Which dog-handler teams took home titles at the 2019 AKC Rally National Championship?
The 2019 AKC Rally National Championship was held on Friday, March 15 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the Built Ford Tough Arena at Expo Square.
Rally is one of the newest dog sports, where the dog-handler teamwork is paramount, though it is also timed. The dog completes a course of between 10 to 20 obstacles, and points are deducted for faults, similar to gymnastics.
Novice Class
Goldie the Nova Scotia Retriever and her handler Kathleen Keller won in the Novice Class, which had a strong local flavor at the top of the charts, as three of the top ten come from the Tulsa area. The winners, however, come from Flemington, New Jersey. They had a perfect score of 200 points, and finished the course in 61.43 seconds.
All the top ten finishers completed the course with perfect scores, actually, so timing determined their placements.
Scout the Border Collie and handler Kendall Penley from Owasso, Oklahoma were second with a time of 125.50 seconds.
In third was Doc the Golden Retriever and handler Maggie Lamb of Glen Allen, Virginia, with a time of 127.56 seconds.
Coming fourth was Cheyenne the All-American Dog of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, and handler Nicole Young at 131.56 seconds. Cheyenne’s official name includes a reference to nearby Sahoma Lake.
Finishing out the top five was Rouxette the Malinois and handler Kimberly Hoeppner of Bogalusa, Louisiana at 133.19 seconds. Part of her official name is “Cajun Roulette Queen,” which is pretty cool.
In sixth was Chyppe the Boxer and Tracy Hendrickson of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma at 138.69 seconds.
Seventh was Zasu the Border Collie and Miki Shannon from Mission Hills, California at 138.88 seconds.
Eighth was Q the Golden Retriever and Terry Thornton of Parker, Texas at 140.60 seconds.
Ninth was Skip the Border Collie and Kristine Hurst of Canton, South Dakota at 144.10 seconds.
Closing out the top ten was the team of Rayna the Border Collie and Gerianne Darnell of Council Bluffs, Iowa, at 145.13 seconds.
In total, 104 dogs competed in the Novice Class, and the first dog to record a non-perfect score came in 12th. For full class results, see here on the AKC’s website.
Intermediate Class
The Intermediate Class of the 2019 AKC Rally National Championship was quite a bit more challenging, as no rally teams finished with a perfect score in this division.
Splash the Miniature American Shepherd and Merry Zakrzewski of Little Rock, Arkansas won the class with a score of 198 points and a time of 157.03 seconds.
Coming runner up were Tru the Cardigan Corgi and Kelli Bausch of Hoyt, Kansas, with a score of 197 points and a time of 158.47 seconds.
The final podium position went to Levi the All-American Dog and Paula Thomason of Fayetteville, North Carolina, with a score of 196 points and a time of 138.00 seconds.
Fourth place was Mississippi the Border Collie and Katelyn Cruise, with a score of 196 points and a time of 154.38 seconds. Ironically, they are not from the Magnolia State, but Blountsville, Alabama.
Rounding out the top five was the team of Addie the Miniature Schnauzer and Sharon Bloss of Oak Grove, Missouri, with a score of 196 points and a time of 196.66 seconds.
In sixth was Buster the All-American Dog and his owner Jessica Poynter from Montrose, Colorado, with a score of 195 points and a time of 144.82 seconds.
Seventh was Tulsa native Ajax the Doberman and Kay Backues with a score of 195 points and a time of 164.62 seconds. Kay is a veterinarian, and Ajax’s official name is “Trojan War Triumph,” which is an awesome name for a Doberman.
Zorro the All-American Dog and his owner Samantha Mary Uk, from Topeka, Kansas, were eighth. They scored 195 points and finished in 167.90 seconds.
In ninth was Sula the German Shepherd and Rebecca Underwood from Winchester, Kentucky, who scored 195 points and finished in 173.88 seconds. Sula is named after the title character in a very unusual novel by Toni Morrison.
Closing out the top ten in the Intermediate Class was Dugan the All-American Dog and Karen Richardson of Las Cruces, New Mexico, who scored 194 points and finished in 173.18 seconds.
In total, 66 dogs competed in the Intermediate Class, and full results can be found here on the AKC website.
Advanced Class
Bounce the Miniature American Shepherd and Barb Kelm of Kandiyohi, Minnesota, won the Advanced Class of the 2019 AKC Rally National Championship with a near-perfect score of 199 points and a time of 166.15 seconds.
Runner-up was Storm the Border Collie and Missy Rogers of Waynesville, Ohio, with a score of 198 points and a time of 157.12 seconds.
In third was Ellie the Australian Shepherd and Mary Todd from Little Rock, Arkansas, with a score of 198 points and a time of 162.15 seconds.
Fourth was Ash the German Shepherd and Paula Thomason of Fayetteville, North Carolina. They scored 197 points and finished in 163.69 seconds.
Rounding out the top five was Willie the Golden Retriever and April Adams of the St Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois, with a score of 197 points and a time of 197.72 seconds. Even by dog standards, Willie is very accomplished – he has THIRTEEN chunks of letters, usually denoting a title of some kind, in his official name.
In sixth was Grace the Border Collie and Jacquelyn Setmayer of Paramus, New Jersey, with 196 points and a 146.34 second time.
Seventh was another Jersey dog in Fizz the Tervuren, who comes with her owner Pam Blackstone from Bernardsville. They scored 196 points and finished in 156.22 seconds.
In eighth was Twiddle the Border Collie and Kelsey Corn, who come from the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore. They scored 196 points and finished in 166.16 seconds.
In ninth was Copper the Pembroke Corgi and Emma Cruise from Blountsville, Alabama, who scored 196 points and finished in 166.43 seconds.
Closing out the top ten was Nox the All-American Dog and Erin Strong from Tallahassee, Florida, who scored 195 points and finished in 173.25 seconds.
Altogether, 46 dogs competed in the Advanced Class, and full results can be found here on the AKC website.
Excellent Class
Slightly more difficult than Advanced is Excellent Class, and the winner here in the 2019 Rally National Championship was Rennie the All-American Dog and Heidi Lengel of Woodland Park, Colorado, who scored a perfect 200 points in a time of 150.87 seconds.
Coming in second was Flurry the Border Collie and David Frasca of Weldon Spring, Missouri, who earned a perfect score in 160.06 seconds.
Finishing off the podium positions were Athena the Golden Retriever and Francene Andresen from the Chicago-area city of St Charles, Illinois. They earned a perfect score in 162 seconds flat.
In fourth was Trick the Border Collie and Rhona Magni from Southampton, New Jersey, who scored perfectly in 174.56 seconds.
Rounding out the top five was Blayke the Boxer and Tracy Hendrickson from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who scored 199 points in 167.81 seconds.
Tracy also owns and handles the sixth-place finisher, Mitchyll the Boxer, who scored 199 points in 179.87 seconds. Based on the closeness of their official names, we would guess Mitchyll and Blayke are brothers.
In seventh was Salem the Great Dane and Heather Whitaker from Tallahassee, Florida, who scored 199 points in 185.56 seconds.
In eighth was Mary the Labrador Retriever and Laurie Strimavicius from New Milford, Connecticut. They scored 198 points with a time of 140.78 seconds.
In ninth was Chace the Rottweiler and Jeremy Schuster from Long Beach, California, who scored 198 points with a time of 164.31 seconds.
Closing out the top ten were Rose the Belgian Tervuren and Robert Blackstone of Bernardsville, New Jersey, with 198 points in 177.94 seconds.
68 dogs competed in the Excellent Class. For full results, see here on the AKC website.
Master Class
The highest level of rally competition, the Master Class of the 2019 AKC Rally National Championship was won by the very accomplished Golden Retriever Vega and Joanne Bockhorn of Marine, Illinois, who were the only team to earn a perfect score. Their time was 211.08 seconds.
In second place was Zayne the Border Collie and Kim Berkley from Caseyville, Illinois. They earned a score of 198 points and a time of 201.03 seconds.
Beau the Labrador was third with 198 points in 246.09 seconds; he and his owner Janet Bruner are from Cedar Hill, Texas.
In fourth was Shelby the Golden Retriever from the northern Arkansas town of Flippin, who belongs to Lisa Thompson. They scored 197 points in 238.53 seconds.
Rounding out the top five was Chai the Dutch Shepherd and Karen Hall from Pensacola, Florida, who scored 197 points in 304.84 seconds.
In sixth was Venus the Border Collie and Penny Leigh from Graham, North Carolina, who scored 196 points and finished with a blazing-fast time of 189.30 seconds.
Seventh was Beckett the Springer Spaniel and Kim Berkly with 196 points in 216.84 seconds. Beckett’s official name is “Polesitter Always,” which seems fitting.
Eighth was Leisel the Bouvier and Leslie Shimp of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who scored 196 points in 251.59 seconds. Ann Arbor is the home of the University of Michigan, and where Chris and Ann moved in Parks and Recreation.
In ninth was Buffy the Bouvier and Pamela Fusselman of Beinngton, Nebraska. Appropriately, Buffy’s official name has “Vampire Slayer” in it. She finished with 195 points in 246.59 seconds, and the course was much safer from supernatural threats.
Closing out the top ten was Kiara the Husky and April Fingerlos from Parker, Colorado, with 191 points in 291.82 seconds.
28 dogs competed in the Master Class, full results can be found here on the AKC website.
Champion Class
There was also a Championship Class, even higher than Master Class, held at the 2019 AKC Rally National Championship, and it was won by Misty the Schipperke and Carol Davis of Watsonville, California. They scored 399 points with a time of 413.46 seconds.
In second place was local Belgian Tervuren Brandy and Gail Brown of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who scored 399 points in 441.65 seconds.
In third place was Tucker the Border Collie with 397 points and a 327.25 second time. He belongs to Lisa Williams of Mantilus, New York.
Fourth place went to Stryker the Border Collie and Nancy Curtis of Ells Grove, Illinois, who scored 397 points in 369.56 seconds.
Rounding out the top five were Aurora the Border Collie and Brianne Farr of Dacula, Georgia, who totaled 395 points in 350.06 seconds. Aurora’s registered name is “Powerhouse Happily Ever After,” which is a pretty great name.
Joker the Border Collie and Shannon Alfer from Lincoln, Nebraska, were sixth, with 393 points and 392.03 seconds. Fittingly, Joker’s registered name is “Mayhem in Arkham.”
In seventh, with 389 points in 342.91 seconds, was Rev the Border Collie and Kim Berkley from Caseyville, Illinois.
In eighth was Perk the Border Collie and Jen Yates from Murfeesboro, Tennessee. They scored 389 points in 353.84 seconds.
In ninth was Zorro the Lab and Bob Fullum from Staten Island, New York, with a score of 388 points and a time of 429.05 seconds.
Rounding out the top ten were Holly the Australian Shepherd and Daniela Flores from Blaine, Minnesota, with 387 points in 361.66 seconds.
62 dogs competed in the Championship Class, full results can be found here on the AKC website.
Congratulations to all these dogs and their owners and handlers! Stay tuned to Dog O’Day for most AKC National Championship coverage as the weekend goes on.