As with so many other things this year, the 2020 AKC Rally National Championship which was to be held in June this year had to be postponed until December. Although they will not be competing this month, we should congratulate those Beaucerons and their dedicated, hard-working handlers who were invited to compete:
Grizzbee de la Pilgrimage CD, RN, SWN, CGC (Sue and Douglas Lewis)
The Beauceron Herding Clinic is still scheduled for August 8 and 9, 2020 at Bitterbrush Kennel and Livestock in Nevada. Details can be found here as well as registration and payment through the website. Ms. Edwards is offering dry RV/trailer camping on site. People who are wanting to meet their breed, and their awesome owners, are welcome to attend for free to observe and visit. The cost is per dog, and Ms. Edwards recommends dogs be at least a year old, but the clinic is suited for all levels of training. If you have any question contact Event Chair Syndi Keats (Sanda Kat on Facebook) through message on Facebook or tag her in a post in one of the Beauceron groups.
A little over a year ago I stood with Oath at the Michigan Winter Classic 2019 in Novi, Michigan. Oath was five days too young to stand in the ring, not that we were ready for that as a team at that point anyway. We stood back and watched the Beaucerons compete. We met up with Eric and Ragar, and spent the weekend watching a lot of great dogs compete and letting the boys take in the show, flyball competition, and talking a lot about our puppies and the breed. Meeting up with other Beauceron owners Sunday afternoon rounded out the weekend and made it a memory.
Oath and Ragar at Novi in 2019 and 2020.
A year later Oath and I along with Eric and Ragar were back at Novi, this time walking into the ring alongside Jasmine and Lily. Our Novi memory for 2020 is extra special as Oath finished his AKC Championship showing alongside these very same friends. Every judge we had the pleasure of showing under that weekend was phenomenal. An immense thanks to Mrs. Linda Clark, Mrs. Judith A. Brown, Ms. Gloria Kerr, and Mr. Houston Clark for your time and for excellent experiences in the Breed ring. (Linda Clark is especially nice to show puppies or inexperienced dogs to!) Each day we also cheered on Jasmine and Lily in the group ring. All four days both Owner Handler and the Standard Groups were very competitive and had great numbers, it was exciting and a bit of a nail biter, but there were so many amazing dogs in attendance and they were a joy to watch.
Oath with his loot for the weekend, taking Winner’s Dog and Best of Opposite on both days and completing his AKC Championship.
Novi is one of my favorite shows in the region, there’s usually a full spread of dog sports, demonstrations, and well-priced health testing clinics. It’s usually a very busy show, despite being in the dead of Michigan winter. This year they offered dock diving, barn hunt, Canine Good Citizen testing, grooming competitions, My Dog can Do That!, Meet the Breed, and duck herding demonstrations. The Michigan Winter Classic is a great show and trial and there are ample opportunities for meet-ups with the dogs and chances for owners to get together. We hope to grow our show trio in 2021 and see more of our fellow Beaucerons in Novi!
(left to right) Oath, Lily, and Ragar at the 2020 Michigan Winter Classic.Meet the Beaucerons, Lily, Ragar, and Oath hanging out at the informal Meet the Breeds.
