Me, Myself & I

... The Dawn of Kaden Collies ...

My eyes were closed. I could feel the rough floor boards itching under my crossed legs... or maybe that was just me, bubbling over with excitement. My arms were outstretched, waiting...   Then I felt the soft touch of something brush my arms...  then a huge wriggling weight hit me which I was unprepared for. I dropped the object, and my eyes flew open. I'm not sure if I screamed or not... but I do know I had the hugest grin on my face.

It was my 8th birthday.  My present, was my very first working dog. He was a huge bubbly pup, chocolate brown all over with the hugest eyes, and such a look of bewilderment. He was a kelpie, and with the help of my B.F.F, a night of movies and chocolate, we finally made up his name, Max. This started my canine craze. By the time I was 10, mum and I owned quite a few dogs. During that time I was given my first Border Collie, a small bitch by the name of Penny. I absolutely loved Penny. She was a dainty girl, and her hind legs were at an odd angle. Her ears were pointy and her snout so small and meek she could have been the canine version of a fairy princess. O-kay, maybe she didn't have good border-collie conformation, and she was soft on the working-ground, but I loved her so much. If another dog tried to beat her up, I'd jump over the top and growl like (I'm ashamed to say) a Chihuahua on steroids. Soon Penny got used to the idea. She stayed close. She was in every diary entry, every story, every picture I took. Border-collies became my favourite dog breed. Then in a dreadful accident she was taken from me.

Over time I began to see the real talent a dog can have and how important they can be for the running of the property. This motivated us to seek out better dogs, and we soon found ourselves looking up internet sites and making endless phone calls. Then we began to chase up good bloodlines and get in touch with successful breeders. Penny looked like a sausage dog trying to run with the greyhounds when I seen the way these other dogs could work. I remember my first training day with Greg Prinze.   ... O.M.G ... My little funny-coloured dog, Boots, was so out of his depths he was past the stage of drowning. But we had some fun, and even ended up on TV.

The first dog we bought had the name 'Bauer's Jacko', and he was such a handsome dog with a  proud manner to him. He was our starter dog, and might I say, he turned out to be a brilliant dog. From then on we continued to seek out the collies with good bloodline and instinct, and soon we found ourselves with 7 dogs and 13 puppies. That was when the fun really started.

Now I am addicted to working and training dogs. I'm have turned 13, and I currently own Moriarty Glee (gleeson), my old-timer, experienced trialer who cleans up most of my winnings and is used only in delicate situations. He's always too fat for his own good, and doesn't mind just sitting back and watching, but in his mind he's always the young-shot trial dog. He'll always be my old faithful, and I doubt he'll ever leave this property till his dying days. 
My small starter dog, Belle, is a gorgous little thing. She's got perfect markings, and is a nice calm, quiet worker. It's just a complete joy to work her sometimes, and I reckon I might even try her in the encourage next year. O.O Could be scary! 
And finally, the last one of my tiny little pack, Gem. I only just got her from Tony Jackson a small while ago, but I've already fallen in love. She's such a character! With extremely dark markings, she sticks out in our herd of dogs, and whats more, she has a passion for work. Being Jay's sister, you can just see how much they have in common! 

Christmas Holidays ~

I'm home for the holidays! Finally. Town life can be so claustrophobic sometimes. I'm back into training my little darlings, and everythings great. Gem is improving every day! And Belle... well, she's having fun. ^.- Reckon I might be able to have a play around in the encourage with her next year. Gem, on the other hand, will be up to trialing. The cast seams to come natural to her, so thats the last of my priorities. And my fat-so Gleeson needs a tune up. (But he'll always be perfect to me. =] Though Gem seams to  be threatening his authority as my top dog.) 
 
So yes... Thats my little tale on trialing. It's steadily getting longer, so check back. Have fun trialing.
^.^
Kate