Dutch Oven Dave is Dave Horton of North Collins, New York.  He is the husband of Esther Horton for the past 38 years and they are the parents of  6 children, 2 boys and 4 girls.  And the Grandparents of 13.     

Dave originally got his introduction to Dutch Ovens as an assistant Scoutmaster in the St. Louis area where he began using them with the Scouts in 1976.  Several years later found him living in New York state and attending a Scouting adult leader training event called Wood Badge.  During this training he was taught how to use the Dutch Oven properly and then he served as a staff member on two more courses and learned even more about using the Black Pot.  An opportunity came along for him to serve as the Scoutmaster of the Greater Niagara Frontier Council Junior Leader Training Conference and for the next 4 years, serving as Scoutmaster and assistant Scoutmaster, he learned even more about the use and care of this wonderful cooking tool called the Dutch Oven.

Continuing his activity in Scouting gave him even more opportunities to do Dutch Oven Training at Camporees and he found that he really enjoyed bringing the message of the Black Pot to those who did not yet understand the benefits of cooking in a Dutch Oven.  Opportunities arose for him to do training both in New York state and Ontario, Canada and his abilities and experience continued to grow.   

In 2002 Dave joined the International Dutch Oven Society located in Logan, Utah and also began working on forming a local Chapter of the IDOS in the Buffalo, NY area.  A trip to Utah to attend the IDOS Spring Convention followed shortly after organizing the WNY Chapter of the International Dutch Oven Society where he and his son, Jeremy participated in the Dutch Oven Gathering held the evening before the Convention.  They cooked a Roast, Jalapeneo Cornbread, and an Earthquake Cake.  At the same time there began to be more opportunities for him to do Dutch Oven training and he found himself traveling to New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and several locations in NY state to put on Dutch Oven training classes.  2003 became quite busy with DO training classes and Dutch Oven Gatherings held by the local Chapter of IDOS.  Dave & Esther traveled to Cape Cod Massachusetts to compete in a DO Cookoff and won first place in the Bread catagory and they placed well in the Main Dish and Dessert categories.

2004 started with a full schedule of training with the addition of sessions at Gander Mountain Outfitters, more Women In The Outdoors events in Rhode Island, Quakertown, Pennsylvania, Erie County, NY, Batavia, NY and others along with Youth groups, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, church groups, Bass Pro Shops in Auburn, NY. 

Dave added a trailer to his equipment to enable him to be able to haul all of his Dutch Oven equipment to the training sites.