The opening performance event of the Specialty was the agility trial.  The total entry was 31, about the same as last year, but there were more entries in the advanced classes (4 in Excellent and 5 in Open), a change that mirrors the growth of the AKC agility program.  My three dogs (Corey in Excellent, Rob in Open, and Sean in Novice) were the only East coast competitors.  Judge Tammy Wiebe presented us with challenging courses at all three levels.  Unfortunately, none of the advanced dogs qualified- the right side entry to the weave poles after the closed tunnel proved to be the undoing of many of the Open and Excellent dogs.  There were 3 qualifiers out of 13 in NovA, 20", 1 qualifier out of 2 in NovA, 24", and 2 qualifiers out of 5 in NovB, 20".  My dog, Sean, had a good, solid run in Novice B, 20" and turned in the fastest qualifying time of the day.  After the regular trial was over, the new AKC demonstration class, Jumpers with Weave Poles, was run.  It was divided into Excellent, Open, and Novice divisions and almost everyone who was entered in the agility trial participated.  It is a lot of fun because there are no contact obstacles or pause table and the dogs can really fly around the course!  

The obedience trial and Puppy and Veteran's sweepstakes were held the second day.  There was also a large entry (30) in obedience with 2 in Utility, 5 in Open, and 16 in Novice, and the remainder of the entries in the non-regular classes, Veterans and Brace.  The only qualifiers were in Novice B:  Sandy Weiss's Ch Britannia Chip Thrills HI won the class and HIT with a fine performance.  The Puppy and Veteran's Sweeps were held in the afternoon.  A number of Eastern dogs did well.  Mary Ann Pflum took home both of the major awards in the Puppy Sweeps- Kiltie's Jabberwocky was chosen as Best in Sweeps and Kiltie's Jock Tanison as BOS (I believe this is the first time that littermates have won Best and BOS in Sweeps).  Jim and Audrey William's Blue Moon Star Cruiser (Obie) won the 9-12 month dog class and Sandy Weiss's Ashberry's Portrait of a Lady (Diva) won the 9-12 month bitch class (Diva was also chosen as Best in the Round Robin match held the previous day).  Julie Smith and Bea Sawka's Ch Classical's One N Only was Best in the Veteran's sweeps and Ray Harrington and Marie Moe's Ch Edmar This Bud's for You was BOS.  Sheila Green's Ch Shilstone's Charlie Charcoal won the 11 & Over dog class.  It was really nice to see so many Beardies still looking great and enjoying themselves as ``Senior" citizens. The dog classes were held on Day 3.  The William's Obie again won his age class.  Mary Ann Pflum's Kiltie's Jock Tanison won the large Bred By class and the new Sandy Ellington Memorial Challenge trophy.  The major awards of the day were won by two Canadian dogs- Classical's Make My Day, owned by Ron Grant and Bea Sawka, took the Open class and WD;  Sheiling Spirit After D'Arque was RWD from the 12-18 month class.  My Corey won the Veteran dog class, Ray Harrington's Ch Edmar This Bud's for You was second, and Sheila Green's Ch Shilstone's Charlie Charcoal was third. 

The bitch classes took up the morning of the next day.  Sandy Weiss's Diva again won her age class.  Michele Ritter's Britannia Bodacious was third in the large Bred By class and her Britannia Odds on Favorite (handled by her husband, Chet) was fourth in Open.  The major awards again went to Canadian dogs-  Classical's Starstruck, owned by Bea and Kevin Sawka, won the Open class and WB;  Classical's Movie Star, second in Open, was RWB.  The Veteran bitch class was won by Billy Carter and Ruth Colavecchio's Ch Maywood Magic Penny O'Aellen. 

Best of Breed took up just about all of the day Tuesday.  There were 86 Specials entered, along with the Veteran's class winners and the WD and WB.  The BCCA received permission from the AKC to split the BOB class into dogs and bitches- the dogs were judged in the morning and the bitches after lunch.  The Specials were brought in in groups of 12 and gone over individually by breeder-judge, Jenny Osborne.  After each group was judged, she would make a cut selecting about 5 to come back for further judging.  Although the spectators were quiet for most of the judging, when the Veteran dog and bitch were ``on stage", they were supported by a lot of applause.  I know it helped keep Corey at his best over the course of a long day and I greatly appreciated it.  The final cut contained about 16 dogs and bitches.  BOB was Ch Hermosa Mtn Colquhon McDuff owned by Robin Hood (he was sired by Ch Britannia Caledonia Capers HT owned by Elaine Kropowski of Milford, PA).  Ch Classical's American Woman, owned by Julie Smith and Bea Sawka was BOS.  BOW was the WB.  Michele Ritter's Ch Britannia How Sweet It Is CD, PT was #2 Select.  The Veteran bitch was #8 Select and my Corey was #9.  Dick Schneider's Ch Ha'Penny Carob Weekend Warrior won the Stud Dog Class;  the Veteran bitch class winner, Ch Maywood Magic Penny O'Aellen won the Brood Bitch Class.

The herding trial was the last competitive event of the Specialty.  It was held at the beautiful Oak Springs Ranch in Santa Rosa, CA, about 20 minutes drive from the Doubletree Hotel.  Both an AKC trial (with two divisions) and an AHBA (American Herding Breeds Association) trial were held.   This was the largest herding trial ever held by the BCCA-- 15 dogs were entered at the AKC test level and 11 dogs at the AKC trial level.  The stock was reasonable and the facilities first rate.  And the weather even cooperated:  it was overcast and cool for most of the day, a great contrast to the earlier part of the week.  Edmar My Own Sweet Patsch, owned by Mary Lott, was HIT with an 85 from Started, Division B (he was also the winner of the NovA, 24" class in agility).  Sandy Weiss's Chip was RHIT with an 80.5 from Advanced, Division B for his second HX leg.  My Rob qualified for the first leg on his PT but cut a pad and had to be pulled from competition before the second run.  The AHBA trial was held after the AKC trial;  it had to be suspended due to darkness after only the test level dogs had been run.