Bill Hillmann

Bill Hillmann was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he attended Milwaukee University School. After managing to graduate from prep school he had a haphazard college career, which involved English, football, landscape architecture, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. He served in the Air Force at Clark AFB in the Philippine Islands.

Bill perfected his skill as a photographer which led to founding Sierra Graphics - an organization that specialized in commercial photography. Bill was the official photographer for the California Dressage Society and became most well known for photographing sailboat races on San Francisco Bay. It was during this time that Bill began to realize his passion for dog training.

His early career in San Francisco centered around training problem dogs of all breeds - dogs that were either overly aggressive, destructive or noncompliant, but evolved into working with pointers and retrievers. In 1980 Bill and Mary founded Hawkeye Labradors which was named after Bill's original San Francisco chase boat "Hawkeye." (the name derived from the Brownie Hawkeye camera) Since then Bill has been very successful training numerous Field and Amateur Field Champions, and two Double Header Winners.

Bill has trained more High Point Derby Dogs than anyone in the history of Field Trials, including Hawkeye's Coast Guard ( "Cutter" ) who is the 2008 National Amateur Winner and the 2008 High Point Amateur Dog, and also received the Purina Award for the 2008 High Point Amateur Dog. Bill wrote a retriever training manual, Training Retrievers for Field Trials, Hunt Tests, and Hunting which is now in its third printing. In his other passion Bill rides a motorcycle to remote locations to work on his current project which is the "Mens Cookbook" - a journal of adventure, food, unique places and unusual people. Bill and Mary live in Caldwell, Texas.

Go to the Hawkeye Labradors website

See photos of "Cutter"

Mary Hillmann

Mary Hillmann grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin attending Milwaukee Downer Seminary for high school. She received a Fine Arts Degree from the University of Wisconsin with special acclaim for her work as a painter.

In San Francisco she piloted the chase boat "Hawkeye" while she and Bill did marine photography. At that time they photographed sailboat races as well as other marine assignments. Mary became known later as a photographer specializing in dog portraits.

Mary raised and trained Hawkeye's Viking who is the High Point Yellow Labrador Retriever Derby Dog of All Time and had one of the highest point-per-trial averages in Field Trial history - black or yellow.

She is now a professional videographer and editor. Currently she is editing three year's worth of filming for the next video, "Basic Training - with Bill Hillmann." 

When she has spare time, which is seldom, Mary likes to garden.

Bill and Mary are currently compiling a video documentary which is the complete process of training retrievers for peak performance. 

See Mary's labrador and golden retriever portrait photographs

See photos of Hawkeye's Viking

See Viking's accomplishments

Go to www.maryhillmann.com