Terrier Obedience Specialty Trials in Kimberton Pennsylvania.

Report by Lisa Frankland USKBTC Obedience Chairman

Seeing the trial go off as smoothly as it did, few people would have guessed at the months of effort involved in making it happen!

The combined trial was hosted by the Norwich and Norfolk Terrier Club and consisted of a total of twelve individual breed specialty obedience trials that shared the same superintendent, venue, catalog, and judges for convenience. The dogs from all the participating breeds were judged together in the interest of time, but each breed’s entry was scored and awarded prizes separately.

We had incredible participation and support for the trial! Fourteen Kerries and a total of 17 class entries represented the breed in every class except Novice A. Our breed’s entry was the third largest at the trial, surpassed only by Cairns and Westies, both of which have much larger registration numbers than we do. But where our breed really shone was in the ring! Our overall entry was the best prepared and had the best working attitudes of any of the participating breeds—every Kerry, pass or fail, looked like it understood what it was doing and belonged there. Tails were up and wagging and just about everybody looked like they were having a great time doing obedience.

Qualifying scores were nothing short of phenomenal, all but one in the 190’s, and the scores for both our High in Trial and High Combined winners rivaled those at many all-breed trials! And our prizes, both for class placements and special awards, matched what our dogs did in the ring. Our prize list was twice as long as any of the other participating breeds, and both the quality and number of prizes that were offered elicited expressions of surprise, admiration, and occasional envy from everyone who saw them.

Many, many thanks to the USKBTC and the many regional clubs and individuals who donated money and/or items to the trophy fund. And while it’s not practical here to list everyone who contributed their time and effort to make this trial a success, there are a few people who deserve special mention.

Carol Wert (formerly Oddi) got the ball rolling by alerting the USKBTC about the trial and lobbying board members to approve it (her husband, Harry, was also the trial’s chief ring steward). Virginia Barishek helped with trophies and refreshments, and served as the local POC not only for the USKBTC but for the entire combined trial. Dana Kincaid put in many hours early on helping to get the trial approved and publicized. Barb Beuter signed most of the necessary paperwork and served as the USKBTC board’s obedience liason and advisor, while Gretchen Quinn did an incredible 11th hour job of putting together all the considerable information the AKC required in order to approve the Club’s request to hold obedience trials. And, finally, the lion’s share of our gratitude needs to go to Carlynn Ricks and Ami Hooper of the NNTC, along with Pam Lorenzen of the WHWTCA, whose incredibly hard work organizing the combined specialty trial made our participation possible.

USKBTC Trial Results, with qualifying scores and special awards:

Novice A: no entries

Novice B: 5 entries, 4 qualifiers
1st and HIT: Wedgewood Blubelle of the Snow CD (Carol Wert) 196, High Scoring Novice Dog
2nd Ch Casey’s Rae of Sunshine NA (Lisa Frankland) 194, New CD, High Scoring AKC Champion of Record, High Scoring Kerry with an AKC Agility Title
3rd Gaylic Saxony I Am I Said (Gay Stahley) 192, High Scoring Bred-by
4th Paxon’s Belle of the Ball CD (Karen Sofield) 184 High Scoring Veteran in the Regular Classes, High Scoring Veteran in the Regular or Non-Regular Classes

The prizes for the Novice B class were sponsored by Nancy Westbrook in memory of her foundation bitch, Molly (Ch Hi-Crest Molly Be High Am/Can CD, ROM). I thought it was especially fitting that the first and second place winners were Molly’s great-granddaughter and granddaughter, respectively!

Open A: 2 entries, no qualifiers

Open B: 3 entries, 1 qualifier
1st and HCS: Primrose Jessie James UD (Jane Eno) 195

Utility A: 2 entries, no qualifiers

Utility B: 2 entries, 1 qualifier
1st Primrose Jessie James UD (Jane Eno) 195

Pre-Novice: 2 entries, non-regular class, so no qualifying score required
1st Finbar’s End of the Rainbow (Virginia Barishek) 184 1/2, High Scoring Kerry with an ILP number, High Scoring Kerry in the Non-Regular Classes
2nd Blue Moon’s Badger Buster (Victoria Kniering) 141

Veterans: 1 entry, also a non-regular class
1st Wedgewood Blue Max UDX, NA (Carol Wert) 176 1/2

Editor’s Note: We all wish to thank Lisa Frankland for coordinating this fantastic event. Her efforts and the help of all those mentioned is greatly appreciated.