25/05/2024
Holy Amazing Cow-Dogs! What a ride!
It was not my plan to hit the road competing in conformation as much as we have this year however if there is one thing I have learned about showing ACDs in Canada is that when there are other ACDs competing… you better show up! We are still a relatively rare breed in the show ring and it can be difficult slogging it out one or two points at a time or hoping for a group placement when you are standing there with the only ACD.
I was faced with a whole new dilemma though having THREE of my own ACDs to show and being unable to clone myself. It is hard to find people to trust with your dogs… people who will take how you’ve trained them into consideration… people who will bring out the best in your dogs. I have so much gratitude for these amazing people who have treated me & my dogs with kindness while earning points along the way: Jennifer Driessen, Jolie “Bubba” Thompson, Shanelle Wainright, Terri Brennan-Weiss, Amanda Weiss, Willow Bertrand, Carolyne Cybulsky, Jamie Thomaschewski, Terrine Maciborski, Aiden Maciborski, Madison Bernardin, Elyse Fernets, Katie Aadland, Mandy Ettel & Trina Neil. This post would not be happening without this “dog show village”.❤️🐾❤️. Thank you all so much!!
There is so much news to share but I don’t want to bore you to death so here is the point form recap.
We have traveled close to 10,000km since January going to:
EKKOC - Calgary (3 days @ 80km) Entry: 1-0-1-1 @3 shows
CROCUS - Brandon (2,500km) Entry 1-1-1-1 @6 shows
BRCA - Camrose (700km) Entry 1-2-3-3 @3 shows
RDDKC - Red Deer (400km) Entry 0-0-1-0 @3 shows
RENAISSANCE - Chilliwack (2,300km) Entry 1-6–3-2 @5 shows
HUB CITY - Saskatoon (1,400km) Entry 1-3-3-3 @3 shows
WORKING HERDING SPECIALTY - Saskatoon Entry 1-3-3-4 @1 show
FSJDKC - Fort St John (2,000km) Entry 1-2-3-2 @8 shows
I know to many of our American followers it appears that those entry numbers are weak but trust me when I say that we are elated when we see Best of Breed (BOB) awards that are 3 or 4 points consistently.
In that timeframe we were consistently found in many line ups of beautiful Australian Cattle Dogs:
LUCKY: 8x BOB, 4x BOS, 6x SD
PEACHES: 2x BOB, 9x BOS, 11x SB, 5x BOH
SHAZAM: 12x BOB (3 from Sr Puppy Class), 4x BOW, 8x SD, 1x Gr2, 2x Gr3, 2x Gr4
PEACHES & SHAZAM: 1x Best Brace in Group; 1x Best Brace in Show
COLLECTIVELY: 32 Shows, 22 Best of Breeds, 13 Best of Opposite S*x, 14 Select Dog, 11 Select Bitch, 4 Best of Winners, 5 Group Placements
…Shazam is #2 ACD in Canada in Breed Points and #5 ACD in Canada in All-Breed Points at 14½ months of age!
…Lucky is #3 ACD in Canada in Breed Points and #7 ACD in Canada in a All-Breed Points.
…Peaches is #6 ACD in Canada in Breed Points and #10 ACD in Canada in All-Breed Points.
…We expected a bigger entry in Calgary however a polar vortex in early January in Calgary combined with some life-happens-issues thwarted boosting our entry.
…Shazam finished his Championship at 11½ months in Brandon on Carolyne Cybulsky’s lead in the morning show of the last day with a Best of Breed from Judge Patrick Mudge and then was awarded his first Grand Championship points in the afternoon with another BOB and a Group 4th placement under Judge Carmen Haller!
…Lucky finished his Grand Championship with a 3-point Best of Breed award from Judge Mario Knoll in Camrose on Terrina Mackiborski’s lead
…We had the joy of becoming an impromptu “Show Foster Family” to a Junior Puppy ACD named “Pip” while in Camrose and helped her achieve her first Championship point while her very pregnant owner Morgan watched ringside
…Peaches was entirely Breeder/Owner Handled for her Grand Championship which she finished in Chilliwack with a 3-point Best of Opposite S*x award from Judge Lesley Hiltz in the Group 7 Specialty.
…We took Show-Foster-Pup Pip with us to Chilliwack and supported her while she finished her Championship with four majors in a row including a BOS from the Junior Puppy class!
…Two days after returning from Chilliwack we had an MVA that totalled my Tundra and caused me significant whiplash & concussion. It was a tough first few weeks but it feels like I am turning the corner.
…My health stress of our recent MVA combined with a pending heat cycle seemed to cause Peaches (who is the most sensitive to me) to drop her coat entirely over the last three weeks! She was looking quite haphazard at Saskatoon but still managed to be awarded a 4-point Best of Breed in a beautiful line up of ACDs with hair in the ACDCC Supported Booster Entry under Judge Linda Scanlon! It was rewarding to see her structure and movement rewarded beyond the aesthetics of coat. Big thank you to Jen Seaborn for organizing it and to Cheryl Dauvin for helping with the prizes. The boys were also acknowledged in this booster — Lucky with a 2pt BOS and Shazam with a 2pt SD.
…We took Sarah Linda and Uncle JJ with us to Saskatoon so they could play in the Rally Ring. They had great successes teeing up a few pairs towards JJ’s Rally Championship title. Big thank you to Sarah for helping with set up and tear down and questioning my concussion brain thinking at times. 🙏🏻
…Shazam finished his Grand Championship with a Best of Breed & Group 3rd (5-point major) on Jennifer Dresden’s lead in Fort St John under Judge David Denis
…The Reel ACDs earned some amazing points during our recent trip to Fort St. John - Lucky (GCHB 5pts), Peaches (GCHB 14pts), Shazam (GCH 5 + GCHB 21 = 26pts!!). They secured 6/8 Best of Breeds (Lucky x1, Shazam x5) and Shazam was awarded four Group placements - 3rd, 2nd, 3rd & 4th.
…The conclusion of this spring fling of shows leaves everyone well on their way to their Grand Championship Bronze titles where 50 points are needed — Lucky (12pts), Peaches (27pts) and Shazam (21pts)
…I nearly pulled my entries for Fort St John due to my MVA injuries… but I am really glad I went. Yes, for the accomplishments, but more to spend some time with really great dog show people (ACD & all-breed alike). I am so very, very grateful to Jen, Terri and Willow who seamlessly ensured that Lucky and Shazam were handled beautifully in the show ring — there was never a question of a no-show which brought tremendous peace of mind while I was not feeling my best.
…The best part of sharing these last seven weekends with fellow competitors is that EVERY ACD at EVERY SHOW went home WINNING SOMETHING. Some went home with more, some with less… but everyone shared in the winning of points. Working together to ensure we have a good entry is so critical in our breed in this sport. There are too few well-bred ACDs in the show world to not support each other. While I was not physically capable of big visits with everyone, it was really awesome to see old friends, new friends and to enjoy our dogs together.
Honestly, conformation is my least favourite dog sport but I recognize that it is important part of breeding with integrity. COVID messed up a lot of showing plans I had for Peaches & Lucky. Though they achieved their Championships, I did not feel great about how they got them as there was not a lot of diversity in their CH wins. The whole point of Conformation is to prove whether or not you have dogs worth breeding from a structure and movement perspective. It was important to me to put my dogs up against their peers to see how they would do. We hunted down our competition over 10,000km so that we were not just playing “The Prettiest In The Family Show”. Don’t get me wrong… when no one else is competing, you enter and hope for a group placement. But when there are other ACDs in the community showing, I felt it was important to get the oil changed, break out the show leads and hit the road.
The dogs and I are very excited to sit put for a little while. I’ll take the liberty of changing the lyrics to “Home For A Rest” (Great Big Sea)…
You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best
I've been gone for five months, I've been running since I left
These so-called vacations will soon be my death
I'm so sick from the goals, I need home for a rest
Thank you to all who have supported and helped us in so many ways. Much love to you all.
But most of all, I feel so very blessed to have this ACD crew that are easy to travel with and keen to please.
They. Are. The. Best!
❤️🐾
