Below are interview's with the 2005 CNASA National Specialty Top winners of each event that are pictured on the cover of the CNASA Quarterly

BOB Conformation ~ Barbara J Hager with BISS ASCA AKC Ch Bayshore's Dancing In The Wind
(BH)
HIT Obedience ~ Carol Allinson with Ch Cruisin Babys Got Blue Eyes ASCA mjr ptd CDX ASCA CDX AGN AGI AGX S-OAC O-OGC S-OJC O-TNG OTC EJC ADC SGDC JS-N JS-0 TS-N GS-N
(CA)
HIT Agility ~ Carol Allinson with Ch Cruisin Babys Got Blue Eyes ASCA mjr ptd CDX ASCA CDX AGN AGI AGX S-OAC O-OGC S-OJC O-TNG OTC EJC ADC SGDC JS-N JS-0 TS-N GS-N
(CA)
HIT Herding ~ Irene Manley with Rafter MT Oso Negro HS AGI STDds RS-N JS-N GS-N O-NAC O-NJC NGC SADC
(IM)
MVA Winner ~ Irene Manley with Rafter MT Oso Negro HS AGI STDds RS-N JS-N GS-N O-NAC O-NJC NGC SADC
(IM)
Top Junior Conformation ~ Sarah Pennington with Ch Kiji's Red Ryder
(SP)
Top Junior Obedience ~ Sarah Pennington with Marks Mystique Of Tamlin (photo unavailable) 
(SP)

1) Where are you from, and what made you decide to come to the Canadian Nationals?

BH: After we heard about the first Canadian National Specialty several Aussie owners from the state of Washington started plans to attend. Several wanted to compete in the first National Specialty herding trial, as well as agility and obedience. Unfortunately, the timing was off for everyone else and I ended up driving to Alberta with a van full of dogs by myself. I live in a small town across the Puget Sound from Seattle, in Southworth, WA. The drive through beautiful British Columbia and Alberta made the 21 hours of driving go by fast. 

CA: My husband and I live on acreage just outside of Red Deer, Alberta with 4 Aussies and 1 little Papillon. As a breeder of Australian Shepherds, the National, especially the first Canadian National was a show that I definitely wanted to compete in with my guys. I like to compete in Conformation, Obedience and Agility and the National was offering all of these events plus herding. The National was going to draw entries from all over Canada and the U. S. and being the first Aussie National, I wanted to be part of it. 

IM: I live in Cranbrook BC. I decided to go to nationals because I thought it would be fun (very true!) it wasn't too far away and its not often that you get to do herding, agility and obedience on the same weekend.

SP: Courd A' Lene, ID To assist Lori and it was the last show for Mysti before I retired her.



2) Can you tell us abit about your Aussie and the win itself?

BH: Winning the first Canadian National Specialty was pretty unbelievable. After planning the trip for over a year and dreaming of coming home with either Winners Dog or Winners Bitch, made Best Of Breed from the classes a dream come true! Especially since Breeze won this award over an excellent, well presented group of Specials. Although we are not her breeder, John and I feel Breeze is a continuation of our breeding program because a Blue Isle dog is her sire. Breeze is our second offspring from Fran Haskin*s second cross of CH Blue Isle Dancin on Fayblehill x Ch Threepine's B'Gosh of Bayshore Both litters are co-bred with Cat O’Sullivan & Frank Baylis. Our group winning CH.Bayshores Dance With Me, A.K.A. “Mandy”, is from the first Calypso x Fib breeding.

CA: Zoie's father was CH. San Te Mataeo of Starcross and her mother was CH. Westpaws Simply Irresistible. Both parents have obedience and agility titles. Zoie is a blue merle with steel blue eyes and a big smile. She inherited from both her parents their brains and willingness to do anything you asked her to. She has a wonderful temperament and is probably one of the smartest dogs I have ever had the fortune of owning and training. She has a great sense of humour and you can’t help but laugh at some of her antics. Her obedience win at the National was one of the highlights of her career. I could tell by her attitude that she was right on that day. She never says “no, I don’t feel like it today”. I am the one that has to stay calm, and think about what I am doing. I thought we had a good run but there were so many awesome working dogs in the trial I really didn’t know until the last dog run that she had the top score. Zoie’s other love is agility however when I first started her we had a little trouble with a few obstacles. The first 2 trials at the Canadian Nationals were awesome. The weather was perfect, the footing was perfect and the courses were perfect. Zoie placed 1st in both trials. She was right on and listened perfectly. The next day was a little tougher. It was raining, wet, muddy, cold and slippery. This was not our best run as we had a little trouble on the table. Zoie was not happy about lying down on that wet table and had a few other problems with the tunnel under the bridge. I think it was me that had the trouble. Anyway we did not Q on that run. The last trial was cancelled due to the weather as the ground was just too slippery for the dogs

IM: Osa at 3 is my youngest aussie. This was her first time in obedience and versatility and I'd have to say she enjoyed herself in all the events. I was honored to win top herding dog and MVA as there were many very talented stockdogs and versatility teams competing. 

SP: It was very exciting and I loved my prizes I won!. Mysti is 12 years old is super willing great Jr.'s dog that will show for anyone. She is completely pattern trained and will work for anyone.


3) Any funny or memorable moment that you could share with us? 

BH: One memorable moment happened when Apollo (Ch.Bayshore Sittin On A Goldmine) ate a HUGE rabbit fur toy that Debbie placed on the grooming table intended for Mandy. I was afraid to tell his owner what happened until we knew everything would “come out” okay. Ha! After telling Fran what happened, she told me Apollo likes to hunt and eat rabbits in the fields on their Maryland farm.

CA: My most memorable moment would have to be Zoie's win in obedience under Virginia Cummings. Being an Aussie breeder and a competitor herself, it was quite an honour to have Virginia honour us with her kind words and winning ribbon. Thank you Virginia.

IM: While waiting around the obedience ring Osa met up with Madison Wheeler a young junior handler from Ontario and they really hit it off. I would not normally let Osa compete with another handler especially in her first obedience trial, but she and Maddie had this great connection. So Osa went in Junior Handling obedience with Maddie and they did great! It was really neat to get to watch her in the juniors ring... Thanks Maddie!
Another memorable moment was swimming the ducks through the very large puddle that formed in the duck arena. Osa is a water fanatic and managed to bite the water a few times as she ran through... then was quite serious for the rest of her duck run!

SP: It was extremely cold and I saw the biggest goats I have ever seen in my life on the drive there walking on the road. And I got to hang out with Barb Hager all weekend. 

4) What did you do to help prepare for Nationals competition? Is there any advice you could share with our readers especially if you competed in two or more venues. 

BH: Usually my dogs keep themselves in good condition but when I’m going on a long trip I like to get them in top condition. If it’s necessary, they will swim and get time on the treadmill. My advise to conformation exhibitors is to always remember Aussies are a working dog and should represent our breed’s ability to work all day and be able to cover lots of ground. To show the judges an intelligent, typey, physically fit dog with a moderate coat and build.

CA: First I made sure she was in good shape. I felt she was a little heavy so I did cut her back on her food a bit and incorporated more exercise. I wanted her to be in top running shape. We practiced obedience every second night. The alternate day, we practiced agility, especially contacts and areas that I thought we needed to improve on. Before the Nationals I tried to enter as many agility trials as I could to keep her in shape physically and mentally. My advice to anyone who plans to compete in 2 or 3 venues is to make sure your dog is in top shape and honestly spend the hours each day working with your dog. Practicing obedience or agility once a week is not enough. You need to spend the time with them every day and have fun in your training. Zoie loves doing obedience just as much as agility but when I train I don*t go on for hours. We try to fix one thing and when we do, we quit for the day. And then we play.

IM: Aussies seem to really thrive on versatility and in my experience the dogs have no problem switching between multiple venues on the same day. Its alot harder for the handler to get their brain in gear and remember the herding and agility courses. I always train with different leads and equipment in each venue so my dogs know when I get the slip lead and stock stick we are doing herding, tug lead and toy means agility and buckle collar and training bag is obedience. Good excuse to buy more dog stuff too! With Osa training in multiple venues I was more patient and really took my time before starting to enter her in competitions. I didn't compete in agility until she was 2+ years and didn't start competing in herding until after her 3rd birthday. I think for herding especially the dogs need to mature and develop self control and they also need alot of exposure and experience to be able to handle the range of stock types they may encounter at a trial. 

SP:I had to make sure I had all of my equipment ready and all of my bait was made and make sure I had all of my show clothes ready. I work all year with Mysti in 4-H so she was ready to go. 

5) With any Nationals, there are always things committees can do to improve upon. Are there any suggestions you have to help make it even better? 
BH: From the moment I walked into the show building I felt welcomed by the club members. I was exhausted from driving but with their help I found my grooming space and help unloading my van. I was amazed watching this group organize show rings, raffle tables, souvenirs and then the unpacking those fabulous awards!! The support from sponsorships for of all events was amazing - Wire crates, x-pens, grooming boxes, training equipment, leather coats, hats, braided leashes - too much to list here. The raffle was so much fun. I was thrilled to win a herding video and a beautiful Aussie throw. BUT there was a lady who must have spent a fortune on tickets because she went home with half of the raffle. Ha! The show committee will come up with ways to improve the next National Specialty but can’t make a suggestion. In spite of the rain and freezing cold weather, I had a great week with my dear friend Debbie Markowski, who along with her committees and club members made this a memorable first National Specialty. 
Barbara Hager

CA: I know that the National was huge undertaking with the many events. My only suggestion would be that everything be held inside. I know that is almost impossible to find a venue that could hold everything including the agility and herding but if it could be held indoors then we would not be at the mercy of the weather. Another suggestion would be for the banquet. I would like to see the winners of all the events over the week acknowledged. Thank you for inviting me to talk about my Zoie. We had a great time at the National and I hope to compete again at the next one. Thanks for putting on such a great show! 
Carol Allinson

IM: The whole event was really very well run and a huge amount of fun. The prizes and ribbons and raffle table were unreal! Everyone involved did a fantastic job. I hope that there is another nationals in the works! 
Irene Manley

SP: It could have been a little more organized and I would have liked there to be more announcements about the processes and events. 
Sarah Pennington 
Thank you Ladies for participating in our interview!