I met Kristen and her Mom in 2009 through a friend of mine who shows Bearded Collies. Kristen is a bright young girl who is ambitious and talented. She wanted to learn how to show dogs, so I introduced her to Stokes, my retired male Weimaraner. We started going to conformation classes so she could learn the ropes. Stokes’ handler just happened to be the one teaching the class, so it worked out perfectly as I was taking Ashleigh too.

The two of them were a match made in heaven. With Stokes natural ability to show and Kristen’s drive to learn, it was only natural for her to use Stokes as her jumping off point. The two of them went on to win the three shows needed to get through Novice Senior, and then it was on to Open Senior. Kristen started a little late as a Junior Handler, but it didn’t seem to affect her abilities. We had a good run over the 2010 year. Unfortunately Kristen moved away last fall, and we couldn’t continue her training. She ages out this year (2011) at 18. We wish her all the best at pursuing and fulfilling all her goals and dreams in life. I know this won’t be the end of her dog show days, and we look forward to seeing her in the ring in the near future with other breeds. In October 2010 she went to the Bearded Collie national specialty with our friend Laura Tappero and showed her little heart out.