2006 Year in Review at Basquelaine

Maxwell and Rusty Pearson of Texas earned not just one but TWO agility championships in 2006, the NADAC NATCH and the AKC MACH to go with his USDAA ADCH earned in late 2005.  That made him a triple agility champion at 4 years of age! The icing on the cake was when Rusty and Maxwell were invited to the AKC Eukanuba Invitational Agility trial held in December 2006 in Long Beach, California.  Rusty and Maxwell did us proud finishing the four preliminary rounds in 1st place in the 24" class with 1st, 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd placements, and this was running conservatively to ensure getting into the finals.  By finishing 1st of 102 dogs in 24" after the prelims Maxwell & Rusty went into the final seeded 1st of the 12 dogs running which meant they got to run last.  Rusty had a strategic decision to make -- hold back a little on Maxwell's speed and go for 100% accuracy and precision, probably finishing 2nd behind the lightening fast Border Collie "Diesel" from the UK, or run Maxwell full tilt boogie and go for the blue ribbon.  Rusty could never pass up an opportunity to show a cheering crowd what Maxwell is made of so you can guess which strategy he decided to go with.<g>  It was a beautiful blisteringly fast run, and if not for a missed down contact on the dogwalk (a close call) they would have won the 24" final.  Because they faulted Diesel won, but they beat his time by almost a second!  A video of Maxwell/Rusty's run superimposed over multi FCI World Team Diesel's run can be seen on the AKC website. Just click on Diesel and Maxwell.  Keep in mind these are two individual runs superimposed for comparison purposes: http://www.akc.org/events/agility/invitational/2006/videos.cfm

Animal Planet will be televising the AKC Eukanuba Invitational Agility Trial in February.  We fully expect to see Maxwell and Rusty on TV!

Next in Wichita Falls Texas, their next akc trial after the Invitational, Maxwell/Rusty picked up 2 more Double Q's with two 1st and two 2nd placements and over 100 MACH speed points to go with the 2000+ they already  have so they're well on their way to a MACH2. One of Rusty's goals with Maxwell for 2007 includes World Team tryouts in May in Minnesota.  It's very difficult for a non Border Collie to make the World Team, but we think Maxwell and Rusty have an excellent chance!  Maxwell is also qualified for the AKC Nationals to be held in Columbus, Ohio, late March/early April 2007. Maxwell is currently the #2 Ranked Tervuren in AKC standings in limited trialing and #1 Ranked Tervuren in USDAA Tournement Top Ten Standings. Maxwell is more formally known as MACH ADCH NATCH U-AGII BasqueLaine-Montage Secret Agent TM-Platinum JCH-Bronze SCH-Bronze RCH-Bronze SACH GCH O-TN-E WV-E TG-E SJ SS WETT HIC CGC TDI.  He's from our Spies'n Heroes litter co-bred with Montage.
 

Merlin and Marti Wiseman of Pennsylvania also had an awesome agility year in 2006.  Merlin needs just one more Double Q to finish up his AKC MACH agility championship, and is also only a few requirements away from earning his USDAA ADCH.  Merlin recently picked up Double Q's #18 and #19 with four flawless runs good for four first places!  Merlin picked up a few new titles in 2006 including his USDAA Masters Agility Dog (MAD) title and his Master Jumpers title (JM).  He also recently had as 2 back to back Super Q's in Master Snookers!  Super Qs are only given to the top percentage of the class and its a very small number, tough to get. Three are needed for the ADCH (USDAA Championship). All he needs now to finish are one more Super Q, one more Standard leg, one Gamblers leg and 3 Pairs legs. Merlin is also qualified for the AKC Nationals. Merlin is more formally known as BasqueLaine-Montage Secret Passage MX MXJ MAD JM ASA AS AR AJ PD1 EAC EJC EGC TN-O TG-O RN CGC TDI.  He's also from our Spies'n Heroes litter. Marti will finish up their MACH and ADCH titles in 2007, and we wish her and Magical Merlin the best of luck!  How thrilling for us to have bred two such highly accomplished litter brothers.  Merlin is currently #14 Ranked Tervuren in AKC standings.  Visit our News Page for the latest exciting news about Merlin!
 

Conner and Darcy Ferrentino of New York are another team to be reckoned with in the future.  Conner is also from our Spies'n Heroes agility litter co-bred with Montage.  Conner got a later start in agility than his brothers, but he too shows great promise and is super fast!  In limited trialing Conner is also now competing in Excellent B in AKC along with his brothers chasing MACH points and Double Q's. Conner currently has 5 MXJ legs, one MX leg, and one Double Q.  Conner is more formally known as BasqueLaine-Montage Save The World AX AXJ.  We co-own Conner with Darcy.  Darcy and Conner are working on getting Conner's lightening fast speed under control which can be challenging on AKC style courses/rules.  Once they get the consistency to go with Conner's speed, watch out litter brothers, he'll be right on your tail. ;-)  I would not be surprised to see Darcy & Conner close to finishing their MACH by the end of 2007, but first Darcy will focus on finishing up Charm's MACH.  Charm is extended family to us.  He is Champion Montage Beach Talisman MX MXJ P1 PT CGC TDI owned and bred by Kathy Madden of Montage, co-owned/trained/handled by Darcy. (Charm is the sire of our Enchanted Litter bred by Natalie Vivian of Blackcomb, co-bred by BasqueLaine and our Run for the Roses Litter bred by BasqueLaine).  Darcy is an awesome agility trainer!  I'm amazed by how she can train and trial multiple dogs to top wins.  Don't be surprised to see another Spies'n Heroes littermate Hero, BasqueLaine Maximum Sons of LIberty HT in the agility ring in 2007 as well, also piloted by the ever talented Darcy.
 

Toivo is a new AKC Champion!  Toivo finished his title in November 2006 at the hotly contested Columbus Ohio cluster going Winners Dog/Best of Winners for a 4 Point Major!  This was Toivo's fourth major win. Toi picked up his first 10 points and 3 majors last year with co-owner Kathy Madden handling in between herding training and getting his AKC Herding Started, A Course, Sheep title (HSAs).  Toivo returned to the show ring in October 2006 in Ohio finishing his championship undefeated in just a few shows with 3 consecutive Best of Breed wins prior to picking up that 4th major that finished up his title, beautifully presented by our dear friend Sherri Wilmoth of Sarron.  Thank you Sherri for doing a superb job with Toivo and thank you Angela Pos of Dark Brightness, Netherlands, for sending Toivo to us!  In 2007 Toivo will be continuing his herding training in the quest for more titles, AKC and maybe AHBA.  He's quite the talented herding dog and some of his kids with Marissa are showing great promise in herding and other performance venues as well!  Toivo is more formally known as Champion Typical Toivo of Dark Brightness HSAs.
 

Jo returned home to BasqueLaine in early 2006 after an extended stay in Canada.  It was a happy reunion for all - how wonderful to have a Marissa x Toivo daughter back in the house!  Thanks to Laura Maxim of Maximum for taking such good care of Jo for us for a couple of years. At Jo's first AKC show in February (Indianapolis) Jo was Winners Bitch for a 3 point major!  Jo then took a break for maternal duties, but will be finishing her AKC championship in the near future, and she'll continue herding training as well.  Like her daddy Toivo, Jo is awesome on sheep, handicapped only by the ineptitude of yours truly.<g>  I have my own sheep now and am working on improving my herding skills. In the Spring/Summer of 2006 Jo was leased to Kate Stephenson of Genesis for Kate's foundation litter.  Kate kindly offer to co-bred with BasqueLaine.  The Justice Litter is sired by Montage "George" (see above for full name and title string).  We're really excited about the agility potential of the Justice kids as George is the sire of our Spies'n Heroes litter and Jo's mom Marissa is the dam of our Spies'n Heroes litter.  We're equally excited about Jo's Detectives Litter we are co-breeding with Kim Gilmore of Big Mountain Belgians.  The Detectives Litter was designed with Search and Rescue (SAR) in mind. Sire of the Detectives is none other than SAR dog extraordinaire, Kim's Brenner.  Brenner is more formally known as Group Winning Group Placing Canadian Champion U-WPCH Gaelera Big Mtn Brennerain Can. TD, HIC, CGC, SAR Certified.  Brenner is also AKC major pointed, UKC pointed, and was WD/Select at the 2004 ABTC National Specialty.  He is truly beauty and brains in one package, and he has the credentials to prove it!  The prospective owners of the Detectives are anxiously awaiting their future SAR partners. Kim and I can't wait to watch these pups grow up so we can be dazed and amazed by their versatility and working ability.  Pups are due January, 2007.  Jo is more formally known as BasqueLaine-N-Maximum Tres Jolie HIC, and is owned by BasqueLaine.  Visit our Puppies Page for the latest news on the Detectives.
 

Kelda and Kate Sreenan of Alabama have been busy playing in herding, rally, agility, and conformation.  Risky Kelda has been quite the athletic and go-getting girl.  When she's on, she's really on, when she's off, well, she's quite naughty. Just ask Kate. ;-)  Kate and Kelda started  2006 on a quest to claim Kelda's beauty pageant tiara with a Best of Breed win her first weekend out for her first point.  In April she finished her Rally Novice (RN) title. Then it was on to the American Belgian Tervuren Club National in May where Kelda won 2nd place in the hotly contested American Bred class under breeder-judge Debbie Dawe.  That was followed with 3 more points towards her championship in July and then a Major Reserve in August.  Kelda also earned her Canine Good Citizen (CGC) title in 2006.  Kate and Kelda switched focus to herding training, and in November 2006, picked up their first Herding Tested leg (HT).  Plans for 2007 include continued obedience work towards a Companion Dog title (CD), perhaps more advanced Rally Obedience titles, as well as training in agility and herding to finish up the HT and then go for the Pre-trial Tested (PT) title.  In January 2007 they start tracking classes.  They are an amibitious team. ;-) Kelda and Kate are on the fast track to a versatility title, further proving BasqueLaine and Montage Belgians can do it all! Kelda is more formally known as Montage-BasqueLaine Genuine Risk RN HIC CGC.  Kelda is from the Montage-BasqueLaine Daredevil litter bred by Kathy Madden of Montage, co-bred by BasqueLaine.
 

Fawkes and Tanya and Natalie Vivian Of British Columbia have had an awesome year in herding, agility and conformation.  This young gorgeous charm x iserah son recently took a break from agility and showing while Tanya was away working in the field. After just returning home, Tanya took Fawkes to a CKC Trial for a little agility practice. Well, his first time in the Standard ring, Fawkes earned a Starters Standard Q with a 1st place! He then went on to his first Advanced Jumpers run where he again Q'd with 1st place!  Who needs practice? This was only Fawkes' second agility trial. He made his debut at the Canadian National Specialty where he ran in both NADAC and CKC the  same weekend, going 2 out of 4 in his NADAC runs and 2 for 2 in his CKC runs. What a great start to an agility career. He took time out between runs for a little conformation showing and, even though he is a skinny teenager, managed to take Best of Winners in the regular show for 5 Championship points, beating a very large group of national specialty attendees. Beauty and talent in one lovely dark grey package :-). Fawkes also earned his Canadian HT (Herding Tested) title in 2006 and is close to finishing his Canadian championship.  Fawkes is more formally known as Blackcomb Philosopher's Stone Can. HT from our Enchanted Litter co-bred with Natalie Vivian of Blackcomb.  (Charm x Iserah). Thanks Natalie for taking us along on the ride!
 

Tigger and Sara Braun Alberta, Canada blazed their way to a CARO Rally Novice title (magna cum laude) in June 2006 with two 1st place finishes and one 2nd place finish. His scores were 200, 198 and 197.  Impressive just about sums it up!  This trial was outdoors on an 80 acre farm with horses, sheep and working dogs roaming about.  Many dogs decided to track their way around the course, as that was much more interesting than heeling with attention. ;-) There were a lot of NQ's at this level and it's not easy, so this is was a pretty big accomplishment for Tig in Novice B.  Sarah also hopes to do agility with Tigger when he gets past his adolescent puffed-upness and can get his mind off of being the boss man. ;-)  Tigger is more formally known as Blackcomb's Impossible Imp RN, a littermate to Fawkes, bred by Natalie Vivian of Blackcomb and co-bred with BasqueLaine. We look forward to having Tig and Fawke's mom, Hexen House Iserah, for a litter in the USA in early 2007. We're in the process of finalizing who the sire will be but of course emphasis will be on performance/working merits as well as beauty!
 

Kruiser and Linda Parks of Texas have been busy this year training in agility and obedience and will start rally obedience training shortly.  Linda has also attended a few seminars on herding, conformation handling, and T-Touch. Kruiser had a couple of brilliant show-n-go agility runs during the year then settled into a case of the adolescent zoomies so LInda and Kruiser decided to shift their focus to obedience for awhile.  Recently Linda and her lovely Kruiser graduated from Obedience 101. As part of graduation exercises all the dogs performed under a panel of three judges and prizes were awarded for Best Dog, Best Handler, and Best Team. I am happy to report that Linda and Kruiser won the award for Best Obedience Team! Kruiser was bred by BasqueLaine and is from our V Litter (Toivo x Marissa), He's more formally known as BasqueLaine Voyages of Happy Tails. Now on to Rally-O and hopefully back to Agility in 2007.

Quest - Run for the Roses
(Charm x Marissa)
Agility/Obed/ Herding/Conf
Kate Stephenson

Chloe - Run for the Roses
(Charm x Marissa)
Agility/Rally/Conformation
Crystal Shehan

Bandit - Run for the Roses
(Charm x Marissa)
Agility
Lindsay LaRue

Flair - Run for the Roses
(Charm x Marissa)
Agility,/Conformation
Michelle Sonecki

Jazz - Wild Litter
(Dante x Tori)
Conformation
Charyn Varkonyi

Lindy - Wild Litter
(Dante x Tori)
Conformation/Jr. Handling
Abby/Croft/Hoffman OH

Caprice - Wild Litter
(Dante x Tori)
Agility/Conformation
Michell Johnston

Diablo - Wild Litter
(Dante x Tori)
Conformation/?
Lesley Hunter WA

Ace - Wild Litter
(Dante x Tori)
Conformation
Chris Elrod BC

Tough Guy - Gangsters
(Thrym x Marissa)
Selene Whalen,
Hoffman/Madden OH/NY

Mr. Big - Gangsters
(Thrym x Marissa)
Conf/Herding/Tracking
Hoffman/Madden OH/NY

Louie CGC - Gangsters
(Thrym x Marissa)
Rally, Agility, Conformation?
Susan Dodd GA

Vinnie CGC - Gangsters
(Thrym x Marissa)
Obedience/Agility/Conf/Flyball
Patty Naimo NH

Jordan - Justice Litter
(George x Jo)
Conformation, Agility
Sharon Lafuse TX

Emma P - Justice Litter
(George x Jo)
Obed., Agility, Conformation
Donna Wilson FL

Justice - Justice Litter
(George x Jo)
Conf., Obedience, Herding
Kate Stephenson OH

Zoe - Justice Litter
(George x Jo)
Obedience/Herding
Jack/Sarah Zimmer FL

Imp - Justice Litter
(George x Jo)
Conformation/Herding
Kelley Hoffman OH

Charlie - Justice Litter
(George x Jo)
Agility/Obed/Herding
Shalis Worthy NC

Matti - Deabei M Litter
(Rumer x Hupy)
Conf/ Herding
Hoffman/Croft/Vivian OH/BC