About the Author

I have been raised around animals all my life. I got my first horse (a yearling Appaloosa) when I was sixteen years old and trained him myself. Apache was a forgiving horse for a teenaged girl and he taught me a lot along the way. I have raised and trained Arabian horses for over 25 years, and started training dogs for competition back in 1995.

I have trained many horses and dogs in my lifetime.  My border collies are the first dogs that I have trained for competitive obedience. I have titled them through the Open level in AKC (CDX) and UKC (U-CDX) events. Due to my previous border collie passing away from lymphoma at way too young an age, I am currently seeking my first Utility title.

I am fairly new to herding, with only twoAKC started A course (arena) titles on my dogs. Beckett earned her started A sheep title (HSAs) in 2006 and Trey earned her started A duck title (HSAd) in 2009. I own a small flock of ducks and am training my youngest border collie, Trey, to herd. I only compete in AKC herding events as I don’t care for the general attitude of the USBCHA & AHBA people I have met and I don’t like being ostrasized just because I have AKC-registered dogs that I show in conformation.

I make no judgements in which venue you may decide to trial your dog. In no way do I think one is better than the other — they all have their own unique challenges. What I choose to do is based strictly on my personal preferences and experiences. Yours may be different. 

Whatever you do with your dog, have fun and enjoy the experience!