2005 Profile of Champions

Amanda Miliken
& Bart
  National Open Champion
         

Bart was named after my first Border Collie, his great, great grandfather. The bottom side of his pedigree is entirely mine. Of that line, the first one I successfully trained was Bart's grandmother, Hazel. She was Reserve National Champion to Kathy Knox and  Ettrick Bob, in 1995 at Sheridan, Wyoming, a pairing that both Kathy and I noted reversed itself this year. Bart's father is Stuart Davidson's Craig, 1995 International winner. He has left lots of other good get, among them, Bev Lambert's Pippa.

I have never kept a male dog of my breed, only bitches. What was the point? Everything I had would be related to him and I was better off with my bitch line and finding a dog. Grace, Bart's mother, whelped Bart's litter, but shortly afterwards, senior citizen Hazel, moved in and assumed the feeding, management and care of Grace's puppies. We saw it as an amusing eccentricity at the time. As the
litter matured, Hazel stuck with them long after she would have weaned her own. In addition, she daily thrust the same male puppy at me with her nose, tail wagging, that pup the clear apple of her eye. I assured her we could not keep it because it was boy. She said to keep him anyway, so I did. A gift from my old companion. He was reared with her direct supervision, the golden boy, who could do no wrong. She loved watching his morning training, which went so easily, he ran well by the time she died, when he was two.


He was an outstanding natural gatherer. His way with his sheep was always brilliant. These two traits, the good outrunning and way with sheep, will have won him the finals this year. He took his sheep
around the course, workmanlike, where others struggled, giving himself fifteen minutes in the ring, where most arrived with three to six remaining. I was able to take my time in the ring for his efficiency elsewhere. I am cognizant of his holes: all dogs have theirs. But for his detractors, Bart was only four in September, when he won. I have a winter to tidy him up for the balance of his career, which I have no reason to believe will not be great. He is a pleasure with which to work, live and own.

I often wonder if he would have been another, better dog in other hands or without my difficult, personal struggles over the few years I trained him. My consistency and temperament will have been ill suited
to the clear-sightedness required of training a good dog. In fact, earlier this spring, I recognized my dog running to be wrong. I asked Roddy McDiarmid to come and help me for week. He did. I owe him a big debt of gratitude. I suppose the win is as much his as mine. He walked along behind me each morning with a big stick, rapping me on the shoulder, tightening up my discipline, sharpening my timing, and contriving solutions to problems I had let develop. I needed a trainer and he was a good one.


My dogs, Bart now leading that menagerie, always of my breed, have suited my running style. I am inclined to let my dogs manage sheep more freely on the front line, than my competitors. My critics
are sure to find it a frustration to watch, but others say they find it thrilling. We all bring personal character traits to our sheep dog handling, when it is well developed, one of the refinements of this  sport that makes it interesting. I have been privileged to have dogs that have suited me so well, jived with the sort of person I am; or alternatively, maybe I became the sort of handler I am, running my  style of dog. Cart, horse, whichever, my dogs and their sheep management or lack there of, are plainly visible to a watchful eye. Nothing of the dogs is obscured in my handling. I always let them take the sheep and I steer—no control freak, no stop and starting. A lot of dog trust is vested in that handling style, and while it lets me down occasionally, it has worked for me generally, with these dogs of
mine, and I find it more satisfying in the long run. I watch my successful competitors run alternatively-- stop, starting, touching sheep, waiting, and while I admire it, I am comfortable knowing my run  will have a different texture.

Bart is a big, handsome, athletic dog. Bobby Henderson joked quietly, (that's the way he jokes) "He's a big handsome dog who will take advantage of his handler with his good looks." I had to laugh because
that could well be so. Nevertheless, I will welcome his taking advantage, and will be proud to be his partner for the balance of his life. 

Kathy Knox & Jake
  2005 Reserve National Open Champion
         
Jake is a son of Johnny Wilson's Rob, his mother going back to the Dryden Joe line. I bought Jake as a 2 year old from Jim Wilson, who had bought him as a young dog from Andrew Dickman in Scotland. Andrew had
raised him from a pup and I was supposed to get a female littermate that I had actually picked out. But I decided on bringing back a young dog from Scotland that year instead of the pup. Little did I know then that I would end up with one from the same litter—Jake!

Jake is the first imported dog I have ever run. I usually like training my own dogs from pups, but when Jake came out of the crate at the airport and looked me in the eye, something connected. I thought to myself then, "If you work half decently—you're a keeper."

I saw some things in him that at first I didn't like. He wasn't very good on the fetch. But after a bit of work, that has become one of his strong suits. He is one of the most honest dogs I've ever had and he is very calm under pressure which is invaluable during lambing. He can bring a ewe with a new lamb in without causing the ewe to turn and
fight. He knows just when to put pressure on her and take it off, something that you can't train. They either have a tremendous feel for stock or they don't. Jake has it. He has a very quiet, confident power.  He just doesn't get upset if stock wants to fight him. He'll take the challenger on and then settle right back into handling them in his
quiet unassuming way.

Jake has some qualities that remind me of my Bob dog I won the finals with in '95. He can feel and read sheep like Bob did. But he's a calmer dog than Bob was, so it lets me just concentrate on the run, and not have to worry about him getting excited.

I'm very proud that he won the best shed award at the finals because his name will go on the trophy along with Bob's. To me, when shedding is done properly, it is an art form and it tests everything we breed these dogs for: balance, power, etc. Jake and I didn't have a lot of time when we got into the shedding ring that day at the finals.
If the sheep were handled they way they should be, there just wasn't a lot of time once you arrived at the shed, but we made up some time just because I knew I could trust Jake and that he would be able to take pressure from the sheep without getting upset or gripping. Time after time he came in and held the group I wanted when asked. He just never got rattled.

That pretty much sums Jake up. Any mistakes that are made are usually mine. I feel like I can let him down but he very seldom ever lets me down. Jake is 9 this year, so this could be our last year trialing together. I've always heard that you are lucky to get one good dog in your life. I thought that dog was Bob but Jake has taught me that the saying is false.

I feel what is most important is the partnership. Of course the dog has to have all the qualities of a great dog, but when you find a true partner—one that seems to know your thoughts and one you can trust, the possibilities are endless. That is the quality I look for after working ability—a partner.
 

Dodie Green
& Cap
 Nursery Champion

         

 

Pat Shannaham
& Riggs
 Reserve Nursery Champion

 
         

Riggs was a gift that came into my life when he was about a year and a half of age.  My friend, Dianne Deal, had raised and trained him for the first part of his career, and wanted some help in teaching him to shed.  At the time, I was just happy to help Dianne, as she has done so many nice things for my dogs and me.  It ends up, that through this training, Riggs and I become partners on the trial field.  Dianne Deal and I co-own Riggs.

The breeding of Riggs goes back to some of my breeding.  His father, Redtop Riley, is out of my Redtop Pat and Tweed, a dog that I imported from Wales.  Redtop Pat is a daughter of my Hannah, and Rex, a son of Aled Owen’s Ben.  Rigg’s mom is Eryri Gill, a dog that Evie Kimberly imported from Wales and sold to Dianne.  She has great dogs in her breeding, including Wisp, WD Jones’s Mac, Dryden Mirk and Bwlch Taff.

Riggs is a very smart and quick learning dog.  He trained up very quickly, and will let a person handling him through most every situation.  He was a good out runner from the very first day, and has a very calm approach to the sheep. Riggs will not hesitate to put pressure on sheep if asked or needed. He is the type of dog that is a dream to handle.

The personality of Riggs is what is most appealing about him.  He loves to please, and will do most anything that is asked of him.  He has always had a very easygoing way about him, and doesn’t get worked up about new or strange situations.  I took Riggs to the World Trial and he was very comfortable with all the changes in lifestyle, travel, food, etc.   He loves children, and Dianne’s daughter Paxton taught him to climb up into their tree house at an early age. My favorite thought of Rigg’s is seeing him sitting watching the over the situation, next to my side.
 

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