11/5/00
Hi everyone,

We are back from the GSDCA [German Shepherd Dog Club of America] National. The first three days consisted of herding events in Nova, Ohio -- about 2 hours away from the Columbus primary site. The whole three days was a tremendous learning experience for both me and Kyra. The atmosphere at a herding trial is a lot different than any other performance event I've attended. For one thing, other than the noise Kyra made, it is relatively quiet -- and Ky's improvement from Sunday to Tuesday was impressive to me. By Tuesday, she was on the ground -- still at a distance -- where she could see the dogs working the sheep and other than the occasional low whine, she was controlled and quiet.

Much to my delight, Nancy DeGarmo's trainer and handler, Stephen Ware, agreed to handle Kyra for me. So, he met her Sunday morning and took her in for her first trial less than one hour later. The first judge was Roy Sage. The dogs have 10 minutes to complete the requirements. Stephen and Kyra took 3 minutes and 15 seconds. He qualified her and his comments on her Official Evaluation Form said: A lot of barking -- some force, but a lot out of frustration of not getting to do it her own way. Thank you. R. Sage"

Monday her judge was Dana Mackenzie from Texas (yes, Chris, the same judge that did Komet's herding evaluation). This time Stephen and Kyra finished in 2 minutes and 47 seconds. Her comments: "Nice handling. Beautiful dog. Lots of talent. Dana Mackenzie" This judge was really taken with Ky. She wanted me to write down her pedigree and her full kennel name. Then, she asked me if I'd send her a copy of the picture taken by the professional photographer of Kyra, Stephen, me and the two judges. Finally, after many more positive comments, she asked if I was breeding her to a male that had retained the herding instinct and asked me to let her know when she was going to have puppies. She wanted to know if Kyra settles down in the house. (Absolutely, every night!)

Tuesday we moved Kyra up to PT level since Stephen said we had nothing to lose. It would give us a chance to see if she was ready or not. She qualified and got her first leg toward her PT. The elapsed time was 4 minutes and 15 seconds. This trial took place on a bigger field and required more ground to be covered. Stephen's comments when he came off this field: "She's got a big motor.  She is a lot of dog with a lot of drive."

All in all, I was ecstatic. I'm grateful to Stephen for handling Kyra and to Nancy for sharing him with us. As soon as there is time to arrange it, I'd like to start the wheels turning to get Stephen up here to do a clinic for us. And, he agreed to do the Herding Instinct Testing with sheep at the AWSA National in Indianapolis in 2001.

The attached picture is the one they took on the last day when only German Shepherds could enter the trials. The picture isn't very good, but you definitely know a "white dog" qualified. This one is at the GSDCA National site along with the picture of Nancy DeGarmo's Sassy qualifying for her HT leg.

Judy and Kyra