--- title: Training at Hastings Island Preserve | Royal Gun Dogs url: https://royalgundogs.com/hastings-island-hunting-preserve/ business: Royal Gun Dogs trainer: Richard Gebhart (professional gun dog trainer since 2002) phone: (530) 341-4496 email: royalgundogs@yahoo.com trains_at: Hastings Island Hunting Preserve, 7758 Hastings Island Rd, Rio Vista, CA 94571 (Solano County) booking: call or text Richard directly --- - [Home](https://royalgundogs.com/) - Training at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve # Training at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve Richard Gebhart trains dogs at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve, 7758 Hastings Island Road, Rio Vista, in Solano County in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The preserve is a separate hunting club, and booking training is done by calling Richard. The preserve is the setting for Richard's training days: open grass fields, birds and the Delta's weather. It is its own business, and it states on its site that it is not a dog training facility, so this page describes it as the place where Richard trains, never as a program the preserve runs. ## About the preserve Hastings Island Hunting Preserve says it was established in 1969 and is state licensed, per its own website. It is a pheasant club in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and its season runs mid-September to mid-March, per its page. ## Fields and seasons The preserve says about 800 acres of natural grass fields are available for member dog training in the off-season, mid-March to mid-September. From mid-September to mid-March, training stays out of the hunting fields, and the preserve notes that a designated alfalfa field opens after farming, around mid-October. Rules and hours are the preserve's to state, and its own pages are linked below. ## What this means for your dog Birds, open fields and real hunting scent give a dog a realistic setting for [Puppy Camp](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/puppy-camp/), [Formal Gun Dog Training](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/formal-gun-dog-training/) and the [Basic Waterfowl Program](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/basic-waterfowl/). Retrievers are sometimes trained at Denverton, near Suisun City. Owners bring dogs from all over California for [board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/), and drive times are on the [from your part of California](https://royalgundogs.com/from/) pages. ## Booking and visits Visits and training days are arranged through Richard. Use the form on this page or the call button, and ask what to bring. Questions about training go to Richard directly, since the preserve handles its own hunting club business. ## Directions and getting there The preserve publishes directions from Dixon and Highway 113, from Fairfield and Highway 12, and from Rio Vista on its own site. Please use those directions, and call Richard before you drive out, because hours on Google show Tuesday closed and the other days 8 AM to 2 PM. Drive times from cities across California are on the [from your part of California](https://royalgundogs.com/from/) pages, using OpenStreetMap routing with no traffic. ## Why a preserve works for training Preserves keep birds on the ground and fields in good shape, which is useful for teaching a dog to find, point, flush and retrieve. A dog meets scent and wing in a way a backyard cannot match. That is the reason Richard trains on this kind of ground, and why the work is bird dogs for the hunt. See the [Formal Gun Dog Training](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/formal-gun-dog-training/) page for more. ### Sources (3) - Hastings Island Hunting Preserve : [hihp.com/dog-training/](https://hihp.com/dog-training/) (checked October 27, 2026) - Hastings Island Hunting Preserve : [hihp.com/royal-gun-dogs-dog-training/](https://hihp.com/royal-gun-dogs-dog-training/) (checked October 27, 2026) - Hastings Island Hunting Preserve : [hihp.com/directions-2/](https://hihp.com/directions-2/) (checked October 27, 2026) ### Your trainer Richard Gebhart has trained dogs professionally since 2002, learned the Rex Carr method for Retriever Basics under Billy Sargenti, and has run and qualified at an AKC Master National. [Meet Richard](https://royalgundogs.com/richard-gebhart/) ### Keep reading - [Hunting dogs and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta](https://royalgundogs.com/hunting-in-the-delta/) - [Board-and-train](https://royalgundogs.com/programs/board-and-train/) - [Richard Gebhart, trainer](https://royalgundogs.com/richard-gebhart/) - [From your part of California](https://royalgundogs.com/from/) ### Where Richard trains Hastings Island Hunting Preserve, 7758 Hastings Island Rd, near Rio Vista in Solano County. Call before you drive out. [Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Hastings+Island+Hunting+Preserve+Rio+Vista+CA&destination_place_id=ChIJA_E9R8AphYAR_4YnvcqbaAU) ## Questions owners ask [All questions](https://royalgundogs.com/faq/) ### Is Royal Gun Dogs part of the preserve? The preserve is a separate hunting club, and Richard trains there. Contact Richard directly to book. ### Where is the preserve? 7758 Hastings Island Road, Rio Vista, California 94571, in Solano County. ### Can I come watch training? Call Richard first so he can tell you what works that week.