On December 29th, Elsa, Geraldo, Chet, and I competed at the CPE Agility Trial in Washingtonville, Ohio. We had a perfect day---literally and figuratively. Elsa, Chet, and Geraldo, qualified AND placed on every run!! Collectively, they had seven first place finishes, two second place finishes, and two fourth place finishes. As an added bonus, Elsa finished two titles at that trial, and Chet finished a title too. I had the pleasure of being on the course myself with Chet and Geraldo, and Elaine Mayowski did a lovely job of handling Elsa. It was a great way to ring out the old year!!

After being out of the standard agility ring for six weeks, Geraldo walked back into the ring at the Cleveland Shetland Sheepdog Trial on October 14th and earned his third MX leg. He picked up eight MACH points on that run too. I think he was very happy to be back in the standard ring, because he smiled throughout the run.

On September 14th, Geraldo and I finished his Master Jumpers title at the Beaver County Agility Trial on Neville Island. We've worked so hard for this title, and I'm just about to burst with excitement. I'm so proud of my baby boy. It was one year ago this weekend that we earned our first Novice Jumpers leg at the same show site. So, it was really cool to be able to finish our MXJ one year later at the same show/show site. We had been stuck at nine MXJ legs for the last three shows, and I was starting to wonder if we'd ever get that final MXJ leg. We're dancing on the ceiling at CastleGate!!

After having to take a month off from agility classes and trials due to being in season, Elsa returned to the agility ring this weekend and finished her Excellent Standard (AX) title with a second place finish on Sunday at the Cleveland Shetland Sheepdog Club's agility trial. After she ran, she was prancing around the arena with her prize/toy looking at the other dogs with the "I rock, you don't" look that she reserves for occasions like that! <G> Elsa has earned six agility titles since her agility debut on April 27th, and we're so proud of her! We can't thank Elaine Mayowski enough for the wonderful job she's done training Elsa and handling her in the ring. They are truly an awesome team!!

August 26th marked the one year anniversary of my first agility trial with Geraldo. To commemorate that, we went back to the same show site---an incredibly hot soccer arena in Morgantown, WV. Geraldo had a blast despite the heat, and I think he was pleased that his daddy came along to watch him run too! Geraldo celebrated his anniversary in style by earning his second MX leg that day! <G>

At the Youngstown All Breed Training Club's agility trial in Washingtonville, Ohio on August 18th & 19th, Geraldo earned his ninth MXJ leg and his first MX leg. We had a lot of fun, and I'm delighted that he only needs one more qualifying leg to get his MXJ! We've come a long way in our first year of trialing!!

While Geraldo and I were at the Rod Oishi Grooming Seminar, Elaine Mayowski and Elsa went to the CABTC agility trial in North Olmsted, Ohio on August 10-12. I'm pleased to report that Elsa picked up her second AX leg (with a second place finish) and her second MXJ leg at that trial. As always, we're so proud of what the two of them have accomplished together. Thank you, Elaine!

On August 5th, Elsa earned her first MXJ leg in Westminster, MD at the agility trial sponsored by the Norwegian Elkhound Club of the Potomac Valley. As always, Elsa's good friend and trainer, Elaine Mayowski, was on the course with her for that qualifying run. Elaine brings out the best in Elsa, and we're very grateful to her!

On July 21st at the Golden Retriever Agility Trial in Cheswick, PA, Geraldo finished his Excellent Standard (AX) title with a second place finish, and we are delighted that he now has both of his Excellent agility titles. As a bonus, he also earned his seventh MXJ leg and picked up seven additional MACH points to go with it. The show photographer took several pictures of Geraldo on the agility course on Saturday, and he had such a big smile on his face as he ran. When we crossed the finish line after those two runs, my smile was equally big!!

On July 13-15, Geraldo, Elsa, and I attended the Cleveland Shetland Sheepdog Association's agility trial in North Olmsted, Ohio. We had a nice weekend! Elsa earned her first Excellent Standard (AX) leg, and she earned two Excellent Jumpers legs to finish her Excellent Jumpers (AXJ) title. She received second place on all three of those qualifying runs. She's been to five agility show weekends and now has five agility titles and one leg toward a sixth one. I'm just blown away by the success she and Elaine Mayowski have had on the agility course. They are amazing together, and I love watching them run. Geraldo and I picked up his second Excellent Standard (AX) leg with a first place finish this weekend too. One more qualifying leg to go, and he'll have his Excellent Standard title!!

Elsa had a fabulous weekend at the Three Rivers Shetland Sheepdog Club's agility trial on June 16th and 17th in Cheswick, PA. She earned two Open Standard legs at the trial and that finished her OA title. She had perfect scores and first place finishes on both of those qualifying runs. Elsa also earned her first Excellent Jumpers leg with a second place finish on Sunday. Her success on the agility course has both amazed and delighted me. In only four weekends of trialing, she's finished four titles (novice standard, novice jumpers, open standard and open jumpers) and picked up her first qualifying leg toward a fifth title. As always, we are incredibly grateful to Elaine Mayowski for training Elsa and handling her to these exciting wins. Geraldo and I had a very nice weekend too. He earned his fifth and sixth Masters Jumpers legs on Saturday and Sunday and picked up nine more MACH points in the process. Only four more qualifying legs to go, and he'll have his Masters Jumpers title. I have to pinch myself when I think about the prospect of that. <G>

The CastleGate kids had another wonderful agility weekend at the Clarion Agility Trial in Cheswick, PA on June 1-3. Elsa (Can Ch Kelbren Come Hither, NA, OAJ, CGC) finished her OAJ title and earned her first OA leg at that show. As an added bonus, Elsa received first place on all of her qualifying runs. As always, our heartfelt thanks go out to Elaine Mayowski for training and running Elsa in agility. They are an amazing team. Geraldo (CastleGate's Daily News, OA, AXJ, CGC) and I had a pretty good time too! Geraldo earned his third and fourth MXJ legs at that show and picked up eight additional MACH points too.

We had an awesome time at the Golden Triangle Agility Trial on Memorial Day Weekend. On Sunday, Elsa (Can Ch Kelbren Come Hither, NA, NAJ, CGC) picked up her second Novice Standard leg with a perfect score and a first place finish, and she earned her first Open Jumpers leg with another perfect score and a fourth place finish. On Monday, she was eager to run again, and she finished her Novice Standard title with a second place finish and picked up her second Open Jumpers leg with a third place finish. In only two weekends of trialing, Elsa has finished two agility titles and is 2/3 of the way to her third title. Tom and I can't thank Elaine Mayowski enough for the beautiful job she's doing with Elsa in the ring. They're a wonderful team!! Geraldo (CastleGate's Daily News, OA, AXJ, CGC) and I had fun too! On Monday, he earned his second MXJ leg, and as icing on the cake, we earned our first four MACH points on that run too---only 746 more points to go!!

On May 14th, the Chet x Daily litter was born! This litter is a repeat of the breeding that produced Geraldo (CastleGate's Daily News, OA, AXJ, CGC) and Lydia (CastleGate's Answered Prayer). We have three non-white factored tri girls and one non-white factored bi-black girl in the litter. The pedigree for the litter can be seen on our Nursery page.

On May 13th, Geraldo was WD under William Usherwood at the Ravenna Show in Tallmadge, Ohio for his first two points. What an awesome Mother's Day present that was! Those were my first homebred points and boy did they feel good! Geraldo was handled to this win by Linda Urbanek, and we are very grateful to Linda for presenting Geraldo so beautifully!

Elsa was entered in her first agility trial on April 27-29 in Cleveland, Ohio. She qualified all three days in Novice Jumpers and finished her Novice Agility Jumpers title on Sunday. She also qualified on Friday in Novice Standard. As icing on the cake, Elsa earned three first placements and one second placement on those qualifying runs. Not a bad agility debut for our baby girl!! <G> Elsa was trained and handled to these exciting wins by Elaine Mayowski, and we're so grateful to her for everything she's done for Elsa Girl. Geraldo had a great weekend too. He earned two Open Standard legs at the Cleveland Trial, and that finished his OA title!! He had perfect scores and first place finishes on both of those runs! I moved him up to Excellent Standard the next day, and not only did he qualify, but he got first place again!! I was so excited that I gave him every drop of bait that I had left in the cooler!! On Friday, Geraldo also earned his first Masters Jumpers leg. He ran beautifully for me all weekend, and I was so proud of him.

On April 18th, Chet, Geraldo and Elsa successfully completed their Canine Good Citizen tests at the Xcel Training Center in Bethel Park, PA. We're very pleased that they did so well!

We have repeated the breeding (Chet x Daily) that produced Geraldo (CastleGate's Daily News, NA, AXJ) and Lydia (CastleGate's Answered Prayer). Those puppies should arrive on Mother's Day weekend, and we're expecting tri's, blue merles, and bi's in that litter.

We had a blast at the CPE agility trial in Washingtonville, OH on March 24th! Elsa (Can Ch Kelbren Come Hither) made her competitive agility debut at that trial, and I was so proud of her. She qualified and placed on two of her four runs that day. Elsa is being trained and handled by Elaine Mayowski, and we're very excited about what the future holds for the two of them. Geraldo (CastleGate's Daily News NA, AXJ), had an even better day at the CPE trial. He qualified and placed on all four of his runs! Geraldo is a joy to run, and I love being on the agility course with him.

Geraldo celebrated the birth of his first puppies by completing his Excellent Jumpers (AXJ) title on March 10th at the Butler Agility Trial in Edinboro, PA. As an added bonus, he got first place too! Geraldo came within a hair's breadth of qualifying for his first Masters Jumpers leg on Sunday. If his mom had been where she was supposed to be when he came out of the tunnel, he wouldn't have missed the next to the last jump (kill me now) and would have easily qualified for his first MXJ leg. I promised him that I'll do better next time! <G>

On March 9th, Geraldo's first litter was born!! The dam of the litter is Shamont Strutting On Bi (Jillian), a lovely bi-black bitch generously leased to us for this litter by Linda Sanders. This litter was co-bred with Judy Quirk (Deja Blue Shelties) and consists of two bi-black females, one bi-blue female, and two bi-black males. We'll be eagerly watching these puppies mature! See our puppies page for more information on this litter.

Geraldo took a four point major reserve under Lloyd Graser Jr. at the Central Ohio Sheltie Specialty on February 24th. The following day, he took another four point major reserve under Lisa Graser. We are so proud of him, and we're very grateful to Linda Urbanek for the beautiful way in which she presented him in the ring. Geraldo is knocking on the door, and we are hopeful that his first points are just around the corner!!

On February 10th at the Tamarack Lake Agility Trial in Edinboro, PA, Geraldo earned his first Open Standard leg with a first place finish. Geraldo and I just started competing in standard agility at the beginning of January, so we're delighted that he's already moved into the Open Standard Class. His first litter is due in early March, and we're hoping to finish at least one more agility title before those puppies arrive!

Geraldo and I had a great weekend at the Admiral Perry Agility Trial in Edinboro, PA. Geraldo earned two Novice Standard legs (both with first place finishes) on January 19th and 20th, and those qualifying runs finished his NA title. He was two years old on January 20th, so I think the NA title was his birthday present to me!! Geraldo also earned his second Excellent Jumpers leg (with a second place finish) that Saturday. My baby boy is now formally known as CastleGate's Daily News, NA, OAJ. Someday soon, I hope we can change that OAJ to an AXJ!!

Geraldo (CastleGate's Daily News OAJ) and I finally got brave enough to run a Novice Standard agility course, and I'm delighted to report that he earned his first NA leg at the Erie Kennel Club's Agility Trial in Edinboro, PA on January 7th. As icing on the cake, he also garnered a first placement for that run!

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