Article written for Front and Finish The Dog Trainers Newsꡮuary 2008
by Sue Cox as told by Jo Roach
Slider, CH HC OTCH MACH Hob Nob Triple Play UDX
A little over a year ago I wrote a small article for Sue࣯lumn about Slider earning his UD and how we were going to work on his OTCH and UDX along with his MACH and HC, thinking all this would take some time. Well, it turns out that my Amazing Sliderman had other ideas, but then he always has been a speedy young man! His obedience debut was on 30 October 2005 and he earned his CD in 3 attempts. He earned his CDX in 3 attempts but then he took a little longer to earn his UD as it took 5 attempts, earning his UD on 26 March 2006 and thus began the OTCH and UDX campaign. He had just finished his AX and AXJ in January 2006 so we had already started the quest for his MACH. In May 2006 we started and completed his HXAs so it was time to start competing for HC points. All summer we bounced between venues. Herding trials had priority since there are fewer of those. Obedience trials came next and then we entered agility trials as time permitted. Plus, I qualified both Slider and my corgi Kirby for the USDAA Nationals which we attended in November 2006. And, oh yeah, there is my full time job as a zookeeper at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle where my normal work week is Tuesday 㡴urday. Working Saturdays really cuts into the dog show schedule! I had to use vacation time to attend herding trials and some of the bigger obedience trials.
In Slider쯦ont> first herding trial after finishing his HXAs, he earned two major wins which were nice to get out of the way. By the end of our herding season in October 2006, we needed just two points and had to wait until the first herding trial of the next season to finish his HC. Slider did a terrific job at that first trial and finished his HC on 26 May 2007 with another major win. He went on to win another major the next day and finished the weekend with one HIT and two RHIT. And no, I donਡve my own sheep so we have spent many miles on the road driving to sheep to practice on.
Our OTCH progress was slower. Slider does well at the small entry outdoor trials but he doesnke the big entry indoor trials (he is a sensitive soul) so earning big chunks of points did not happen very regularly for us. We continued to polish our work to improve our performances. Slider finished his UDX on 12 November 2006, just a little less than a year from when he finished his CD. And then finally, on 21 July 2007, we needed 13 points and Slider won Utility to earn 14 points and he finished that OTCH 稡t a relief! For us, the OTCH was definitely the hardest of the 4 championships we completed. Slider ended up with 6 Utility wins and 3 Open wins in earning his OTCH.
Meanwhile, we were plugging away on those double Qযr his MACH. Slider reached 10 double Qd 824 speed points on the first of January 2007. Again during the 2007 trial season, agility took a back seat to obedience and herding trials. I took advantage of agility and obedience trials at the same location when I could but doing well in both is tough! We did achieve that elusive quadruple Q at one show in Seattle on 11 March where Slider earned a UDX leg and an agility double Q on the same day.
So, once the OTCH was done and needing just two more double Q젩t was time to concentrate on agility. We were lucky enough to have a Sunday/Monday trial the first weekend of August so I didnਡve to take time off from work. On Sunday, three obstacles from the end of our first Standard run, I made a handling mistake which caused Slider to drop a bar. Rats! No MACH that weekend. Slider went on to win JWW that day. The next day we got that 19th double Q!
For our next agility trial, I took the Saturday off from work so we had two days to get that last double Q. My sister just happened to be in town that weekend and was able to come to the trial. My sister lives in Oregon but has been able to come to many of our conformation, herding, obedience and agility trials and has been one of our biggest supporters. Also able to attend these trials were Slider쯦ont> grandmas, Yvonne Anderson and Jan DeMello. Yvonne co-owns Slider༯font>dad Fable with Jan and Jan has Slider쯦ont> mom Chisel and is Slider쯦ont> breeder. Fable and Chisel were also at the trial. Plus, many of my friends who were not able to be at the last agility trial were at this trial and they were all hoping to witness our MACH. No pressure!!! Well, thanks to much prayer and a good pep talk from Jan about mastering the mental game, I woke up that Saturday morning and claimed that day as MACH day!
Standard was our first run and I miscalculated how fast Slider would burst out of the chute towards an off course jump! Being the good boy that he is, he called off that off course jump, ticking the next two bars as we got back in synch, but the bars stayed up! The rest of the run was uneventful and we got that first Q of the day. Then the wait for the JWW class commenced. Both courses by judges Jim and Judy Smotrel were fabulous; good challenges with nice flow. As we waited for our turn in JWW, it started to sprinkle a bit which caused me to worry as I didnnt Slider to slip on the wet grass and knock a bar. Yvonne and Fable were just two dogs ahead of us and they ran clean and did not slip which was good to see. Slider and I stepped up to the line, I took my lead out, and we are off! Each bar stayed up as Slider negotiated the challenges of the course and we crossed the last jump to a huge cheer! Jan and Yvonne met us at the end with our ribbons and bar and Slider and I took our victory lap!
I cannot thank all my friends and family enough for making that moment so incredibly special! I will always remember that moment as not only did we finish our MACH but Slider became the first border collie to achieve four AKC championships. And, as far as I堢een able to find out since then, he is possibly only the second dog ever to achieve the four AKC championships of conformation, field/herding, obedience, and agility.
After staying on Cloud 9 for a while, I realized that I was a little bit burned out from all the trialing, imagine! I have backed off from training and trialing somewhat but we still need to prepare for the upcoming BCSA Nationals in Saint Louis where we will be competing in herding, agility, obedience and conformation. I am very excited as this is the first time I have had the opportunity to attend the BCSA Nationals. I젡lso be showing Slider쯦ont> 튢rother Steam, Hob Nob Fire and Ice, in the puppy conformation classes. Steam will be one year old on 30 November 2007.
I have some friends who have offered to help us start tracking so I will take them up on that offer this winter and we will start working on that elusive fifth championship! I understand that the CT is difficult but I have no doubt that Slider is up for this next challenge. Slider just turned four years old on 16 September. We젬et you know how it goes!
Praise God for His gift of dogs!!! I would like to thank my husband Russ for his love, support and patience as I traipse all over the countryside for dog events! Thank you to Jan DeMello for breeding the best little tri boy in the world and for letting me take him home. Thank you to Yvonne Anderson for introducing me to Hob Nob border collies through her Fabulous Fable. Thank you to my wonderful instructors Linda Shea and Jill Crawford who have taught me how to train and handle dogs in obedience and agility. Thank you to Chris Soderstrom and her Fidoơrm where Slider and I learned to herd. And to Jan, another thank you for moving to Washington! Your dog training and handling lessons have been invaluable! Thank you to all my friends and fellow competitors! This is the best area to trial as everyone is genuinely supportive and encouraging of each other. In closing, I have one more special thank you for Slider쯦ont> great godmother, Sue Cox, who has been a tremendous supporter of ours and has cheered us on to many victories!