My interest in Border Collies goes back twenty years, when I first saw one working in the north of England  I watched one drive a large flock down a narrow walled country lane, then dash to the front and crouch, just in time to stop the flock and turn it through a narrow gate. All seemingly without a shepherd in sight!  It was amazing. 

I began herding when I took our BC Tess to Alan Heaton’s herding clinic at Markham Sheep Focus. Tess attended several herding clinics but we did not have regular access to sheep, so it was not until we made contact with Mary Lou Campbell that we began learning herding in earnest.  

When Rose Reid offered to sell me Kip inearly 2001, at age 17 months, I jumped at the chance.  I loved his working style, and the training he had acquired from Rose meant he was ready for trialling.  I remembered being envious when Rose had bought Kip as a pup from Amanda Milliken.  Kip’s parentage is Amanda’s Eucher and Craig, and he is a littermate of Carol Guy’s Piper.  His easy going temperament means he is easy to have around the house—affectionate, obedient and never pushy—our other dogs love him.  It also means we have been able to send him to others for training without any stress or problems.

We began trialing in 2001, where I quickly learned several of the key lessons for new handlers; to not let your dog see where sheep were being exhausted, and the potentially disastrous effect of a strong pull to the exhaust pen.  Kip’s natural ability and early training  were ahead of my handling skills, but he has proved a great partner to allow me to improve my handling to the point where we could regularly place and occasionally win in Novice-Novice class.  Kip qualified for the USBCHA Nursery finals in 2002 as Amanda Milliken’s alternate dog, but didn’t actually make it to Tennessee.