Gallery

This event is thus far the highlight of our agility competition career! AKC did a tremendous job organizing the team travel and stay in Luxembourg. We went on two training expeditions to some really cool agility facilities, one in Germany and one in Luxembourg, both with artificial turf.  On our first team competition day the large team took 4th place in the jumpers class. Our team standard did not go as well.  We then went on to the weekend focusing on the individual events. All the courses we ran were so challenging and fun. Pace and I ended up taking the bronze medal in individual combined, large dogs. The US medium Team won gold in team combined!

What a great event this was! The weather was not very cooperative so being indoors on a fantastic silica/fibre surface, made up for that. This surface was incredible to run on. For me, the best dirt surface EVER. I never slipped. That allowed for me to be a better match for Pace. We took the gold medal in Biathlon, maxi and took another gold medal in individual jumping, maxi. We also took 4th place in the individual overall, maxi class.

This is my favorite US event of the year. The energy and the skill level of the competitors is amazing, and the event is nicely organized every year. The 2014 ITT was an awesome event for Pace and I. We had a bit of a rocky ending in the first round, but settled in and had 3 placement rounds after that. Cumulative we ended up with a win-on spot for both the AKC FCI AWC Team, and the European Open Team. Pace's first ITT was in 2012 and Stinger's first ITT was in 2010.

The Brits truly know how to put on a spectacular show! This magical experience is going to be hard to match. I feel honored and thrilled to be going back with Pace for a second time in 2015. This time for the British Open and the International Invitation Class.

Pace and I had an amazing week at this event. The event was well organized and the dirt surface with exception of one ring, was in my opinion very good. The annual USDAA Cynosport is a one of two qualifying events where you can make it on to the USDAA IFCS World Agility Team. This event set the stage for Pace and I to do exactly that. We came out of the event with win-on spot, which means we had the highest team selection points in the 26" class. This earned us a trip to go compete in The Netherlands in 2014 at the IFCS WAC.

This is one of my favorite events. It is a well organized and well attended 4-day show held on the gorgeous property around Rockingham Castle. There are 16 rings that all are practically running at the same time, including the main arena, where all the finals are being held. For more information see:  http://youtu.be/ZmAXubGaksw   Thank you Howard Boyle for giving us the opportunity to travel to this event and consequently Crufts. Pace and I have grown so much due to attending these two spectacular events.

This event was held in Belgium in a horse facility with silica/fiber surface that was good, but for my preference, a little too deep and soft. I was unfortunately still struggling with my hamstring tear, so this was not one of our better events. The EO has the largest number of competitors of any international agility event, with teams of superior skill levels and is considered by many as the most competitive agility event of the year. The US Team had many incredible individual performances, and Pace and I learned a lot from our team experience.

What an amazing show for Pace and I! This AKC NAC event was a pivotal event for us in so many ways, as well as character building. I went into this Nationals planning not to run Pace, and felt sick about that.  I got a bad right hamstring tear in an USDAA Regionals event 3 weeks prior, that compromised my ability to run full out in any direction. My plan changed when I looked at the first course map and I imagined myself being able to change my handling to involve more distance. I had never attempted this before. A long story, short; we ended up winning 5/6 rounds including the Challenger round and ultimately, the Finals. This changed my perspective on handling in a dramatic way. It opened up my mind to a more "eclectic" style of handling in which I am still benefiting from.

Prior to competing at the European Open in Kristianstad, Sweden, a friend of mine, Susan Cochran and her BC Rider and Pace and I traveled to Denmark and Norway on vacation. Fun times! Our travel plans included a big warm-up trial the weekend before EO in Sydøstra Skånes in Sweden. This would be our first International Agility event. That trial went beyond what Pace and I could have ever expected. We ended up winning 3 class 3 events and two of those events gave him a Swedish Champion Title. He earned his Agilitychampionat and his Agility hoppchampionat titles at that event. What a great experience that was! Once this event was over, we drove to Kristianstad to compete in the EO. This event was held in a fantastic athletic complex, outdoors on artificial turf and grass. The weather was hot at the beginning of the show and rainy and cold by the end. Things did not go as well in this event. Pace tore his pads and got slingshot out of a couple tunnels that were not properly anchored at the warm-up event. The courses were challenging and inspiring and created an appetite to do more international events. We ended up doing well, but not as well as we could have done. We had some great experiences and learned a lot.

Teaching is my passion whether it is my weekly classes, private lessons or workshops in the US or internationally. Over time I hope to add photos from a variety of seminars, workshops and camps.  

I discovered these brilliant Agility Miniatures on one of my trips to the IAF in England. I realized that this could become an incredible tool for teaching, strategizing, visualizing, and course designing. We have successfully presented a unique and interactive workshop where we use the Miniatures to enhance practice time and improve competition performance.