in a patch of woods just off of the Lorane Highway south of Eugene, Oregon.
Brian Bull / KLCC
As the dogs and their handlers mingled outside an antique barn, judges gathered to inspect and count each dog’s bounty. Later that night at Party Downtown in Eugene, the big winner was announced by Joriad lead organizer, Kristina Leipzig.
“…finding 14 truffles, Courtney Vandyke and Pixel!” she proclaimed, as the room burst into cheers and a few barks (dogs were allowed at the function.)
Vandyke and Pixel took home a plaque, $500, and the distinction of being the Joriad North American Truffle Dog champs of 2023.
Vandyke says her pooch will have a good night’s nap on the drive home, which means resting that gifted sniffer as well.
It was a lively kicker for the Oregon Truffle Festival. The event runs into early March, with seminars and dining events.
While many watching in the stands were truffle fans or dog owners, some were scouting the talent. This included Dale Holland, a farmer from Oakland.
“About five years ago we planted hazelnut trees inoculated with the black truffle,” explained Holland. “And at five years, if you can find someone with a dog, you might be able to start harvesting.”
Holland said he’d already made contacts before the second round of truffle dog trials.
A pound of truffles can easily go for hundreds of dollars, even more.
LeFevre says there are truffles all over Oregon west of the Cascades.
“Oregon black truffles have tropical fruit aromas. The Oregon white truffles, they just add electricity to food, they just enhance everything about it. But they’re all just great.”
The festival has symposiums on truffle cultivation and dining.
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