"First of all let me say what an honor
it was to judge agility at the Bearded Collie National Specialty.
You have a really great breed and I thoroughly enjoy the Beardies
I have in my classes. I enjoyed the time I got to spend talking
to some of the exhibitors and the hospitality provided by the
club was wonderful. The ring crews were very good at their jobs.
Having good workers makes the judge's job a little easier. The
course builders had my courses ready so that I had very little
tweaking to do. You all deserve a pat on the back for a job well
done. There were some absolutely great dogs competing at all of
the levels. Some of the top dogs had little mistakes that unfortunately
really cost you at the excellent level but there was no doubt
they would be top quality competition no matter where they competed.
The open level is often a heartbreak class. Many of the dogs aren't
experienced enough, particularly at weave poles, and they miss
an entry or pop out and thus incur refusals. It is obvious many
of these dogs will be tough competition once they get a little
more experience. At the novice level there were also a number
of very promising dogs. They showed good speed and control. There
were a couple of dogs that had problems perhaps because they were
very new to actual competition or because they were a little leery
of the building. A few of the dogs seemed a bit insecure about
the carpeting. It probably felt slippery to them if they had only
worked outdoors prior to this event. I was impressed with the
sportsmanship of both the winners and of those that hit some rough
spots. I wish all of the exhibitor's the best of luck at their
future trials." -- Kathy McCoubrey
"First of all, I must thank ALL the workers
at this year's event. I will start with my husband Rick, who listened
to all my rantings and ravings and worries about traveling, as
well as drove and lifted and carried heavy equipment. Thank you,
Rick. Without the two Terry's, Teri Fleming at the score table
and Terry Johnson as scribe, we would have sunk. Thanks so much.
Carol and Jody Lamb were everywhere helping and even staying afterwards
to mop the mats. Michele Ritter and Tony Vallone were seen building
courses throughout the day. Gail Marantz-Romine brought Stephen
Turner who helped out wih the trophy table, awards and courses.
Cheryl Poliak was a Jack of all Trades also. I am going to list
ALL because without them the trial could not have happened: Sharon
Prassa, Karen Norteman, Amy Steltz, Polley Ann McClure, Toni Tuck,
Sonja and Tim Moore, Ruth Bryden, Walt Ernst, Sandy McDonald,
Anita Weiss, Lucy Campbell-Gracie, Dottie Hamblin, Linda Porter,
Chantal Andrews, Jeff Ipser, Jim Leek, Jane Cooper, Carl Widell,
and Neil Bryden. If I forgot someone, please let me know.
Our event began with Libby Myers-Buhite singing the Star Spangled
Banner. Thank you, Libby. It did our hearts good to start a day
like that. The Carroll Indoor Sports Arena was a nice choice for
the event. The standard classes ran followed by jumpers in each
division. The day was long but Beardies and their handlers are
a patient group.
It is amazing to me to remember the first agility trial at the 1996 specialty and compare it with this year. Wow, the numbers have grown and the sport has grown! It has grown to the point, I believe, that agility needs its own day at the specialty. Hopefully, we will see that in the upcoming specialties." -- Beth Canner
It was a thrill for me to meet so many of the East Coast Beardie/Handler Teams as well as renew acquaintance with Teams from the West and Midwest. This was the largest Specialty Trial ever, with 53 Beardies participating in the Trial and 5 more joining in for the Relay! New Jersey led the way with 9 Beardies, followed by New York , Pennsylvania, and Michigan with 6, Virginia and California with 4, Maryland, Ohio, and Indiana with 3, Maine, Vermont, and South Carolina with 2, and Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Texas, and Washington State with 1 Beardie each. I especially enjoyed seeing the handling styles from different parts of the country.
In the AKC Trial there were 109 entries and 100 runs. 51 ran and 14 qualified in Standard. 49 ran and 10 qualified in Jumpers with Weaves. 7 Beardies earned titles. 10 Novices earned first legs. Four had "double qualifiers": Jan Vallone's Chloe in Excellent A and Toni Tuck's Ella, Maryann Groves' Brylie, and Tony Vallone's Sara in Novice B. Two Highs in Trial were awarded, one for Standard and one for Jumpers with Weaves. The Highs in Trial are awarded to the Beardies with the highest scores, in this case perfect scores of 100, and the fastest yards per second across the divisions. Joanne Williamson's Belle won the High in Standard from the Novice B Class and Elaine O'Carroll's Rory won the High in Jumpers with Weaves from the Open Class. There were some great Beardies out there from the very accurate to the very speedy, from the well trained to debutants. The Novices made it clear that the future of Agility is assured!
Joanne Williamson and Sean with their MACH cake- Barbara Stone
Immediately after the Trial ended, we presented the Ribbons and Awards and shared a lovely cake, which Amy Steltz had brought to celebrate Joanne Williamson and Sean's first Beardie AKC Championship this June. The top was frosted with an exact replica of one of Joanne's favorite pictures of Sean, the one chosen to place in his "Diehard Trophy" plaque this year.
Although we had a very long day of it, finishing our runs at eight in the evening, spirits remained high and manifested themselves in the excitement of the Team Relays, when costumes were donned and we really let go and enjoyed ourselves!
After a long day of trialing, followed by hilarious relays, the Specialty Agility competitors and their supporters trooped back to the hotel for a refreshing and fun Agility dinner and our 3rd Annual BAD Awards ceremony. The hotel staff was fabulous and had a delicious, warm dinner ready and waiting for us, along with a much appreciated cash bar.
Charles Namey recorded the Trial and will be making his Specialty Tapes available soon. I had fun reviewing it for him and watching each run intently.
Congratulations to all of you and many thanks to Kathy McCoubrey, Beth Canner, Karen Norteman, the many generous helpers, and the NCBCC for an outstanding trial! -- Libby Myers-Buhite
10/4/01 Excellent B 20"-Leg 1 85 1st/6 71.99'/66'
10/4/01 Excellent B 20"-Leg 81 100 1st/10 42.30'/42'
10/4/01 Excellent A 20"-Leg 3 100 1st/11 64.30'/66' AX
10/4/01 Excellent A 20"-Leg 3 95 2nd/11 66.08'/66' AX
10/4/01 Excellent A 20"-Leg 1 97 1st/8 43.57'/42'
10/4/01 Open 20"-Leg 3 95 1st/10 57.29'/72' OA
10/4/01 Open 20"-Leg 3 90 2nd/10 77.47'/72' OA
10/4/01 Open 20"-Leg 3 100 1st/9 36.49'/39' OAJ
10/4/01 Open 20"-Leg 3 94 2nd/9 42.53'/39' OAJ
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 1 100 1st/12 41.09'/65'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 2 100 2nd/12 41.46'/65'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 2 100 3rd/12 41.59'/65'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 4 100 4th/12 46.40'/65'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 1 98 36.14'/65'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 1 98 42.87'/65'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 1 95 54.36'/65'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 1 90 58.43'/65'
10/4/01 Novice B 24"-Leg 1 98 1st/3 39.60'/65'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 2 100 1st/14 31.19'/36'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 1 100 2nd/14 34.00'/36'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 3 100 3rd/14 36.47'/36' NAJ
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 1 94 4th/14 42.78'/36'
10/4/01 Novice B 20"-Leg 1 92 39.63'/36'
10/4/01 Novice A 20"-Leg 1 100 1st/2 33.98'/36'
SCORE TABLE: Teri Fleming and Dottie Hamblin with help from Ruth Bryden and Anita Weiss
SCRIBES: Terry Johnson scribed for Excellent and Open, Rick Canner scribed for Novice standard.
TIMERS: Sandy McDonald, Sonja Moore, Linda Porter, and Sharon Prassa
GATE STEWARDS: Carol and Jody Lamb did all classes
CHIEF COURSE BUILDERS: Tony Vallone with Chantal Andrews, Lucy Campbell-Gracie, Beth Canner, Rick Canner, Walt Ernst, Jeff Ipser, Jody Lamb, Jim Leek, Tim Moore, and Michele Ritter
ANNOUNCER: Stephen Turner
CHECK IN TABLE: Karen Norteman and Libby Myers-Buhite
MEASURING: Carol Lamb and Gail Marantz-Romine
TROPHY TABLE SET UP: Carol Lamb and Gail Marantz-Romine
RING CREW: Neil Bryden, Beth Canner, Rick Canner, Jane Cooper, Jody Lamb, Jim Leek, Polley Ann McClure, Cheryl Poliak, Amy Steltz, Toni Tuck, and Carl Widell
"What I loved most about Agility at the National Specialty:
Fellow exhibitors did not ask me after each of my runs, 'Do Beardies
always bark during agility?'"
-- Maryann Szalka (the other half of Team Cowboy and Team Checkers)
"I take it you know which one was me & Cocoa (Spindrift Dont U Just Lovett) in the Novice A runs . . . first timers . . . it showed that much!! I was just happy my mister social butterfly stayed with me and that I didn't get lost on the course!!"
-- Renee Lovett & Cocoa
Last updated 8 June 2004
BCCA Agility Awards - 2003
BCCA Agility Awards - 2002
BCCA Agility Awards - 2001
BCCA Agility Awards - 2000
BCCA Agility Awards - 1999
BCCA Agility Awards - 1998
BCCA Agility Awards - 1997
BCCA Agility Awards - 1996
