I began my dog journey in 2003 with a German Shepherd and a Belgian Malinois.  My first Bosrder Collie led me to the nationals in 2010, where I was Rookie of the Year and 2014, I was in the double lift at both the National Finals and Kingston.  I moved to Ireland at the end of 2014, where I competed, bred and sold dogs worldwide.  After returning to the U.S. in 2019, I've focused on teaching others, trialing my own dogs and the occasional judging job.  I've run in  trials like Meeker, Soldier Hollow, Bluegrass, Kingston, Zamora, the U.S. National Finals, the Canadian Finals and many more across the U.S., Ireland and Canada.  My career has evolved into helping others as an instructor and introducing new people to the sport.  For me, the greatest joys are the sense of teamwork, intellectual connection, and the sheer beauty of watching a well-bred working dog in action.

I grew up deep in the horse world, competing in A-rated shows, eventing, and later playing polo.  Horses ave been part of my life and my career for as long as I can remember.  Then in 2019 I accidentally stumbled into the sheepdog world, and I was hooked.  The patience, timing, and feel I developed with horses translated surprisingly well to working with sheepdogs, but there's also something truly magical about the partnership between the handler and dog that just doesn't compare.  I fell hard for it. 

These days I'm lucky enough to share my life with four incredible Border Collies:  Sprite, Drift, Gael and Lil Kim.  They really are my whole world.  I still work with horses but nothing quite touches the bond I have with the dogs.  

Over the past several years I've thrown myself into the sport from every angle:  Trialing, training, judging, mentoring new handlers, volunteering, joining the USBCHA finals committee, and doing whatever I can to support our community.  What I care about most is good stockmanship, real sportsmanship, and making sure everyone, newcomers and seasoned handlers alike, feels genuinely welcome supported, and inspired to keep growing.

As Vice President of WASH, I hope to help foster creativity, strong organization, consistency, and a whole lot of heart in our community.  I'm looking forward to meeting more of you , hearing your ideas, and working together to keep our sport healthy, fun and full of life for many years to come.

I grew up raising a flock of sheep, getting my own first ewe from my mother’s flock at 5 years old. My mom acquired our first Border Collie just a few years later. She trialed on the East Coast, and I was thoroughly introduced to USBCHA herding and working Border Collies. I, personally, started trialing in 2016, while we were in Nevada. I have had my own Border Collies since 2000 and trained and used them on my flock of Romney and Romney cross sheep. We moved from Maine to Washington in 2022 and I joined WASH that spring. Now I am trying to teach and encourage both of my daughters. I am hoping that they also fall in love with this sport. We have 3 Border Collies that we are trialing between the 3 of us (1 is soon to retire), along with 1 retired dog and 1 puppy coming up.

I’ve been involved with herding for about 10 years. About 15 years ago I took a trip to Ireland and went on a tour at a working sheep farm-that was my first experience watching border collies in their element. I was fascinated! Never in my wildest dream did I think that was something that I would have the opportunity to do and feel so fortunate to be able to have herding part of my life.  I used to do agility with both a Sheltie and a border collie, but once I discovered herding, that quickly became my focus (and agility turned into just a pastime). My fascination with border collies is what drew me in, and I love how herding challenges both me and my dogs every time we step out. I’m just starting to dip my toes into competition and am excited for the journey ahead. Off the field, I’ve spent years keeping the books for different nonprofit groups, so taking on the treasurer role for WASH was right up my alley.

I got into herding with Belgian Sheepdogs and Shelties, but I always knew I’d get a BC eventually! And of course, once I got Kim, I had to get Mo a few years later, so now I’m officially committed to this difficult yet exhilarating sport.

After years of competing in obedience trials with my dogs, herding feels completely different. Training an obedience dog is all about making the work fun and motivating. Not so much with our working BCs, who are just waiting for permission to work their hearts out. (Okay, maybe they don’t always wait for permission!)

We are so lucky that these wonderful dogs welcome us into their world and willingly share their passion with us — and I can usually remember that even when trudging through a sheep field under the broiling sun or slogging through the mud in the freezing rain.

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Hello, I’m very happy to be part of the WASH board and hope that I can help out. I appreciate everything WASH does to support the herding community; I have taken advantage of many of the workshops and have found them to be very helpful. I’m retired from a career in finance and administration and am working really hard to figure this incredibly difficult sport. We currently have three border collies, Maggie who is 14, Flavia and Roo. I started out doing agility with Maggie when she was about a year old but about 4-5 years ago switched to herding after I got Flavia. It’s been a wonderful journey, I’ve met amazing people and feel very welcomed by the community.

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My first introduction to sheepdog trials came during a trip with a girlfriend to the 2006 National Sheepdog Finals in Klamath Falls. I was completely mesmerized—watching the dogs and their handlers working together with such precision across those incredible distances. The teamwork was unforgettable!

Like many sheepdoggers, I spent much of my earlier life competing with horses. I grew up surrounded by animals: dairy cattle (thanks to my grandfather), Thoroughbred horses (my sister was the first licensed female jockey in New Jersey!), and dogs—my mom’s Border Collie “Ginger” and my own childhood BC cross, “Butch.” Aside from dabbling in agility with a rescue Lab named Jake, I hadn’t competed in years, and never seriously with dogs.

That changed in early 2008, when I took the leap and got my first Border Collie, Moses. When he was about six months old, I discovered Fido’s Farm in Olympia. As luck would have it, Scott Glen was there doing instinct testing. He gave Moses a session—and I was instantly hooked. Jeff Marroni encouraged me to join WASH, and that opened the door to a whole new world.

Clubs like WASH are essential to keeping this sport thriving. Being able to give back—through membership, serving on the board, mentoring, or simply volunteering—has been my way of supporting the community that welcomed me so warmly all those years ago.

It’s truly an honor to serve on the board and to cheer on our members and their dogs as they grow, have fun, and reach for their goals.