Belgian Ringsport is the oldest and one of the hardest defence-dogsports in the world. It is completely dominated by the Belgian Malinois. Ringsport is also closely related with the Belgian Police/Gendarmerie/Army forces as most of the service dogs are bought or trained in the B. Ring-circuit.

In Belgium about 1700 was the first time they used dogs to help the city guards. These dogs where not trained, they only companioned the "policeman". Also between 1700 and 1900 a light type of dog was used for herding sheep's. They where middle sized, very intelligent and fast dogs. All colours and coats where present. This is where the real beginning starts, because the "Belgium Shepherd" is at the foundation of the Ringsport…

Some people ("non-policeman") began to give demonstrations with their Belgian Shepherds around 1880. One of those men called "Edmond Moecheron". He is called the "father of the Ringsport" it was him who was the first to get success with his demonstrations of "police-dogs". He was famous in a short time and a lot of people came to watch his demonstrations. Together with his 3 Belgian Shepherds (Dax, Nic & Miss) and his Helper, he became an attraction on hippodromes, bicycle-events, circus and all possible fairs. Newspapers wrote sensational articles about him, and soon several others began to copy his numbers. The whole meaning for this was neither the sport nor the art, but very simple: for the money. It was pure business, attract as many possible people around your "ring" (a closed area) and get money out of them. He, and many others ha given demonstrations everywhere in Belgium, France, Holland, etc… on one of this events Mr. "E. Van Wezemael", head-commissioner of the police of the city of Ghent has seen the capacities of the Belgium Shepherds and there trainers. He has followed with big attention the training of those dogs and formed in 1899 the first police-dog-school, also in Ghent. He found out those trained-dogs where useful for the nightly patrols of his policemen. He even wrote a book about the use for police dogs and soon the interest of all parts of Europe and America followed him. Several countries send delegates to see and learn the training methods, such as France, England, America, Brazil, Congo, etc… even to buy these trained dogs. In 1903 the first trial of Ringsport has taken place in Mechelen (Malines) Belgium. The program was not well defined but each team showed what they could the best. The first real definition of Ringsport trial was signed in 1908.

The 1908 trial :

• Walk "off leash" near his owner: 20 Points
• Retrieve an object shown by his owner: 5 Points
• Guard an object that belongs to his owner without presence of owner: 5 Points
• Jump over obstacles: 10 Points
• Jump over a hole or canal: 10 Points
• Defence of the owner: 15 Points
• Attack Helpers who are pointed by his owner: 10 Points
• Retrieves a object out of a pool pointed by his owner: 15 Points
  Total of 90 Points.
 
This first National Championship Ringsport was held after WW1, on 3 October 1926.
There where 9 competitors: 
5 Malinois,
2 Groenendales and
2 Bouvier de Flandres.

Since than the program has changed several times but all of these exercises are still, in one way or another, present in the modern trials. Meanwhile France has his own Ring-program (French-Ring) and Holland: KNPV.