Our Dogs
Bear
Alba Cap and I won
the 2012 US National on the large and challenging course in Klamath
Falls, OR. The sheep were different than years past with Suffolk
prominent in the cross wool yearlings. Much the same as years past in
Oregon, it was a good test of the dogs and an excellent trial.
It marked the 3rd generation of our bloodline to win the title in
Klamath and the 4th generation of National Champions. Cap's grandmother
Nan, won it in 1997 on the same field and Alasdair won with Cap's
uncle, Bill, (Nan's son) in 2001. Auld Mirk, Cap's gr., gr.
grandfather, won the Scottish title in 1984. It was Alasdair's 1st of
12 National Championships, 8 with dogs of the bloodline.
Alba Cap, 2012 US National Champion
photos by Janet Elliott and Mindy Bower
The 2011 National was exceptional.
Alasdair and Eileen Stineman's Star captured Alasdair's 11th US
Championship and Star's 3rd title. Alasdair ran Star and our Nap
for
the last time
in 2011 as he retired Star and semi retired Nap at the conclusion of
the competition.
Both outstanding trial dogs, the ending could not be sweeter for these
National Champions.
Star is running the ranch and the house in Texas
with Eileen. Nap, who will always be ours, is on loan to
Christine Koval as a gesture of friendship. They are doing well on the
trial field and Nap has acclimated to sleeping on
the bed!
We
imported Nap in 2006. He is a handsome, 9 1/2
year old,
bare
skinned, prick eared dog
we brought over from Scotland. Nap is a good outrunner with plenty of
scope. He has good balance both around the course and at the pen and is
first class shedder. Nap stands up well to aggressive sheep and is
loaded with stamina. He is well made with a nice head and we feel that
he is the complete package. Nap
is off of M. Evan’s Chip and is the same way bred as Armstrong’s Moss
(winner of the 2005 Irish Nursery Final).
Nap
was Central
District Nursery Champion in
Scotland in 2004 with Andy Carnegie. He then suffered a traumatic knee
injury shortly
thereafter and endured multiple operations. While the operations were
successful, they required absolute crate rest. Andy determined it was
in Naps best interest to no longer work the hill and gave Alasdair the
chance
to buy him. We feel Nap has
that 'something special' & we
could not more thrilled that Alasdair won his 10th US National Championship with Nap, in 2009.
We
bred my second open dog, Alba Cap.
He is by Nick, a son of Alasdair's Nan and Ben
and a litter mate to
Alasdair's Bill.
Cap is out of Nell, a nice
bitch that we brought over from Ireland.
Nell is also the mother
of Andy Carnegie's 2007
Scottish National Champion, Lark and
the mother of Jill, 2006
International Supreme Brace Champion as
well as the 2007
Scottish
National Brace Champion.
Cap has won many open trials & finished well in several double lift
international shed competitions in addition to the National including
the Bluegrass Classic, WWSDA
Labor Day Trial and Free to Be. Cap is a
pleasure to train. He has very little eye, stands up well to difficult
sheep, has excellent stamina and is a strong
shedder.
We have started breeding Cap and have some promising young dogs
including my Nell, pictured below (Cap X Stineman's Star).
Alba Cap
Alasdair's
Li
& my Nell at 15 months
In fall 2010, Alasdair
moved Li, last years nursery dog into Open. Li goes back to our Coon, a
Karen
Thomason's Quill. Coon was a gift to Alasdair from Karen and a very
nice dog now owned by Steve Kunkel. We appreciate the opportunity from
the Repke family to purchase Li. He is a very solid dog and
Alasdair has yet to find a task he can not handle.
Alba Sweep is my nursery dog from last year. He finished a respectable
8th place at the Nursery Final in Carbondale. I moved Sweep to Open
March
2012. Sweep is our breeding out of Cap's litter sister Lyn and by Don
Russell's Sweep. He is line bred to Nan & Ben and is very much like
the kind.
Sweep has natural scope on his outrun, good balance around the course
and likes nothing better than a challenging ewe.
Alba Sweep and Jim
Jim was a gift to me
from Alasdair in November 2010 as a 13 month old out of Scotland. We
were again fortunate to have the opportunity to buy from Andy Carnegie
and Jim has been nothing short of a joy to train. Very clever, Jim is a
good outrunner, has an excellent ear, natural feel for his sheep and is
a strong shedder.
Queen, a Star X Don is
Alasdair's nursery dog for 2012. She shows a lot of promise and
is
a beauty to watch.
Queen
and Max
Bear
and Max
are my first dogs. Both are neutered as they were intended foremost as
pets–it is unfortunate, because we would have liked to have bred
them--The 2008 National was very special for me as I was
3rd with Max
& 10th with Bear. Amazingly,
though I had
Bear and Max years before even meeting
Alasdair, they are both his kind.
Bear is out of
Jess, Nathan Mooneys Max X Nathan Mooneys June.
June is
a Redpath’s Ben (McTeir's Ben)
X Redpath's Nell (Henderson's Craig)
that Alasdair actually bought as an 8 week old pup, trained to trial
level and then sold to Tommy Wilson.
Bear
and Alasdair's Nan are similarly bred & both go
back to Redpath's breed..(Pedigree for Nan)
Bear is a strong dog with
presence, good stamina
and
tremendous drive and determination. He is the dog of choice for a tough
day of chores or shifting difficult ewes and has taught me a great
deal.
Bear suffered a broken bone in the knee that was mis-diagnosed
and therefore, he was unable to participate in the 2006 & part of
2007 trial season.
While it is uncertain to what degree his injury will limit his ability
to work and trial, he will forever have the top spot in the house!
Max is by Vergil
Holland’s Scot, a dog that Vergil purchased from Alasdair. Scot is a
son of 'the
Bomber', who Alasdair was 8th with at the Nursery Finals. Max is out
of a nice female, Dr. David Grinstead's Cedes.
Max’s grandfather on the sires side is Mirk, a litter brother to
Alasdair's Nan. (Mirks
grandfather is Alasdair's Scottish
National Champion, Mirk).
Max's great grandfather on the dam's side is Alasdair's Elwy Glen
(winner of 6 open trials in his first year out in Scotland and 4th at
the International the year Alasdair won with Nan.)
Max is a good
outrunner with plenty of scope, tremendous stamina and an excellent
shedder. He has good
balance, very athletic and while excitable, usually not hard to handle.
Max required a toe amputation after the Nationals in 2009 and his
trialing future was uncertain. Max will be 11 years old at the end of
2012 and while we have had numerous set backs due to the recovery, he
continues
to be competitive at trials and my closest working partner.
Look
for
updates on this page as we train our young
dogs and have the opportunity to bring in new ones.
Special
thanks to Christine Koval for the photographs
HOMEPAGE
