The Boss & His Niece

Glancing back at days gone by, Benjie Stephens remembered well when small family farms defined the landscape of Toombs County. In those days, droves of passing birds could turn the sky to dusk in a moment. Today, few families plant so much as a summer garden, and if the sky suddenly darkens, it’s more likely a coming storm than a passing murmuration. The paradox of progress is the trade-off between what is gained and what is lost.

“Farming practices have changed,” said Benjie. “That’s one reason we don’t have the birds we used to have for dogs to hunt.” Lack of birds is not what has the President of the Vidalia Field Trial Club concerned, but lack of involvement of youth in the sport today. For his part, Benjie is doing what he can to ensure the future of bird dog trials by passing on his many years of knowledge to young people like his niece, Jazlyn Denmark.

Okay, so niece isn’t exactly right. Jazlyn is actually Benjie’s first cousin twice removed. “Jazlyn is the granddaughter of my cousin, Greg,” Benjie smiled. As an only child, Greg was one of five first cousins on Benjie’s mother's side. “We were about the same age and raised really close. We were like brothers and sisters.”

Even though Benjie is more like a grandfather to Jazlyn, she affectionately calls him “Boss.” She was thirteen when she first began helping on his farm. The hundred-acre farm where Benjie trains bird dogs has been in his family for many years. “My parents bought the land from my great-aunt Ebesta Shuman in the 60s,” said Benjie.

Bird hunting was a birthright that goes back three generations on both sides of his family tree. In fact, his father was the President of the Vidalia Field Trial Club, a position Benjie has held for many years. On more than one occasion, he has given a hunting dog he’s trained to a young person who has shown interest in training and competitions. “My hope is that the next generation will keep this sport alive,” he said.

As much as Benjie enjoyed watching the sport, his own passion for training and competing in the trials developed over time through his friendship with great competitors like longtime Vidalia veterinarian Dr. L.G. Thompson and Jesse Dunwoody from Baxley. “Jesse taught me quite a bit,” said Benjie. “He competed in field trials up into his nineties. When he got too old to train himself, he started sending dogs to me,” which spoke volumes about Mr. Dunwoody's confidence in him.

On the day of her prom, Jazlyn competed in a 4-H Shooting Competition. Her dedication to the sport has helped her push through some of her medical issues.

For many years, Benjie trained and competed in trials across the Southeast. But in 2010, when he lost his eightyear-old English Pointer Swift Creek Bo to cancer, he took a step back. The unexpected loss of his champion dog hit hard. Anyone who has ever loved and lost a dog knows how difficult that loss can be. Even though Bo had won more competitions than any other dog, it was much more than the loss of a champion. Dogs are affectionately called “man’s best friend” for good reason.

Three years later, the health of Benjie’s ninety-one- year-old mother began to decline, and he took on the role of caregiver until her passing in 2020. At the time, Benjie also worked as an optician for Dr. Edwards at Vidalia Eye Care. During that time, there was less time for dog training. Nevertheless, Benji said without pause, “Caring for my mother was a labor of love, and I wouldn't change a thing.” (Many will affectionately remember Benjie’s mother, Tabitha “Boots” Stephens, from her long-time service as a Pink Lady at Meadows Memorial Hospital in Vidalia.)

In 2014, as Benjie focused on his mother’s care, his

Like his father, Benjie was President of the Vidalia Field Trial Club, and spent years training and competing in trials. When he lost his favorite champion English Pointer, Bo, to cancer in 2010, he had to step away for a while. Today, he trains dogs, but he also enjoys helping his "niece" Jazlyn practice for field trial competitions.

“niece” Jazlyn was diagnosed with Chiari I Malformation. “Chiari malformation,” according to mayoclinic.org, “…is a condition in which brain tissue extends into the spinal canal. It occurs when part of the skull is misshapen or smaller than is typical, pressing on the brain and forcing it downward.”

Her symptoms began when she was only two years old. The pain in her head was unbearable. As a young child, she would scream uncontrollably until she vomited. Desperate to find answers, Jazlyn’s parents, Kim Hutcheson and Thomas Denmark took her to multiple doctors. Finally, she was (incorrectly) diagnosed with abdominal migraines. “I was put on many different things: nasal sprays, pills, shots, and IVs,” said Jazlyn. Some things seemed to work for a while, but the headaches always returned. “I missed a lot of school, but catching up with my classwork wasn’t the hard part,” said Jazlyn. “The worst thing was being unable to socialize with other kids my age. I couldn't do much of anything without getting sick.”

It took six years and countless doctor visits to get a correct diagnosis. “I was finally referred to Dr. Thompson, a neurosurgeon in Savannah. He ordered an MRI with contrast,” said Jazlyn. “It showed that I had Chiari I Malformation and a cyst on my spinal cord. The overgrowth of my cerebellum had also formed a tumor.” Surgery depends on the severity of the symptoms and the degree of malformation. At the time, the cyst was believed to be small enough to dissolve over time, and she was initially treated with medication.

But the cyst did not go away on its own. Just before her tenth birthday, Jazlyn underwent Chiari decompression surgery. According to The American Center for Spine and Neurosurgery website, “The goal,” of the surgery “is to stop the progression of changes in the anatomy of the brain and spinal canal, as well as ease or stabilize symptoms. When successful, surgery can reduce pressure on the cerebellum and the spinal cord and restore the normal flow of spinal fluid.” During the procedure, the tumor on her spinal cord was trimmed.

When Jazlyn was thirteen, she started helping Benjie on the hundred acre family farm where he trains dogs. She started out cleaning stalls and helping raising quail, but in 2021 Benjie helped her get ready for her first field trial.

The surgery seemed a success. A short time later, Jazlyn and her family moved to Brantley County. Tragically, she and her family lost their home and two dogs in a house fire not long after the move. Jazlyn was thirteen when she returned to Toombs County. “That’s when I started going out to the farm,” she said. At first, Jazlyn cleaned dog pens and horse stalls. Eventually, she helped Benjie raise the 600 to 700 quail he uses for training. (Only blanks are shot in this type of competition, but, of course, the birds don’t know that and don’t stick around to find out.)

The farm was not only a sanctuary of peace for Jazlyn, but also a revelation of purpose. The great storyteller, songwriter, and poet Ray Hughes once said, “Your life mission is not a calling, but a caring. If you want to know what you’re called to, just look for what you care about.” On that wide open space of nature where Benjie trained trial dogs, Jazlyn found not only what she cared about but also a place of peace and beauty.

Unfortunately, relief from the symptoms of Chiari were short-lived. “In 2018, I started getting sick again with excruciating headaches and nausea,” said Jazlyn. New scans revealed her skull had not formed correctly after the previous surgery. “Every time she moved her head, it would constrict the blood flow.”

And yet, Jazlyn was determined not only to keep working with Benjie but also to follow in the footsteps of her brother Rhett and compete with the 4-H Club shooting team called “Project Safe.” In 2019, she competed with the team in the “modified trap” division at the Real Squeal BBQ and Music Festival in Lyons. “We placed first,” she stated proudly.

With Benjie’s encouragement, Jazlyn also competed in her first field trial. In 2021, she placed third at the AG Preserve in Glenwood, Georgia, with Benjie’s dog Swift Creek Big.

By January 2022, a second brain surgery was inevitable. This time, “The doctor shaved off some of my skull to give my brain more room,” said Jazlyn. “He also cut out the scar tissue wrapped around major muscles and arteries and put in a metal plate.”

Jazlyn returned to work with Benjie and the dogs as soon as she was able. On the morning I drove out to Benjie’s farm to meet the current group of bird dogs in training, Jazlyn had just called to tell the Boss she had hit twenty-three out of twenty-five targets in shooting practice that morning. “What happened to the other two?” he teased. He’s right proud of this 2023 Toombs County High School graduate. In the fall,

Jazlyn will leave Lyons, where she lives with her dad Thomas Denmark and step-mom Deana, to start her journey at ABAC to become a veterinarian.

As technology changes the landscape of the future, “the trade-off between what is gained and what is lost” becomes more imperative. No one who has ever picked cotton or tobacco is bemoaning the technology that replaced hand-picking with high-tech machinery. Yet, there can be no compromise, no bargain made with the thief that would steal time with those we love or destroy the land that serves us all.

The important stuff: the dogs, the farm, and family. For Benjie, that means passing on his passion for dog trials to the next generation. For Jazlyn, it means looking to the potential in the present rather than defining her future by what she’s suffered in the past.

“What does not kill me makes me stronger,” is perhaps a bit misleading. (Although Kelly Clarkson made the old adage popular, it’s originally from the writings of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.) It was not grit and determination, but peace that strengthened Jazlyn with courage. In fact, the apostle Paul wrote, “The God of peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet,” (Romans 16:20 NIV emphasis mine). In the face of adversity, peace may well be the greatest weapon of all. And what better place to find peace than with nature and a few great dogs for company.