Happy Holidays (2006)!

From Dave & Erika and (L to R): Trek, Tahoe, Chase & Killy

Year-end Awards

USDAA Performance Top Ten

Tahoe earned another Top Ten pin for her rankings in Snooker and Jumpers (she finished 2nd in Jumpers!)

USASA Agility Recognition Awards - Top Ten

Tahoe
- 2nd in 16" Novice Preferred Standard (312)
- 5th in 16" Novice Preferred Std (312)
Trek
- 8th in 20" Novice B Standard (309)
Sandia
- 8th in 20" Novice B JWW (312)
- 4th in 20" Open JWW (312)
Taiko
- 3rd in 20" Open JWW
- 2nd in 20" Ex A JWW
- 5th in 20" Ex A Standard
- 4th in 24" Ex B JWW
- 8th in 24" Ex B Standard

December

December 30 - January 1 TRACS AKC Agility Trials, Rancho Murieta, CA

Chase took 3rd in Ex B Std and Qd in Ex B JWW (on different days, unfortunately)
Tahoe took 1st places to finish both her NAP and NJP titles; she went on to win both runs in Open Preferred.
Trek took 1st/4th in Open Std, 2nd/4th in Open JWW to finish both his OA and OAJ titles!
Killy took 2nd in Open Std
Taiko was the 5th place king, having nice qualifying runs in Standard and JWW, earning his 3rd QQ and nearing his MX title!

December 16-17 COAST and Goleta Valley Dog Training Club ASCA Trials, Goleta, CA

Chase went 6/8, earning 4 Elite Regular and 2 Elite Jumpers legs, all with placements
Tahoe won 2 rounds of Vet Elite Regular and 1 round of Jumpers
Trek earned 15 points towards his RS-N and won Elite Jumpers!
Taiko earned two RS-E legs, and one JS-E leg with a 3rd place!

December 8-10 Sacramento Dog Training Club AKC Trials, Rancho Murieta, CA

Taiko earned two MX legs and his 2nd Double Q with a 2nd in JWW and 3rd in Standard

November

November/December issue of ASCA's Aussie Times has the current ASCA rankings (don't blink, some won't last!):

Chase:
- #5, Agility Finals, Standard
- #14, Gamblers Elite (tie)
- #19, Jumpers Elite (tie)
- #8, Regular Elite (tie)
Tahoe:
- #2, Gamblers Elite (tie)
- #8, Jumpers Elite (tie)
- #14, Regular Elite (tie)
Trek:
- #13, Gamblers Novice (tie)
- #8, Gamblers Open (tie)
- #13, Jumpers Novice (tie)
- #6, Jumpers Open (tie)
Taiko:
- #13, Gamblers Novice (tie)
- #6, Jumpers Open (tie)
- #7, Regular Open (tie)

November/December issue of USASA's Australian Shepherd Journal has the USASA rankings through 8/31/06:

Trek:
- #7, Novice B 20" Agility
Taiko:
- #8, Novice B Obedience
- #9, Novice B Rally
- #2, Excellent A 20" Agility
- #3, Open JWW 20" Agility
- #2, Excellent A JWW 20" Agility

November 24-26 Happy Dog USDAA Test, Moorpark, CA

Chase Qd in Masters Std x2, Masters Snooker, Masters Pairs (with Tahoe) and got his first PNS and PSJ Qs, taking 2nd in Round 2 of Performance Speed Jumping
Tahoe Qd and took 1st in P3 Snooker x2 and Jumpers x2, Qd in Masters Pairs (with Chase) and Masters Gamblers to earn her Silver Lifetime Achievement Award! She also earned her first Qs in PNS and PSJ for the 2007 season.
Taiko took 4th/Q in the Grand Prix and 5th/Q in Steeplechase for his first 2007 tournament qualifiers!

November 18-19 NORCAL Golden Retriever Club AKC Trials, Santa Rosa, CA

Chase went 3/4, earning a Double Q on Saturday
Tahoe enjoyed running at 16", taking 1st in Novice Preferred Std and JWW both days
Trek took 4th in Open Std on Saturday, earning his first OA leg
Killy was wild and just keeps getting faster ...
Taiko earned two MXJ legs, placing 1st and 4th in the 24" class
- Watch the video of Taiko and Dave's winning run HERE (Video courtesy of Agility in Motion)
Sandia won Ex A 20" JWW on Saturday for her 3rd AXJ leg and AXJ title!

November 1-5 USDAA Cynosport World Championships, Scottsdale, AZ

Tahoe and Dave were the household stars of the weekend! Competing against approx 80 16" Performance dogs, they placed:
- 2nd in the 16" Performance National Standard Championships, by .01 of a second!
  You can see the overlay video on the USDAA website
- 2nd in the Performance Speed Jumping Finals
- 2nd in Performance Versatility Standard
- 2nd in Performance Versatility Jumpers
- 6th in Performance Power and Speed
- 7th in Performance Time Gamble
- Her team Rott'n Aussie finished 15th out of 87 teams!
Chase and Erika ran well in the 22" Championship class, putting in a solid team effort (the Outback Highlanders finished 38th out of 209 teams!) and having a great GP semis run
Taiko and Liza did very well at their first USDAA Nationals, running clean in Team Jumpers (placing 31st out of 128 26" dogs) and staying on course in Team Standard and Power and Speed.

November 4-5 Valencia Valley KC of NM AKC Trial, Albuquerque, NM

Dude went 3/4, finishing his OA and earning his first OAJ leg!

October

October 28-29 Rogue Canine Agility AKC Trial, Central Point, OR

Sandia took 1st place in Open Std (finishing her OA) and Ex A JWW (2nd leg)!

October 28-29 SWAT NADAC Trial, Albuquerque, NM

Dude won 2 rounds of Open Regular and 1 round of Novice Jumpers!
Reno won 2 rounds of Novice Regular

October 28-29 Workin' Paws/PASA ASCA Agility Trial, Hollister, CA

Taiko finished his JS-E with 1st and 2nd places; he also finished his RS-O and got his first Open Gamblers leg!

October 21 Del Valle AKC Agility Trial, Pleasanton, CA

KD took 1st place in Novice A Standard!

October 7-8 Haute Dawgs USDAA Test, Dixon, CA

Taiko got 2 Advanced Snooker Qs with 2nd places, took 4th/Q in Advanced Standard

September

September/October issue of USASA's Australian Shepherd Journal shows Taiko's rankings in several areas!

Taiko:
- #7, Novice B Obedience
- #6, Novice B Rally
- #2, Excellent A 20" Agility
- #2, Open JWW 20" Agility
- #10, Excellent A JWW 20" Agility

September 30 - October 1, Sacramento Valley Weimaraner Club AKC Agility Trial

Taiko got his first Double Q and won Ex B 20" Jumpers!

September 30 - October 1, Albuquerque NM AKC Agility Trial

Dude finished his NAJ with a blue ribbon!

September 23-24, Albuquerque, NM SDOC AKC Agility trial

Dude got an OA leg with a 3rd place ribbon!

September 16-17, San Rafael, CA Sir Francis Drake AKC Agility Trial

KD earned her NAJ with a 1st place! KD is the 5th of Tahoe's kids to earn an AKC agility title, earning Tahoe her ROMI-P honors in USASA!

September 16-17, Turlock, CA VAST USDAA Trial

Chase got 2 Gamblers legs, a Jumpers leg, a Snooker Q, and a Standard leg thanks to Naomi's handling. What a great weekend!
Taiko's first day of competition in Advanced was fruitful, yielding Adv Relay, Jumpers and Gamblers legs!

September 9-10, Petaluma, CA AKC Obedience Trial

Taiko finished his AKC CD for real this time (4th leg/3rd judge), taking 2nd in Novice B with a 193.5 Not bad for a young adolescent male!

September 7-10, Albuquerque, NM SWAT USDAA Trial

Dude finished his Starters Standard title, and his team finished 6th overall for a DAM Team Q! Dude was one of very few competitors to make it through most of the Snooker closing; perhaps it's genetic?

September 2-4, Sunnyvale, CA Bay Team USDAA Super Regional

Chase got another Masters Standard leg, a Snooker Super Q, and got a bye into the GP Semi-Finals in Scottsdale!
Tahoe got a bye into the Performance Nat'l Standard Championships semi-finals, won Performance Speed Jumping (again!), P3 Snooker, 1 round of P3 Jumpers, (took 3rd in the other with a Q), Qd in Masters Relay and DAM Team with the Royal Bounty Hunters (Kidd/Tania Chadwick, Taiko/Liza Buckner)
Trek got his 2nd Starters Standard leg .. now needs only more more for his AD.
Killy won Starters Snooker!
Taiko Qd for Team (on the Royal Bounty Hunters with Tahoe and Kidd) and finished his AD!

August

August 26-27, Los Lunas, NM ASCA Conformation and Agility

Dude strutted his stuff in the conformation ring and took A-WD! He also got an Open Regular leg in agility and finished his JS-N!

August 26-27, Prunedale, CA SMART USDAA Test

Chase Qd in both standard runs to earn his SACH-Gold; he also got his 3rd GP Q for the '06 Season, earned a Relay Q with Rave and Wendy Volgelsgang, and also got a Snooker Q!
Tahoe won Performance Speed Jumping and Q'd in P3 Snooker
Trek got his 2nd Starters Standard leg!
Taiko Qd in all of his Starters classes including Relay with Killy!

August 12-13, Petaluma, CA Countywide AKC Agility Trial

Tahoe finished her MACH going 4/4 over the weekend!
Taiko finished his AXJ, winning his class! (and stayed on the startline ...)
Killy took 4th in Open JWW!

August 5-6, Hollister, CA PASA/Workin' Paws ASCA Agility Trials

Chase got 3 Elite Regular Qs (all 2nd places) and 2 Elite Jumpers Qs (3rd & 4th)
Tahoe enjoyed her first weekend as a vet and earned 3 Elite Gamblers legs, 3 Elite Jumpers legs, and Elite Regular Q, all 1st places!
Trek finished his JS-O thanks to Liza's handling and also got an Open Gamblers Q with Dave
Killy got an Open Gamble Q, 2 1/2 Novice Regular legs, a Novice Jumpers leg and Novice HIT!
Taiko earned his GS-N (4th) and JS-O (2nd, 3rd) titles and also brought home 2 Open Regular legs (1st, 2nd place)

July

July 28-31, Central Point, OR Flat Coated Retriever Club AKC Trials

Sandia took 2nd for her first AXJ leg!

July 22-24, Ferndale, CA Lost Coast AKC Trials

Chase Double Qd on Monday (#2 towards MACH2 if I dare start counting ...)
Tahoe took 3rd in Ex B 20" Standard
Trek finished his NA on Sunday with a 2nd place!
Killy finished her NA on Saturday with a 2nd place!
Taiko earned his 2nd MX leg, taking 2nd place and beating his mother by a fraction of a second.
Sandia won Open Jumpers and finished her OAJ!

July 1-3, Moorpark, CA Happy Dog USDAA Test

Chase Qd in 22" Masters Jumpers, Pairs (taking 3rd place with Tahoe), Snooker (twice, including 1 Super Q) and Gamblers; He also got his 2nd Grand Prix Q of the year and earned his TM-Platinum!
Tahoe Qd and won all 3 rounds of P3 16" Jumpers; she also Qd in P3 Snooker (3rd) and Masters Pairs

July 1-2, Dixon, CA Sheltie Club AKC Trials

Taiko earned his 1st MX leg with a 5th place out of 55 20" Ex B dogs)
Sandia went 3 for 4 in Open (all blue ribbons!) and finished her OA!

June

June 24-25, Turlock, CA Nunes Agility Field USDAA Tournament Trials

Tahoe won the 22" Steeplechase (she's the 'money dog' these days!) as well as the 16" Performance National Standard Championships local qualifier (which also entitles her to a 'bye' to Round 2 of the Bay Team's regional). She was also the anchor dog for the Royal Bounty Hunters team (with Chase and Kidd/Tania Chadwick) in the DAM competition, running clean or close to it in each round. The team won the 1st round (Jumpers) and took 3rd in Gamblers and ended up 10th/Q overall for a Q!
Chase got his first Grand Prix Q and was generally naughty in the team events.
Trek and Killy got to "run with the big dogs" in the team events with teammate Maiya/Tracey Sirbello; thanks to Tracey for the team name, "Faux Paw de Trois"! They didn't finish last ... and actually handled some tough courses pretty well, all things considered! Watch for their return at the Bay Team Labor Day trial ...

June 17-18, Rohnert Park, CA Tails a Waggin' CPE Trials

Taiko went 5/8, with 3 blues and 2 reds; he also took away a lesson or two in contact criteria (at least we hope he did!)

June 17, Scotts Valley, Monterey Bay KC AKC Trials

KD took 3rd/Q in Novice JWW and 2nd/Q in Nov Standard!

June 17-18, Rohnert Park, CA Tails a Waggin' CPE Trials

Taiko went 5/8, with 3 blues and 2 reds; he also took away a lesson or two in contact criteria (at least we hope he did!)

June 9-11, Irwindale, CA WCASA ASCA Agility Tour and Pre-Trials (Thanks so much to WCASA for putting on this event!!)

Tahoe won HIT-Elite at the Saturday pre-trial; at the Tour, she won every round and brought home the $500 prize as the Tour's Champion Standard Large dog! (Note that Dave is wearing his "Keep Tahoe Blue" t-shirt!)
Chase Qd in Elite Gambers x2, Regular x2, Jumpers x1 and took 2nd place in Regular Rounds 1 & 2 in the Tour
Trek Qd in Novice Gamblers (1st place!), Regular and Jumpers in the pre-trials
Killy Qd in Novice Gamblers in the pre-trial

June 3, Salinas, CA Del Monte KC AKC Agility Trials

KD won the Novice A 20" JWW class, running the course in under 17 seconds!

June 3-4, Albuquerque, NM WKC/SWAT AKC Agility Trials

Dude won Novice B 20" Standard *and* JWW and finished his NA!
Reno finished his AX!

June 2-4, Elk Grove, CA CPE Agility Nationals

Chase, Trek, Tahoe, Killy, Taiko and Annabelle at the 2006 CPE Nationals

Chase won the 3rd place 20" Games Trophy; he also went 7/9, finished titles and won a couple classes.
Tahoe won Level 4 20" Colors and had some great runs and Qs
Trek got better as the weekend went on, went 8/9 and finished with a great Snooker run (weavepole epiphany!)
Killy won Level 2 20" Standard and also brought home many Q ribbons
Taiko took the High Standard Level 3 20" Trophy, winning the class all 3 days; he missed a perfect weekend due to one bar in Colors, but had a great showing handled by Dave (Liza, get better soon!)

May

May 26-29, Dixon, CA TRACS AKC Agility Trial and NorCal ASC ASCA Obedience

Chase got 3 Double Qs, took 4th in 20" Ex B Standard and best of all, finished his MACH on Saturday!
Tahoe ran well, earning QQs # 17 and 18
Trek brought home an OAJ leg with a 4th place, and got 2 NA legs, one with a 3rd, and one with a win!
Killy got two NA legs, with 2nd and 3rd place ribbons
Taiko finished his AX with a win, placed 5th in the Maxi ISC Standard class, and also earned a 3rd/Q for his first ASCA CD leg
Sandia finished her NAJ with a win, and also got two 3rd place ribbons in Open (standard and JWW)

May/June Issue of USASA's Australian Shepherd Journal; Agility standings through Feb 28, 2006

Trek: #4, Novice B JWW 20"
Taiko:
- #3, Novice B Standard 20"
- #5, Novice B JWW 20"
- #7, Open Standard 20"
- #5, Open JWW 20"

May 13-14, Carson City, NV Quicksilver USDAA Test

Chase took 3rd/Q in Steeplechase, and got his 35th Snooker Q with a 4th to earn his Snooker Ch-Gold!
Tahoe Qd in P3 Jumpers/1st place, Steeplechase/7th, SQ in P3 Snooker/2nd; P3 Standard, Masters Pairs and got her 2nd Performance National Standard Championships local qualifier with a 3rd place!
Trek went 4/5, taking 1st/Q in Starters Gamblers, 2nd/Q in Starters Jumpers for his SS title, 3rd/Q in Advanced Snooker, and got his 1st Q in Starters Standard with a 3rd place.
Killy took 2nd/Q in Starters Gamblers for her SG title and also took 2nd/Q in Starters Standard for her 1st leg.

May 6-7, Sunnyvale, CA Bay Team USDAA Test

Chase and his teammates Hobbes/Rob Michalski and Kidd/Tania Chadwick ("Outback Highlanders") were the high scoring team in Jumpers, Snooker and Relay and took the overall Team Tournament win!
Tahoe brought home Qs in P3 Snooker and Masters Pairs (with Piper and Sue Rush) and has now met the requirements for USASA ROMXI Dam! She earned this with two litters: Ch Dame and Reno OA OAJ from the 1st litter; and Sandia NA and Taiko CD OA OAJ from the 2nd!
Trek earned himself a blue ribbon and Q in Starters Pairs with Jessie/Nora Bieber, as well as a 3rd/Q in Starters Jumpers, and Q in Starters Snookers for his SS Title!

May 6-7, Albuquerque, NM SWAT NADAC/ASCA Trial

Dude earned 3 first place ribbons and his NAC/RS-N titles, as well as a 3rd place and Q in Novice Jumpers!
Reno, not to be outdone by his younger brother, earned two first place ribbons in Novice Jumpers to finish his NJC/JS-N, and also took 2nd place with a Q in Open Regular

May 5-7, Santa Rosa, CA Mensona KC AKC Obedience, Rally & Agility

Taiko was very busy this weekend: he took 1st in Rally Novice with a 97 to finish his RN; he also got his 2nd and 3rd CD legs (190/192 scores, both earning 3rd place in Novice B) for his AKC CD title! To top it off, he won Ex A Standard and Jumpers on Sunday to earn his second legs towards his AX and AXJ.

April

April 29-30, Prunedale, CA SMART USDAA Trial

Chase Qd in Steeplechase, the Performance National Standard Championships Local Qualifier, Masters Gamblers, Super Qd in 22" Masters Snooker, and won P3 Standard
Tahoe Qd in P3 Standard, Jumpers and Snooker and also Qd in Steeplechase
Trek Qd in Starters Jumpers (4th) and Starters Pairs (2nd), thanks to a great run with partners Jinn and Nicole Watts
Killy Qd in Starters Jumpers (3rd)

April 30, Martinez, CA Mt. Diablo Obedience/Rally trials

Taiko earned his 2nd Novice Rally leg with a 100 to take 3rd place!

April 13-16, Dixon, CA Haute TRACS USDAA Trial

Chase & Tahoe's team, "The Royal Bounty Hunters" (with Kidd and Tania Chadwick) placed 13th out of over 60 teams for a Q!
Chase & Tahoe drew each other as Masters Pairs partners and brought home a Q!
Chase earned his 2nd Performance National Standard Championships Qualifier with a 4th place; he also Qd in 22" Steeplechase
Tahoe had a great trial; she earned her ADCH-Silver with her 25th Masters Gamblers Q on Sunday. She also Qd in the Performance National Standard Championships Qualifier, 22" Steeplechase, P3 Snooker and won/Qd in both rounds of P3 Jumpers.
Trek Qd in both rounds of Starters Snooker and ran well, despite occasionally falling for off course tunnels
Killy Qd in Starters Snooker and both rounds of Starters Gamblers
Taiko finished his PD1 title, Qing in P1 Standard (x4, with 1st, 2nd and 2 3rd place ribbons), Jumpers (1st), Snooker (2nd) and Gamblers (2nd).
Sandia Qd in Starters Pairs and had some other great, if not qualifying, runs

April 15-16, Albuquerque, NM AKC Trial

Dude had a blue and green AKC debut, as he went 2/2 and won both rounds of Nov B 20" Standard!
Reno finished his OAJ with a 1st place ribbon as well!

April 8-9, Hollister, CA PASA ASCA trial

Chase went 8/10 (Qs in Jumpers (2), Gamblers (2), Regular (2.5), all with placements including firsts; he earned 2 E's to train contacts which cost him a chance at HIT)
Trek got 2 Novice Gamblers legs, both with 3rd places, and earned his GS-N; he also finished his JS-N with a 2nd place; he earned 1st in Open Gamblers on Sunday
Killy got a Novice Gamblers leg with a 4th place

April 1-2, Dixon, CA Sheltie club AKC trial

Taiko won Ex A JWW, running 6.2 YPS; he also took 2nd in Ex A Std! (See photos by Doggone Digital)
Sandia finished her NA with 2nd & 3rd place ribbons; she also won Novice B JWW for her 2nd leg! (See photos by Doggone Digital)

April 1-2, Albuquerque, NM SWAT USDAA trial

Dude ran very well in his debut, taking home 2 Qs in Starters Standard with 3rd and 4th place ribbons!

March

March 26, Petaluma, CA AKC Obedience trial

Taiko placed 4th in both Novice B (191.5) and Novice Rally (98), earning his first legs in each

March 25-26, Sunnyvale, CA Bay Team CPE trial

Taiko got Qs in Jumpers, Snooker, Full House and Jackpot before moving on to obedience on Sunday
Tahoe won several classes and finished up her CL-3
Chase went 6/10 with placements and moved up to Level 5 in several classes
Trek went 8/10 with placements in Level 2 and is now qualified for CPE Nationals!
Killy went 5/10, winning Snooker both days and definitely turned some heads

March 18-19, Dixon, CA Valley DTC AKC agility trial

Taiko finished his OAJ and ran well in Ex A Std and JWW
Tahoe went 3/4, getting QQ # 16 and taking 2nd in Ex B 20" Std
Chase also went 3/4, getting QQ #18 and taking 3rd in Ex B 20" Std

March 4, Dixon, CA Mt Diablo Obedience Club AKC agility trial

Taiko finished his OA with a 1st place and got his 2nd OAJ leg, also with a 1st place!
Tahoe had a nice qualifying run in Standard including a *down on the table*!

March 4-5, Central Point, OR NADAC Fundraiser

Sandia earned her NJC!

February

February 24-26, Elk Grove, CA WAG CPE agility trial

Tahoe went 8/10!
Chase went 7/10 and finished his CL3

February 3-5, Elk Grove, CA WAG CPE agility trial

Tahoe went 8/10, taking 5 1st places, 1 2nd, 3rd and 4th. She is now qualified for CPE Nationals this June and has her CL3-R!
Chase went 10/10, taking 4 1st places and 5 2nds; he earned his CL3-R and CL3-S and is also qualified for CPE Nationals!

January

January 28-29, Santa Rosa, CA Bay Team USDAA agility trial

Taiko Qd and placed in P1 Snooker and Gamblers
Chase earned another Masters Pairs Q (thanks to Karey Krauter for handling!)
Dave enjoyed (and survived!) his first Masters judging assignment

January 21-22, Elk Grove, CA WAG CPE Agility trial

Taiko won Standard (level 3) and has qualified for the 2006 CPE Nationals to be held at the same site.

January 15 Elk Grove, CA Haute Dawgs/Fun Paws NADAC/ASCA trial

Taiko won both rounds of 20+" Novice Regular, and finished his RS-N/NAC

January 7-8 Santa Rosa, CA Border Terrier of the Redwoods AKC trial

Santa Rosa was good to us this weekend!

Chase earned QQ # 17 towards his MACH, taking 2nd in Ex B 20" Standard
Tahoe went 3/4 and got QQ # 15 towards her MACH, taking 3rd in Ex B 20" JWW
Trek earned his NAJ taking 2nd place in Nov B 20" JWW
Killy earned her NAJ taking 3rd in Nov B 20" JWW
Taiko went 3/4, earning 2 Open Standard legs and winning Open 20" JWW
Sandia won 20" Nov B JWW and took 4th in Nov B 20" Std