Hold your herding event at Terra Norte!

OUR FACULTY -

Session Schedule & Description|Faculty Bios| Registration Form| Hotel & Nearby Attractions

Rancho Terra Norté is blessed with the number of herding professionals who give their time and expertise to our program. The faculty set to present at this year’s Summer Symposium are truly some of the most gifted instructors & judges in the county who have agreed to share their knowledge with our students.

Edna & Dick Grabow:
		Edna was raised on a 65,000 acre cattle and sheep ranch north of Douglas, Wy.  One of five kids, she remembers being the shearing crew, the docking crew and just the crew for pretty much anything.  They learned by experience: “You chase those ewes to the back side of a big pen often enough, you figure out how to keep them where they need to be”.  Edna and her  three younger siblings usually worked the back, her oldest brother worked the chute, her Dad the sorting gates.  The same went for working cattle, “you get ran over once or twice, you learned where to be”.  They pretty did everything outside on horseback.   Dick spent summers on his Grandfather’s cattle ranch in South Dakota from a young age and at about age 11, he was working for area ranchers in the summers. He has always been involved in the livestock business working for others and ourselves.   The dogs came later for Dick and Edna after they were married and received a Kelpie for a wedding present.  Then with just the two of them mostly doing jobs, they started learning how to work with dogs.  Later on we both competed at the National Kelpies Trials and that is where they started learning the in’s and out’s of trial dogs.

Billy Pickel:
		Billy’s early years were spent in East Tennessee where his family always had dogs around to help with bringing the cows in for milking or loading them to market. In 1977, Billy moved to Wyoming and spent time around the Flag/Pitchfork Ranch. He spent time with various herders associated with the ranch and learned about herding sheep and using dogs to get the job done. He met Ernie Hartnagle, Walt Larmar, Jerry Rowe and Dick Sorensen and became interested in competing with herding dogs. The next few years were spent learning about how people worked with their dogs in order to get various jobs done. Billy began to develop his own style of how to work with and teach dogs to work livestock. Billy believes that a good solid foundation of basic dog work is necessary for the handler and the dog to be productive. He believes that getting the basics first and having them solid is the best way to develop your handling skills and your dog’s abilities. The old saying “Haste makes waste” would fit his philosophy. Billy has competed with his dogs from Tennessee to Montana and the Rocky Mountain region. He has judged a variety of events from arena trials to field trials and cattle trials including the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado.

Carol Lucero:

Roy Sage:

Laura Delacruz:
		Laura has been herding for 7 years and has trained, trialed and/or titled a variety of dogs, including Border Collies, Aussies, Kelpies, Shelties, Collies, Corgis, ACDs, Rotties and even a Greater Swiss Mountain dog. She is both an AKC Herding Judge and an AHBA Herding Judge. Laura owns 6 Border Collies, 2 Aussies, a Kelpie and a Briard. She owns (trained, trialed and titled) the first Herding Champion in the El Paso/Las Cruces area (and the second, third and fourth), the first Double-Herding Champion in the area (and the second), and the first dog to earn an AKC Herding Excellent title in the area (and the second and third)!  Her Border Collie, Star, was the subject of a recents article in the BCSA "Borderlines" magazine. Laura lives in Chaparral, NM, between Las Cruces and El Paso, TX.

Dick Sorensen:
Terri Daldos, CMT, ESMT:
		Terri has been working with canine and equine athletes since the early 90's. She specializes putting together comprehensive treatment plans that incorporate massage, stretching exercises and cool down programs to assist both exhibitors and their 4-legged partners in achieving their performance goals. Credentials and Accomplishments Graduate of the Boulder College of Massage, Certified Massage Therapist 1994 Equitouch Systems, Inc., Equine Sports Massage Therapist 1995 Trained in the Lang Method for Canine Massage 1998 Colorado State University - BS Business Administration 1981 BS Equine Sciences 1987 Co-creator of curriculum used in the Lang Institute of Canine Massage program. Proudly associated with Loveland Chiropractic, Hall Chiropractic and Family Member Animal Hospital Terri and her husband Jim reside in Loveland, CO
Patty Schniedmiller:
		Pat has always been firmly anchored in the dog show & performance world. In the 70’s Pat was active as a junior showman with her Labrador, Peaches while her mom Sandy started showing dogs in conformation. In 1988 Rottweilers entered the household. Pat & Sandy both caught the herding bug in 1996 and soon were taking lessons from Dave Witherspoon, trialing and learning how to set stock. Since those early days, Pat and her dogs have competed successfully in a variety of herding venues including ASCA, AHBA, AKC, CKC and most recently USBCA (yes, with Rotts) on sheep, cattle and ducks. This success includes several High In Trial awards at both AKC and CKC events. In addition to herding – Pat is a licensed Carting judge and competes in carting, rally, obedience and conformation events. Helping new people to work with their dogs is a special joy for Pat. We are pleased to have her teaching our Intro to the Bubble classes and Stock Handling Classes.
Suzanne Yehle:
		Suzanne has been knitting since she was 7, continuing a family tradition of fiber work. Spinning came later and is still an evolving skill. Suzanne is also RTN's resident quilter who has graciously shared her passion and skill in the beautiful applicaqued wall hangings, pillows and hotholders donated as High in Trial and Reserve High in Trial prizes. Along with fiber work, Suzanne is also a successful herding trialer. With her Australian Shepherd Queej, Suzanne has competed and titled in AKC, ASCA and AHBA on sheep & ducks at advanced levels.
Cindy Kelly:
Val Manning:
		Val's interest in herding started when working as a Pet Food Specialist for Farmland Industries in the late 80's and early 90's. During this time, Farmland was the official Pet Food of The Meeker Classic, The National Western Stock Show and other trials in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas. At that time - very few people were trialing with upright dogs, and fewer with German Shepherds. In 1995, Val finished her first conformation champion - CH Hickory Hill's Excalibur "Magic" and decided that the next goal would be to compete in herding. She and Magic started working with Jerry Rowe that June, and started trialing in October. Since that time, Terra Norte' GSD's have been both conformation champions and herding dogs. In 2004 with the help of Hildy Morgan, Jerry Rowe and others - Val started Rancho Terra Norte' and the Northern Colorado Herding Cooperative was established. Working with beginning students and their dogs is highly rewarding. While most trainers can take a dog and trial successfully, it takes a Coach to teach the owner how to herd and build on the relationship between dog & handler. Diversity is what builds a better mousetrap - Val has been successful in helping GSD's, Aussies, BCs, Rotties, Giant Schnauzers, Briards, and Cattledogs and their owners herd proficiently and achieve success in the herding arena or field.