Sometimes those words can be exciting.  Other time they can be informative or even funny.  But on this particular morning, that batch of email included a message from Denise Teal.  It seems that Denise had an idea – she thought it might be fun for me to co-chair the BCSA 2005 National Specialty with her.  Yes, Denise has quite a sense of humor!  And so she sucked me in once again.  I had already served as Show Chair for two prior National Specialties so I can’t say I didn’t know what I was getting into that day.

Working with Denise was a joy, and as it turned out a much needed blessing.  Putting together a National Specialty involves having friends – co workers you can trust to do the job, giving help when they need it, and then staying out of their way.  From that first day when my email arrived through the final moments of the specialty I could always count on Denise – I could count on her, and I could lean on her.  She never once dropped the ball.  If there was anything that went right this year it was because of Denise Teal and a host of other BCSA members just like her.

There’s a lot of upfront work to a National Specialty.  Getting together a great staff is the first and most important step.  Line up your individual venue chairs and then fill in from there.  Our 2005 venue chairs were Nancie Mages (Conformation), Juli Cepulis (Obedience), Laura Wright (Agility), Joyce Norris & Margie Clutter (Herding).  Each of these members stepped up to the challenge and did an outstanding job.  Then scheduling needs to be done, judges to be contracted, and AKC paperwork needs to be filed.  An Emergency Plan must be in place in case of injury to humans or canines.  Laura Tomaszewski took care of all our emergency related needs.  There’s also a host of services that need to be filled – securing the services of a secretary for the various venues, setting up food service and catering, booking a host hotel, and contracting a good photographer all need to be addressed well in advance.  All contract related decisions need BCSA Board approval, and a watchful eye is needed to keep financial goals in mind.

Once all the decisions have been made and the committee is in place then it’s time to work on the Premium Lists and General Information booklet.  The “GI” book is like a roadmap to the specialty.  Any information an exhibitor needs to know can easily be found in that useful booklet.  Special thanks this year go to Denise Teal, Claudia Frank, and Nancie Mages for their tireless work on these important documents.  Special thanks also go to Ann Shaw for her dedication to keeping our membership informed via the BCSA website.  Through Ann’s efforts, information about our specialty was always a simple cyber-click away!

Time flies when you’re working together on a specialty.  Before we knew it, July was upon us and the entries started to flow in.  Our thoughts turned to all the little details that make a National Specialty special – things like rosettes and trophies.  What a special gift our club got when Terri Clingerman decided to get a Border Collie!  Terri was our trophy chair for 2005, her lovely awards stood out among the most creative, and memorable we’ve had.  Terri’s aunt spent countless hours hand painting the beautiful boxes, trays, and ornaments.  I had the honor of winning a number of these special awards and I will always cherish them.

Wayne and I arrived at the host hotel late Sunday afternoon before the start of the specialty.  Denise Teal and Nancie Mages soon joined us.  We checked in and headed for the hospitality room to sort through the various boxes of rosettes, t-shirts, and store items for sale.  We settled in early for a good night’s sleep, and awoke to the finest weather we could ask for.

Way to me…
Dawn was just starting to break over the herding fields at Purina Farms.  Denise Teal, Margie Clutter, and Joyce Norris were already hard at work making sure that all the final details were in place.  The setup crews had the courses prepared and the stock handlers were ready to go.  We looked forward to three full days of herding trials with both A & B course sheep, two days of duck trials, HT & PT tests followed by the BCSA Herding Challenge on Thursday.

You could easily feel the excitement grow as the judges started their final briefing.  Everywhere you looked there were fine dogs eager to do what they were bred to do.  Yet herding is a sport where true perfection is so elusive.  As expected, the herding trials proved to be quite exciting.  There were some lovely runs where everything seemed to just fall into place.  And there were challenging runs where little went right.  It was a thrilling week of herding that highlighted how far we have progressed in this game, while also reminding us of how very far we have to go.

This year the popular ducks were back!  I’m very drawn to this frustrating game of finesse and inches.  Of course, there was lively debate among some exhibitors who felt the ducks were rather uncooperative vs. those who felt they did what ducks do!

Herding Results:
Monday, October 10, 2005 Course A – Sheep
High In Trial:  HC Roy XI handled by J. Campbell scoring 97 out of the Advanced class.
Reserve High In Trial:  HC Pat III handled by Robin Penland scoring 96 in Advanced.
Monday, October 10, 2005 Course B – Sheep
High In Trial:  Xp Ice owned by N & K Herbel with a 94 out of the Started class.
Reserve High In Trial:  HC Pat III handled by Robin Penland with a 90 in Advanced.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 Course A – Sheep
High In Trial:  HC Pat III handled by Robin Penland with a 98.5 out of Advanced.
Reserve High In Trial:  HC Sheepycorner Queen Of Hearts AX, AXJ owned by C & S Hoffman with a 98.5 out of Advanced.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 Course B – Sheep
High In Trial:  On The Lamb Lass HSAs, HSBs owned by Robin Penland with a 97 in Intermediate.
Reserve High In Trial:  DC Sheepycorner Bet On Two OA, AXJ owned by S Joura-Hoffman with a 92 out of Advanced.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 Course A – Ducks
High In Trial:  HC Wildfire’s Maccallum More CD, TD handled by J. Campbell with a 94.5 out of Advanced.
Reserve High In Trial:  HC Justdandy Sprint owned by Claudia Frank with an 81.5 out of Advanced.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 Course B – Sheep
High In Trial:  On The Lamb Lass HSAs, HSBs owned by Robin Penland with a 97 out of Intermediate.
Reserve High In Trial:  HC Sheepycorner Queen Of Hearts AX, AXJ owned by C & S Hoffman with a 97 out of Advanced.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 Course A – Ducks
High In Trial:  HC Justdandy JayDee owned by Claudia Frank with a 97.5 out of Advanced.
Reserve High In Trial:  HC Justdandy Sprint owned by Claudia Frank with an 85 out of Advanced.
BCSA Herding Challenge Results:
Advanced Champion:  Anne O’Toole and Roy with a 107.
Intermediate Champion:  Robin Penland and Lass with a 109 ½.
Started Champion:  Robin Penland and Bitz with a 103 ½.

Looking Good/On the fly…
On Wednesday evening, the fun moved to the host hotel grounds.  Both the Performance Titled Conformation Match and the 60 Weave Pole Challenge were about to begin.  At the Performance Match the entries were healthy giving judge Lisa Pruka a wide variety of dogs to assess.  Rosettes were awarded to all class winners and placers, and were given for Best In Performance Titled Match and Best of Opposite Sex.

At the same time exhibitors were treated to the BCSA’s first 60 Weave Pole Challenge.  Taking home the winning medallion was Pam Fish and Flash with a blazing time of 12.50 seconds.

The annual General Membership meeting took place in the Hospitality room following the evening’s fun events.  Members were treated to a free pizza party and given updates on our club’s activities.

Speed thrills…
Could it be too much to hope that our fine St. Louis weather would hold?  Nope, not this year!  As we arrived at the Agility field, the fog had yet to lift from the Graveyard but a beautiful day was just beginning.  In this blanket of milky white appeared a friendly face that I’ve come to count on over the years – here was Laura Tomaszewski already hard at work.  Laura quickly informed me that that our weave poles wouldn’t stay standing.  OK, so I made a quick call to one of the groundskeepers at Purina and discovered that I had gotten him out of bed on his day off.  No problem though as he cheerfully knew who to call.

Just then, a voice that was way too perky for such an early hour of the morning filtered through the fog.  Ahh Lavonda Herring, our agility judge, had just arrived.  This was the first time I’ve met Lavonda and I’m going to tell you it’s an experience I’ll long remember.  Lavonda was as upbeat in the wee morning hours as she was after working a long day of judging.  We went to dinner one evening with Lavonda and laughed through the entire meal.  What a delightful lady!

Agility is a great sport.  Its fast, athletic demands provide the perfect activity for many high drive Border Collies.  Exhibitors and spectators alike were treated to two beautiful days of competition, fellowship, and fun!

Invitational time…
Friday morning was a very busy, exciting time for me.  I admit that I’m an obedience junkie so my competition was about to begin.  I always look forward to the BCSA Obedience Invitational.  The “Invitational” is a fun tournament created by the BCSA for our members who compete in AKC Obedience trials.  We run four divisions based on the title level of the competing dogs.  Divisions are Novice, Open, Utility, and Combined (for the UDX/OTCH dogs).  Handlers earn an invite to compete based on their AKC scores.  This year our judge was Mike Piefer from Wisconsin.

It’s always fun to see old friends and to meet new ones.  I was taken by several new entries in our Novice Division this year.  Terri Clingerman and her young dog Way To Me Rhys CD, HXAs, HIBs were still hot after finishing some new titles on Purina’s herding field so it was no surprise to me when they won the Novice Division Championship.  Also scoring well were Gayle Echevarria and her bitch Nimrods Zazu Is Hakuna Maatata CD, and Claudia Sonnenberg with Norwoods Capatare Juemantanna CD, OA, OAJ.

Winning the Open Division was Dick Battig and Cap’n Maccrunch CDX.  Dick won the overall Invitational Championship and BCSA Dog Of The Year honors in 2003 with his amazing OTCH Wildfire’s Roadrunner UDX.  Dick & “Beep” were the demo team for our final Crufts style runoff.  It was great to see Beep light up the ring one more time!  The Utility Division Championship went to Wayne Koutsky and his cute little blue merle bitch Winterwood’s Arctic Blast UD.

The Combined Division requires teams to perform all of the Open & Utility class exercises.  This division is always the most competitive.  This year’s competition was won by my CH OTCH Wildfire’s Ticket To Ride UDX.  “Ticket” then went on to win the Crufts style final giving him the Invitational Championship and “BCSA Obedience Trial Dog of the Year” honors.

Puppies, puppies, and more puppies…
On the other side of the tent conformation exhibitors were busy showcasing their future stars.  These delightful young dogs were on display to judge Robin Penland.  If that name sounds familiar, it should.  Robin had quite a successful Specialty with her dogs in our Herding trials.  The Best In Sweeps rosette was presented to an entry in the 12 to 18 months dog class, Bonnidune Bombs Away bred by Kelly Whiteman and owned by Trisha Eifert.  Best of Opposite Sex in Puppy Sweeps was Sc Touch N Go, a 12 to 18 month bitch bred and owned by Susane Hoffman.

The big day…
Saturday was National Specialty day for Conformation and Obedience.  The main show grounds at Purina were buzzing with activity.  You could just feel the excitement in the air as hopeful owners and dogs prepared for the big day.

All week the lovely weather held, and this beautiful sunny day was the perfect backdrop for an exciting show.  Judging this prestigious event was Mrs. Lenora Riddle.  Mrs. Riddle thoroughly enjoyed herself during this assignment – taking personal photos of the entries, attending the BC Social, and even staying over the next day to view conformation and watch a little obedience.  All weekend long, one could find Mrs. Riddle busy with her camera.

Mrs. Riddle started her day by judging Junior Showmanship.  Best Junior Handler was awarded to Catlin Kane for her presentation of CH Sun Mtn’s Celtic Mist.

There were 184 Border Collies entered in conformation that day.  This entry included 59 Best Of Breed competitors.  I must admit that is was exciting to see all these dogs lined up in the ring at once.  The conformation crowd agreed as they applauded the display of entries under Mrs. Riddle’s direction.  Then the task of judging began.  Winners Dog went to Shoreland Like A Rock, owned and bred by Sue Mayborne.  Reserve Winners Dog was awarded to Tartan Bay Let It Ride owned and bred by Carolyn & Joseph Biondi.  Avatar Hamilton’s Dreamcatcher bred by Claire Hamilton and Caroline Woods, J Frank Baylis and K. Alseth was given the nod for Winners Bitch, while Hallowshot Shenvalley Magpie owned and bred by Canadian Maxine Netherway was awarded Reserve Winners Bitch.

The non-regular Herding Class Dog went to Ronnie DeLay and CH Majestic Hot Topic HSAs, HSBs, HXAs.  Herding class bitch winner was CH Blucrest Eternal Flame HSAs, HSBs, HIAs, HIBs owned by Ruth Deming.

The Best Of Breed competition drew dogs and bitches of all types, and I was pleased to see such a diverse group of entries.  Mrs. Riddle presented seven Awards Of Merit to CH Bayshore’s Believe In Magic, CH Brackenhill Toucho Magik, CH Trumagik Make Myday, CH Borderfame Mystique, CH Avatars Martini At Bayshore, CH Wildfire Sweet Revenge, and CH Borderfame Mystic Dream.  The coveted Best Of Breed award was given to CH Borderfame Spellbound bred by Helena Fitzgerald and owned by Caroline Woods & J Frank Baylis.  Best Of Opposite Sex went to CH Kensington’s Royal Derby bred and owned by Lisa Waldo.

What if?
Everybody’s got their favorite venue, that doggie sport that gets your juices going.  With the BCSA National Specialty Obedience Trial underway, it’s no surprise where my attention was that day.  From the highflying finishes of Judy Wilson and her OTCH Widget to the intense retrieves by Juli Cepulis and Jet, the day was filled with excitement.

As an exhibitor, you always think “what if?”  What if I go High In Trial at the National Specialty?  What an honor that would be!  The competition at the Obedience Trials is always tough with great dogs and great handlers.  Everyone working hard to be the best they can be.  Even though these trials are held outdoors on grass, the level of speed and accuracy are a delight to see.

When the day was almost done two teams were tied for High In Trial with a score of 198.5 in regular competition.  Judge Dianne Allen prepared her ring for the final run-off.  She had planned a heelwork pattern that was both smooth and challenging.  Coming out of the highly competitive Novice class was Gayle Echevarria and Nimrods Zazu Is Hakuna Matata CD.  Zazu was a beautiful heeling bitch, and Galy was a fun competitor who I enjoyed meeting.  Tied with Gayle & Zazu was my dog CH OTCH Wildfire’s Ticket To Ride UDX out of the Open B class.  So I held my breath one final time and wondered what if?

Dianne ran us through.  Then she turned her attention to the ties she needed to break for the various special awards.  High Scoring Champion with a Herding Title went to CH Wirlwynd Pushin The Limit UDX, HSAs, AX, NAJ handled by Lynn Klingel.  High Scoring Tracking Title went to Easy To Detect UDX, TD handled by Carol Hall Wood.  High Scoring Herding Title was given to Way To Me Rhys CD, HXAs, HIBs owned by Terri Clingerman.  High Scoring Agility Title was Caravell Happy Tales CDX, AX, AXJ owned by Bob Hansen.  High Scoring Champion Of Record went to my CH OTCH Wildfire’s Ticket To Ride UDX.  Dianne then awarded High Combined to Judy Wilson and OTCH Wirlwynd Flying Wedge UDX8, HSAds, HSBs, HIAs.

Finally, the moment had come and there was no more stalling.  Judge Dianne Allen called number 611 back into the ring.  She awarded the beautiful blue & gold High In Trial rosette to CH OTCH Wildfire’s Ticket To Ride UDX – and I no longer wondered what if?

Party time…
Back at the host hotel, it was time for the BC Social and Parade of Champions.  Lovely black & while rosettes marked the event as the various venue Champions went on parade.  Twenty dogs were honored that evening for their accomplishments in Conformation, Herding, Agility, and Obedience.  Mrs. Riddle was on hand for the celebration.  She congratulated the conformation handlers on the quality of their dogs, and on the way, they were presented with a loose lead.

Ahh Sunday…
All we needed was one more day of beautiful weather and Mother Nature was ready to cooperate.  Under bright blue skies, the dew glistened on the morning grass.  Once again, the stage was set for our final day of competition.

Junior Showmanship was judged by Ms. Gayle Garvin with the win going to Marina Burciaga and Borderfame That’s My Dream.  What a fitting name.  Then the breed competition began under the guidance of Judge Linda Robey.  Winners Dog went to Shoreland The Castle Savoy owned by Dionne Butt & Dan Black, and bred by Sue Mayborne.  Reserve Winners Dog was a repeat of the prior day’s events with the win going to Tartan Bay Let It Ride bred and owned by Carolyn & Joseph Biondi.  Ms. Robey found her Winners Bitch when she examined Borderfame Ricca Donna bred by Helena Fitzgerald and owned by Eileen Madrigale.  Reverve Winners Bitch went to Avatar’s Calypso of Bayshore bred by Claire Hamilton, Margaret Diggs, J Frank Baylis & Caroline Woods, and owned by Woods & Baylis.

The four Award Of Merit rosettes were presented to CH Bayshore’s Believe In Magic, CH Avatar’s Crusader Of Bayshore, CH Avatars Martini At Bayshore, and CH Kensington’s Royal Derby.

Ms. Robey couldn’t deny CH Brackenhill Flew By Ewe CD, HT, NA, NAJ from taking home the top honors on Sunday with her Best Of Breed win.  The Best Of Opposite Sex rosette went to CH Borderfame Spellbound bred by Helena Fitzgerald and owned by Caroline Wood & J Frank Baylis.

Over in Obedience the classes were once again hotly contested.  Earning High In Trial on Sunday was the wonderful Novice B bitch Nimrods Zazu Is Hakuna Matata CD handled by Gayle Echivarria.  Carl Becker went back home to Wisconsin with the High Combined honors for his performance with his rescue dog OTCH Bingo IV UDX3.

The memorial awards…
Anyone who stopped by the trophy table couldn’t help but notice the beautiful embroidered duffle bags offered as a memorial to Obedience Trial Judge Barbara Handler.  The bags were presented to the team with the highest combined score in each class for the two trials.  The Novice A award went to Rip CD, TD handled by Mary-Lou Flowers.  In the Novice B class the high scoring team was Gayle Echivarria and Nimrods Zazu Is Hakuna Matata CD.  Winning the Open A competition was Nicole Jesky DVM and her Border Collie Zodiac CD, AX, AXJ.  Taking home the Open B class honors was my CH OTCH Wildfire’s Ticket To Ride UDX.  In Utility A the Overall class champion was Starfire’s Ready For Takeoff UD with Juli Cepulis.  Jet’s an exciting young dog and I look forward to watching this team continue their success in the future.  And winning Utility B award was Judy Wilson and her high flying OTCH Wirlwynd Flying Wedge UDX8, HSAds, HSBs, HIAs.  I’m sure all the winners join me in thanking Barbara Handler’s friends for sponsoring these special memorial awards.

The Janet Larson award…
All during the week there was one dog and handler slowing reaching their goal.  Laura Kincaid and CH Oelamp's Jackpot UDX2 HSAs HSBs HIAs HIBs HXAs MX MXJ were busy earning points towards the Janet Larson award for most versatile Border Collie.  To win this award the team must prove themselves in several venues.  Herding’s a must!  Beyond that points can be earned in conformation, agility, and obedience.  With their final qualifying score in obedience Laura’s Jack became the 2005 National Specialty’s Most Versatile Border Collie.

In the end…
As I folded up my chair there was a hint of sadness – sadness at the end of another exciting Border Collie National.  I was pretty exhausted and quite ready to drive home.  I took one final look around and realized that we pulled it off one more time.  All the dedicated work by countless volunteers, and all the dreams of hard working exhibitors had combined to produce another week of memories.  And what a week it was!  If you haven’t experienced a BCSA National then you’re really missing something.  I hope you’ll come join us next year!