Jackpot x Diva Litter: Born Nov. 18th - 2 Red Tri Girls, 2 Red Tri Boys, 1 Black Tri Boy and 1 Blue Merle Boy ... we'll be taking a break from the show ring while we watch Diva's puppies grow. See our Litters page for more information.
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ASC of MI Oktoberfest: Pike has a phenomenal weekend winning Best of Breed under SBK Bruce Caldwell, SBJ Ken Silveira and SBJ Regi Gravette, then ending the weekend with Best of Opposite under UKC BJ Gene Reynolds over a large entry of specials. At less than a week away from his first birthday, we are over the moon!
Sojourner earns another leg towards his CD with a score of 188 - not bad for a last minute decision to play in the obedience ring this weekend, too.
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HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO THE $$$ LITTER (Jackpot x Fergie): The day was supposed to include a Herding Test, but we had to cancel the test. Instead we spent the day watching videos of the puppies from days to 8 weeks old - including their Herding test on ducks as wee puppies. We had a long hike and then came back to BBQ! It was a great day for all! 5 of the 8 littermates were present and we couldn't resist the opportunity to get a photo.
From left to right: Heiress (Oracle's The Billionaire's Baby, CKC Ptd.), Kai (Oracle's Billions of Riches, CGN), Rigby (Oracle's Take the Money and Run, CKC Ptd.), Lotto (Oracle's Billion Dollar Ticket) and Lexi (Oracle's High Rollin' Baby)! Not able to come was Forbes (Oracle's The Billionaire, CKC Ptd,), Maui (Oracle's Winner Take All, CGC, RN) and Ivy (Oracle's Silver is the New Black).
Big thank you to all their fabulous families! We are so happy to see so many of these puppies on a regular basis and stay in touch through photos and videos. We are blessed to have a wonderful extended family!
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ASCO CKC REGIONAL SPECIALTY: Pike makes his debut in the CKC Specials ring at 11 months old. In a class of 16 specials, he is awarded the only Award of Merit and Best Puppy in Specialty Show under Breeder Judge Andrea Blizard. Thank you for your kind words about Pike and for recognizing his qualities! This little man has achieved everything I had hoped for him and more as a puppy. As Judge Andrea Blizard said, he has such outstanding movement and if he continues in the direction he is going into adulthood, he is truly going to be one special dog!
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ASCA Nationals in Wisconsin Sept. 17th-24th!
A big thank you to the clubs who hosted the Nationals Preshows and the National Specialty. Thank you to all the judges and all our supporters. Big thank you to my breeders and mentors Becky Androff (TreeStarr), Flo McDaniel (McMatt) and Alison Smith (Paradox) without whom this outstanding week would not be possible. Below is the summary of our outstanding time at Nationals. Not every dog showed at every show, but when they did more often then not we left the ring with a placement or win!
National Specialty: Hustle wins the Open Red Merle Class, Diva takes forth in the Open Red class and Pike Premiers out of over 70 male specials under SBJ Carol Earnest. We have to assume that he is amongst one of the youngest dogs to premier at a National Specialty!
UMASC Preshow: Hustle and Diva both win a 4th in their respective classes under SBJ Regi Gravette. Pike Premiers again under SBJ Stephanie Shope McDaniel!
ASC of MI Preshow: Sojourner was 3rd in a huge American Bred class under SBJ Emmy Adaseiwicz handled by Madeleine Bonnes who graciously took him in for me when I was stuck in another ring. Lotto wins a 4th in a big Bred-by class under SBJ Marie Murphy! Pike Premiers under SBJ Carol Ann Hartnagle - what an honour for such a young man in a class of over 60 male specials!
Great Lakes ASC Preshow: Diva wins a 4th in Open red under BJ Kelsey Jones.
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Sept 5th: Maui earns her 1st leg towards her Rally Advance title with a 95. Well done mom Jenny Higgins McGee! We're so proud of you and Maui!
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ASC of Michigan (Coldwater, MI) Sept 3-5th: Pike comes out for his second weekend as a Special and proves the puppy has what it takes! He comes home with a Best of Breed under SBJ Heidi Mobley and two Best of Opposites under SBJ Sandy Cornwall and SBJ Lynn Hamon.
Lotto showed only twice and came home with a Reserve Winners Bitch win from a big Bred-by class win! I am so proud of her.
Sojourner had a great weekend, too. Winning his class several times and going onto a Reserve Winners Dog under SBJ andy Cornwall.
Hustle also won another RWB to add to her ever growing collection of RWB ribbons. Not pictured.
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Dog Sports Centre Canadian Disc Dog Trial (Alton, ON) Aug 27-28th: Sojourner finishes his BDD titles with two 1st places, then takes a 2nd in Advance on Sunday afternoon. Fergie also finishes her BDD title with a 2nd and two 3rd place ribbons! Great job Mike, Sojourner and Fergie!
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Kilbride Kennel Club (Milton, ON), August 6th, 7th & 8th: AM Show: Forbes wins WD/BOW his first time in the CKC ring for his first two points out of the bred-by class. PM show: Littermate, Rigby wins WB/BOW for her first two points handled by co-owner Gaby Reyes! Great job Gaby! Forbes wins two more RWD on Saturday and Sunday.
Rigby in the ring for breed on Friday.
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Grey Bruce Kennel & Obedience Club (Owen Sound, ON) August 2nd-3rd: Pike enters the CKC ring three times and goes undefeated in the breed, wins two Group 3rds, a group 4th, three Best Puppy in Groups and two Best Puppy in Shows to become a NEW CKC CHAMPION in less than a weekend of showing! A big thank you and congrats to breeder Alison Smith and a big thank you to the judges Mr. A. Bennett, Ms. M. Puterman and Mrs. S. Gelinas!
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Willoughby Stock Dog Club (Welland, ON) July 31st: Diva takes 4 pt major WB/BOS under Judge William Munsey. Thank you Mr. Munsey for rewarding our red girl! (Mr. Munsey informed me that Diva was only the second red aussie he's used - We're pretty honoured that Diva made that elite club.)
Photo by Jim Tulk.
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Hyperflite Skyhoundz (Brantford, ON) July 23-24th: Sojourner and Mike are having a blast competing in Disc Dog. The team came home with a 3rd in Novice Distance/Accuracy on Saturday. A 2nd in Bullseye on Sunday and a 1st in Pairs Distance/Accuracy assisted by Suzanne Joy, which earned them a place at Nationals to compete!
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WASCUNY Sparkler (Schaticoke, NY) July 16-17th: Forbes wins his class 3 out of 4 show. Rigby picks up a 1st and two 2nd placements, Hustle was the only one in her class, but gets pulled for winners at the Sat AM show. Our newest addition, Pike, takes Winners Dog at three shows and a Best in Puppy Sweeps to finish his ASCA Championship. Under the expert handling of his breeder Alison Smith, Pike managed to complete his Championship in two weekends, with all majors from the 6-9 month class and all under breeder judges! Thank you Alison for this handsome young man - we know we're going to make you proud!
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Final Conformation Standings are in for the 2010-2011 ASCA Merit year:
JACKPOT IS #7!
We have to thank all the judges for finding Jackpot in the competitive Specials rings and to his breeder Becky at TreeStarr Aussies! Thank you for this wonderful dog!
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Holyoke KC (Springfield, MA) July 9th: Maui gets her RN title with another PERFECT score! Maui got the title with 3 straight Qs, 2 perfect scores! Great job Maui and owner Jenny - we are so proud of you two!
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Holyoke KC (Springfield, MA) July 7th: Maui gets her 2nd leg towards her RN title with a PERFECT score of 100! Great job Maui and owner Jenny! (Congrats to Maui's "big sister" Kayla on two perfect score runs, too!)
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ASC of MI (Midland, MI) July 1st - 2nd: Hustle wins WB/BOW/BOS over a Specials for a 5 point major under Breeder Judge Sharon Elkins, then takes two RWB under Breeder Judges David and Laura Clayton.
Forbes shows his stuff in the big boy ring for the first time and wins a RWD under Breeder Judge David Clayton. Our first Breeder-Owner handled ASCA ribbon - that a thrill!
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Hamilton KC (Jerseyville, ON) June 26th: Heiress wins Winners Bitch for another point towards her CKC Championship under Judge Adrian Landarte. She's now half way to her Championship! Way to go little princess! Heiress is co-owned with Becky Androff.
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Zac Memorial CDDA Trial (Alton, ON - Dog Sports Centre) June 19th: Trial #1: Sojourner places 2nd and Fergie places 3rd after a run-off between them both with Mike. Fergie gets a Q towards her title. Sojourner Qs in Longest Catch with a Bronze. Trial 2: Sojourner takes a first place and a Q with an outstanding score of 61! Not bad for their second trial!
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Greenwich Kennel Club (Norwalk, CT) June 11th: Maui earns her Canine Good Citizen and makes her Rally debut and earns her first leg towards her Rally Novice title. Congrats to owner Jenny on a great start to a bright performance future!
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June Jam - Fun Match (Mount Forest, ON) June 5th: Sojourner enjoys a fun match in frisbee and comes home with a 2nd in Novice - with scores and catches that would have probably placed him in Advanced, too! It was just for fun, but we're so proud of our boy that we had to share! Below catching a 40-meter throw!
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Australian Shepherd Club of Michigan (Centreville, MI) May 28th-30th: Jackpot wins Best of Breed under Senior Breeder Judge Elizabeth Gibson and Best of Opposite under Breeder Judge Melissa Borde.
Sojourner got his first leg towards his ASCA CD with a High in Trial Aussie and High in Trial. He also won his class in the conformation ring every time he was entered.
Lotto and Heiress each showed at two shows and took second in their class every time. Very proud of those baby girls!
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MINDFUL BEHAVIORS: FORBES IN TRAINING. Watch Forbes learning "Finish" here.
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USASA Nationals: Hustle and Heiress were pulled in their respective classes (12-18 month bitch and 9-12 month bitch), but missed the ribbons by "this much". Diva made us very proud by winning a 2nd place in her huge Open Red Class. She showed like a star and loved every moment of it, despite being out of coat.
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Hoosier Australian Shepherd Club (Muncie, IN) May 6-8th: Jackpot wins Best of Opposite under Breeder Judge Debra St. Jacques, Best of Breed under Breeder Judge Clarissa Shank and Best of Breed under AKC Judge Tim Catterson. Thank you to the judges and the club for an excellent show.
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Pawsway Fundraiser (Toronto, ON) May 5th: Oracle's Billions of Riches, CGN, "Kai" got his Canine Good Neighbour title! Great job Kai and mom Suzanne! We are so proud of you! Kai is from our Jackpot x Fergie litter and is 9 months old.
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Australian Shepherd Club of Michigan (Kalamazoo, MI) April 15th-16th: Jackpot wins two huge Best of Breed wins under AKC Judge John Studbaker and Breeder Judge Sheila Hall. Thank you judges and ASC of MI for a great show!
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Norfolk KC (Simcoe, ON) April 2nd: Jackpot wins Group 1st under Judge Guy Jeavons! Thank you Mr. Jeavons for this wonderful win! Jackpot was only entered at this one show this weekend, but we could not be happier with the results.
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Deep Freeze Disc Dog Trials (Mount Forest, ON) March 27th:
Sojourner and Fergie both earn their RPT and Sojourner goes on to compete for his first time in Disc Dog and gets a leg toward his title! Great job Mike and Sojo!
(Above: Sojo playing Frisbee last summer)
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HWASC (Elkhart, IN) March 26th - 27th:
Sunday: Jackpot win BOS, Hustle wins RWB and Lotto gets pulled for winners, too, under Breeder Judge Heidi Mobley. Congrats to Becky at TreeStarr for her BOB win with New CH Violet!
Saturday: Lotto wins her class and gets pulled for Winners, Diva wins her class and Hustle takes 2nd in her class. Big congrats to Becky of TreeStarr for finishing her girl Violet with a WB/BOW under BJ Janet Kelly. We've never been happier to not win!
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Windsor ABTTC (CKC), Windsor, ON:
Sunday PM: Jackpot BOB/Group 4th and daughter Heiress BOW/BOS for two points under Judge Roger Hartinger.
Sunday AM: Jackpot BOB/Group 3rd under Judge Michael Lanctot.
Sat PM: Jackpot BOB and daughter Heiress BOW/BOS for two points under Judge Paula Hartinger.
Sat AM: Jackpot BOB/Group 3rd under Judge Patricia Lanctot.
Thank you to the judges for a great weekend! It will forever be a memorable one as three years ago Jackpot debuted at the same show going Best of Breed at every show for his first points and this year daughter Heiress picks up her first points at the same show! As our first bred-by exhibit, we are thrilled!
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Scarborough Kennel Club (CKC), Orangeville, ON (Fri/Sat Only):
Saturday - Sojourner wins WD and BOW for three points to finish his CKC CH!
Friday - Jackpot wins BOB and Sojourner wins RWD.
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Ontario Breeders Association (CKC), Markham, ON:
Monday - Diva take WB for 3 "extra" points towards her CH. Sojourner takes RWD and Jackpot takes BOS under Judge Judith Bryne.
Sunday - Sojourner goes WD, again, for another 2 pts and Jackpot goes BOS under Judge Avery Gaudin.
BEST OF THE BEST 100 - Jackpot loved the red carpet and the applause from the crowd filled with family and friends. He showed his heart out and won GROUP 2 in this prestigious event amongst some of the top herding dogs in Canada. Thank you judges Sandra Lex and William Byrne for recognizing our boy! Another big thank you to Judge Al Bennett for rewarding Jackpot the BIS that allowed us to compete at this event and thank you to his breeder, Becky Androff, for making moments like this a possibility!
Saturday - Diva WB/BOW for 3 pts to FINISH HER CKC CHAMPIONSHIP! Sojourner WD for another 2 pts under Judge Donna Cole.
Friday - Jackpot BOB, Sojourner WD/BOW for 3 pts, Diva RWB and Rigby BOBp under Judge Fred Dewsbury.
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The 2010-2011 ASCA Year continues - Gateway ASCA show - Jackpot win BOS three times. Sojourner wins Reserve Winners Dog to a five point major and the girls (Diva, Hustle, Heiress and Lotto) garner many class placements and wins.
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2011 starts with a BANG-BANG-BANG at Elgin County Kennel Club for Team Oracle. We went with Jackpot, Hustle (who was at 8 pts) and Diva (who was at 2 pts). All three came home with big wins and we could not be more proud of how the whole team did! We are honoured.
Sunday Diva goes BEST OF BREED over multiple Specials (including Jackpot who won BOS) under judge Podesta and then onto GROUP 2 under Judge Arley Hussen for a 5 pt win!
Friday Jackpot wins Best of Breed and Hustle takes WB/BOW/BOS and BOBp to finish under judge K. Grant. Then in group under judge R. Podesta Jackpot takes Group 4th and Hustle wins Best Puppy in Group!!!
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2010 was a spectacular year for Oracle Australian Shepherds (click to see 2010 News): from Best of Opposite at the Nationals Preshows, to Best in Show, to a new AKC Championship on Jackpot; Welcoming Diva and Hustle to our family who have had a wonderful start to their show careers with 7 ASCA BOBp on Diva, a Nationals Sweeps Class Win for Diva, a Nationals Class Placement for Hustle, a so far successful CKC career for Hustle (with 8 pts so far) and Diva (2 pts and 2 RWB in one weekend) and an amazing 5 point major ASCA win for Hustle; Having our first litter, which led to adding so many wonderful people to our extended family and the addition of four new show stars to the family: Rigby, Lotto, Forbes and Heiress - and a future performance superstar Maui; And the addition of the wonderful families who own Ivy, Kai and Lexi! We are thrilled with the year we had in 2010, but look forward to filling this page with many, many brags from 2011!