Hello WASH Members! I have been a member of WASH for a long time, but this
is my first opportunity to be on the board. I worked full time and commuted
to Seattle for 40 years working for King County. I am grateful to be able to
retire from a job I loved and now have more time for fun and a lot less
stress. I first dabbled in sheep herding almost 20 years ago with my
Australian shepherds. They participated mostly to make me happy. They were
relieved when I got my first border collie, Shep, 16 years ago. I now have
two BCs named Cooper and Nan and we also have our own small flock of sheep
and a guard llama named Bob. I mostly trial in Washington, Idaho, Oregon,
and Northern California. I have had the good fortune to train with several
amazing people and look forward to having more time to train and trail.
Cooper and Nan are on board. When not sheep herding, we enjoy hiking,
traveling, cooking, gardening, and biking. This photo was taken while hiking
near Joshua Tree National Park last winter. I live on Vashon Island with my
wonderful husband Larry James. I know many WASH members and look forward to
meeting more of you. 

I started herding with my GSD, Cody doing boundary work in 2010 and has since snowballed into border collies and open-field trials. I now own 4 Border Collies and a small hobby sheep farm in Molalla, OR. We have raised Clun Forest sheep and chicken for the last 3 years. When I am not herding and taking care of the farm, I work full-time providing massage to canines and their owners out of my home. I have had the opportunity to travel with AKC for their FCI agility world championships in 2018 and 2019.

I retired from my job as an Ob/Gyn and moved to Seattle in 2019. I bought a Border Collie because I'd always wanted one and now I had the time to keep one busy. I did agility with Stevie, then I got Mac to keep Stevie company. I took them both to Maggi McClure for instinct testing once I realized that sheep herding was something I could actually do.  She was excited about Mac and she started him for me in Spring of 2022. She encouraged me to take him to Fido's, where I started taking lessons from Ron Fischer and got addicted. In March of 2023, I went to North Umberland to get Jan because Mac was proving to be too challenging for me. In August of that year I traded my Seattle life for a sheep farm and I haven't looked back. I added one more dog, Nip, that December, because why not?

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.