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AKC CONFORMATION
Sandra became active in AKC dog competitions in 1956. She started with Great
Danes, and spent 18 years showing her dogs in the conformation ring. Several
Danes of her breeding ranked nationally one with two All-Breed Best in
Shows to his credit. In 1963 she co-founded the Great Dane Club of El Paso.
HORSE YEARS
Starting in 1969, the next 10 years was devoted mainly to showing American Saddlebred horses. Sandra owned three: a five-gaited mare
that she exhibited, and a three-gated mare that she sent to Dodge Stables in
Kentucky to be bred to the reigning stud. The resulting colt became a
"jack-of-all-trades" pleasure horse that Sandra used for local
English and western riding competitions, as well as dressage and jumping.
AKC DOG OBEDIENCE
(13 Obedience Trial Champions / 7 Breeds / 5 Groups)
In 1981 Sandra discovered dog obedience
competitions after purchasing a Standard Poodle puppy and joining the local
training club. A few match wins and she was hooked. OTCH Gambolique,
TD was her Novice A dog and the beginning of a succession of Obedience Trial
Champions:
a Doberman Pinscher (OTCH4 Raventine, UDX),
a Giant Schnauzer (OTCH KaRon's Kontessa),
an English Springer Spaniel (OTCH Sulo's Ledgewood Gypsy)
her male Giant, OTCH KaRon's Jabberwocky,
Pepper (U-OCH/ CH/OTCH22 Heelalong Jalapena, UDX15,
HT, NA, OAJ) the dancing Border Collie, CH/OTCH Skansen's
Tequila, UDX, TD, NA, NAJ, first Giant Schnauzer with both conformation and
obedience championship titles, Golden Retriever, OTCH Auburnmist
Golden Rule. Sandra's rescue dog, Jack Russell Terrier, OTCH Speedbump, UDX2 (Maggie) was the second JRT and
first female of that breed to earn an OTCH, and as of May 9, 2009, Border
Collie, OTCH HobNob Bridgit,
UDX, RN, OM1, was the youngest dog - at 20 months of age -
of any breed to earn the obedience champion title, and she added the
HSAs herding title in three consecutive trials. Beautiful Doberman Bella,
OTCH Phillmar Belle of the Ball, UDX, OM1 earned her
title in January 2014 followed in May of that year by OTCH Mosaic’s
Pixel UDX, OM1, Sandra’s third Border Collie. A Boy BC,
OTCH Wildfire Magical Thirteenth, UDX, OM2 (Born on Friday 13, 2014) became Sandra's
13th OTCH on May 13, 2017 . definitely a magical 13th.
AGILITY
In 1984, Sandra demonstrated the new English sport, Agility, to the US
obedience community and became an acknowledged pioneer of "British"
dog agility in this country.
Her interest was aroused by a series of articles published in Front &
Finish in 1984 explaining the British sport. Sandra corresponded with
the author, Angela Chuter of the UK, joined their
agility club, and constructed all of the obstacles.
She trained her standard poodle and her husband's dachshund on equipment
that she redesigned a bit to be able to raise and lower for all sizes of
dogs. That flexibility became a part of the sport in the U.S.
In September 1984 she and her dogs put on an agility demonstration at her
club's obedience trial. The interest shown led to an invitation for an encore
at the Gaines Western Regional Obedience Tournament in Albuquerque in August
1985. By then, there were enough local participants ready to put on a
two-team competition demonstration.
That demonstration led to a request for a repeat performance at the
obedience Classic event in Houston in 1986. Ken Tatsch
(founder of USDAA) came to El Paso following a trip to England where he was
researching this new sport. The British obstacles were not adjustable and Ken
had heard about Sandra's equipment. Together they planned the
demo-competition for the Classic. Ken provided adjustable equipment that he
constructed in the meantime, and also a team to compete with Sandra's in the
demo. Sandra was inducted into the USDAA Hall of Fame - Pioneers of Dog
Agility in 2003.
CANINE MUSICAL FREESTYLE
In June of 1994, Sandra read an article in Front & Finish about a new
sport that started in Canada called "Canine Freestyle." By
November, Sandra had joined that Canadian organization, Musical Canine Sports
International (MCSI), secured a list of their movements, and began training
her Border Collie, Pepper, to do freestyle
dance moves because this dog needed more activities than obedience to keep
her busy.
During this time, Sandra was volunteer coordinator for her local humane
society and was putting on obedience demonstrations with her dogs at the
society's various functions and fund-raisers. When she learned about
freestyle, she thought that might be something new and interesting for their
audiences. She and Pepper performed their first dance routine at the
society's annual "Beauty and the Beast" fashion show in May, 1995.
That same month they also gave a demo at their local AKC dog obedience trial - exactly 10 years after
demonstrating agility at that trial.. It was the
beginning of a succession of freestyle demos she and Pepper would give around
the country. Those dancing demos led to requests for seminars, which
created the opportunity for her Dancing With Your Dog videos and book.
K9 DRESSAGE
In early 2002, Sandra devised a new dog sport she calls K9 Dressage. This
new sport combines the discipline of obedience along with freestyle movements
presented in a format patterned after equine dressage. She believes that requiring the dog to work both sides of its body
equally when performing a variety of movements will produce a more balanced
and flexible animal. Her K9 Dressage manual can be viewed by clicking on the
yellow star on the home page of this website. A DVD video demonstrating the 3
levels of K9 Dressage testing and how each level is performed and judged is
available. A K9 Dressage training DVD video in which Sandra demonstrates how
she taught her dogs each of the movements was produced and released in July
2007. Both videos can be purchased from this website on the K9 Dressage
page or the ordering page. Sandra is sponsoring K9 Dressage tests through
video presentations. For information email Sandra at sandrard@elp.rr.com
PERSONAL
Sandra is the mother of 3 daughters and a son. She has 9
grandchildren. Her husband, Michael, was a chemistry professor at the
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He was also active in the
local humane society; having served as president for 5 terms. Sandra
has a BS degree from UTEP in Secondary Education.
Maggie (JRT)
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