Oh Canada!

Canadian, Dennis Gellings from Bear Canyon, Alberta won 1st and 2nd at the tougher than usual 2008 Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trial. I don't know if that's ever been done before, but just making the finals with 2 dogs, let alone claiming champion and reserve, let alone doing it with mother and son, is really amazing. Son Jake, just 4 years old, beat out his mother, Jan, by a mere 6 points, finishing 125 and 119 respectively and this was not Jan's first trip to the Meeker finals. She was reserve there in 2003 as a 2 year old no less, the same year she was reserve champion nursery dog at the USBCHA national finals. She made the Meeker finals again in 2004 finishing 7th. She just beat me and Price at the 2004 Soldier Hollow Classic finishing 3rd and attaining the coveted "medal stand" behind the winner that year, Beverly Lambert and Pippa and and reserve champion, Tony Stewart with Bess.

When I was over for the World Trial in 2005, I trained with Dennis and Jan beforehand as we were both hosted by Bobby Henderson, and we ran at a few of the other trials together. She just missed out on the semi-finals in Ireland and, in fact, Dennis was walking the course while Bobby Dalziel and a few others were just pushing him out on another field. I remember Dennis' lovely wife, Jean, walking around with a bright red maple leaf painted on her cheek. I believe it was somewhere around this time that Dennis bred Jan to Bobby Henderson's Bill, Jake's sire. It's signifigant to note that Jean was in this year's semi-final round at Meeker with Jake's litter-mate, sister, Star. These are nice dogs!

So nice, in fact, that when I had a chance, I bought a relation to them. Carol Campion had a bitch named Spot that is another litter mate, sister to Jake. This is a picture of her.

When Carol bred her to Scottish National Champion, #Whiterose Kep, as quick as I could, I bought a pup. Please visit the "sold dogs" page of my website to see Kep, who is qualified for the 2008 USBCHA nursery finals with his new owner, Nancy Starkey. I've never laid eyes on WR Kep, and I bought Keppie based on what I know about Jan, her sire, Bill, and his sire, Bobby Henderson's ##Sweep. I had raised and trained Kit, a ##Sweep grandson bred by Joy Crawford in Montana, and am well aware that they possess uncommon natural ability, balance and feel. Both Kit and Kep seemed to train themselves. That together with the stength and tenacity I had seem Jan demonstrate on so many occasions was more than enough to convince me to gamble the puppy price and shipping from Conneticut and I wasn't dissapointed.

Here's a picture of Bobby Henderson's now deceased ##Sweep.

The picture below is of Bobby Henderson with Jake's sire, Bill that I took in Canada in 2004.

It was a decidedly Canadian outcome at Meeker this year with 5 of the 12 finalists hailing from our Neighbor North taking the first 5 places. Congratulations to all the finalists and good luck at the national finals. For the complete Meeker results, please click here.