Nominees in Conformation
Michael Canalizo
Michael Canalizo has spent many years in the Dog Show World as a Breeder/Owner, Professional Handler, turned Judge. His first exposure to his primary breed: the Afghan Hound came in 1961 as a member of “the typical Hobby Breeder family” with their purchase of “Babu Bamn of Grandeur”. He showed his family’s home-bred dogs through five generations of their own small breeding program. His relationship with the Afghans of Grandeur spans over 60 years. He has owned, shown, and lived with many other breeds, among them: Salukis, Dachshunds, German Shepherd Dogs, Whippets, Border Collies, Parson and Russell Terriers.
He was the Breeder/Owner/Handler of the Top Winning Hound of All Time (Ch. Triumph of Grandeur) with 87 BIS wins until a daughter of his dog (Int. Ch. Tryst of Grandeur) broke that record with 161 BIS. He has won 2 Top Owner Handler Awards and 6 Quaker Oats Awards. Collectively he piloted over 100 Afghan Hounds to their Championships recording 300 All-Breed Best in Shows and nearly 1,000 Hound Group awards in the breed, including Top Dog of the year in 1995.
He is currently approved to judge BIS, All Sporting, Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting and Herding breeds plus breeds in the Working group. He has officiated at events in 38 countries to date.
Michael is a member of the Afghan Hound Club of America, Westbury Kennel Association and the Morris and Essex Kennel Club.
Michael Canalizo’ s credentials include developing and presenting dog-related educational seminars worldwide, 30 years as an OHA Handling Instructor, feature writing, and working as a contributing editor for numerous national and international publications. He was an AKC Executive Field Representative and held the position as Director of AKC Event Management from 2005 to 2016.
While he has demonstrated decades of success in the Conformation world, his focus has always been his unwavering support of the breeders and owners of the AKC purebred dog.
James (Jim) Corbett
My AKC journey was unplanned and unexpected, as I had no youthful experience with dogs. However, the introduction and journey have been enjoyable and without regrets. As a wedding present from my mother-in-law, we received a field bred Weimaraner. This lasted for a few years as the dog lacked field skills and Conformation merit. In 1971 we found the breed that we loved and still do – Black and Tan Coonhounds. My wife was great in the show ring, and this was not my field of interest. Although I greatly enjoyed teaching, in 1970 I left the college classroom and shifted to university administration. The involvement in dog club administration and dog shows was a logical move, as I was using many of the same skills in serving as a Club Officers and Show Chair.
Overview – Dog Clubs and Dog Shows
- Portland KC – Show Chair, President [1982 to date]
- Tualatin KC – President, Show Chair, Delegate [28+ years]
- Vancouver KC – Show Chair
- Cascade Hound Association – Board
- Longview-Kelso KC – President, Show Chair [current]
- Portland Dog Obedience Club – President, Obedience Trial Chair, Event Secretary
- American Black & Tan Coonhound Club – President, Show Chair, Secretary [current]
- Coonhound Field Events – Field Marshal [water races, night hunts, field trials]
- AKC Delegate – member of Field Trial/Hunt Test Committee for 25+ years, committee chair [5 years until retirement]
- AKC Delegate – served on numerous ad hoc committees [AKC Relocation, Nominating Committee, Judge Application Process Committee and others]
Overview – Professional
- University Faculty – Duchesne College, Marylhurst College
- University Administration – Marylhurst College, Oregon State University
- After 55 years in American Kennel Club activities, we can look back in pride, with no regrets in the investment of time and money. Each in our own way we accomplished much. Above all, we enjoyed the journey, and the journey continues.
Sandy Lady
In 1963 Sandy Lady started her career in the dog show world when, while walking her pet Great Dane puppy, she was stopped in the street by a stranger who insisted she show that puppy. She, Ann Hoy, later introduced her to Damara Bolte, (a previous recipient of the 2008 AKC Lifetime Achievement Award) and Damara agreed, finishing that youngster in record time. In 1965 Sandy joined the Old Dominion Kennel Club and has been a member ever since. Damara Bolte’s quote “Sandy has been an excellent fiduciary for ODKC for many years.”
Sandy was very active in Old Dominion from the start, chairing most of the committees, and then alternated serving as President or Vice-President for many years. She had the privilege of serving as Show Chairman for ODKC’s 100th show, which drew more than 5000 entries. About 20 years ago, ODKC established, with Warrenton Kennel Club, what became the Hunt Country Cluster and she became the long-time Show Chair and Treasurer for ODKC as well as the Cluster Chairman for HCC. Moving to the
Charlottesville area in 2004, she joined the Charlottesville-Albemarle Kennel Club and became its President for 6 years as well as its Show Chair for the Celebrate Virginia Cluster and currently serves as the Vice President.
In the meantime, she was elected to the Board of the Great Dane Club of America, where she was the National Specialty Coordinator for 4 years, and then became the President for another four years.
Sandy has shown, raised, and judged Great Danes for most of her adult life. She has whelped multiple AKC Champions, including an all-breed BIS Recipient , and expanded her love for Great Danes by getting her judging license in her forties. She’s had the privilege of judging all over the United States and the honor of judging one of the Great Dane Club of America’s National Specialties and Top Twenty Events.
Sandy’s love for Danes included mentoring new owners, testing puppies for show quality, temperament, and handling classes. Judges, Handlers and Amateur owners ask regularly for Sandy’s opinion.
Nominees in Companion Events
Dianne Allen
Once upon a time over 50 years ago I showed my first dog. I hit the Conformation ring with a GSD, but soon found Obedience. In the early 80’s I switched to Belgian Tervuren and had my first Obedience Trial Champion and breed Champion.
More Tervuren followed and so far there have been 1 BIS, 9 BISS, 5 OTCHs, 6 MACHs, 7 UDs, 7 CH’s, 2 GCH, 2 TDs, 1 TDX, 3 REs and numerous Obedience, Herding and Rally titles.
Each of my Tervuren have achieved titles in multiple venues and as they say – “Variety is the spice of life.” My primary passion continues to be Obedience and in 1989 I applied for my AKC Obedience Judging License. I was grandfathered in as a Rally Judge at its inception.
I have served as Officers or Directors in both my National and Regional Tervuren Clubs and have been Show Chairman for 3 National Specialties. I currently Show Chair 3 annual Agility Trials for the Great Lakes Belgian Tervuren Club.
I have taught Obedience for over 45 years – typically in classes but sometimes in workshops or private lessons. I have presented a number of seminars on training, handling and the Obedience rules.
My proudest moments as a judge have been my first tournament in 1998 and judging Obedience and Sweepstakes at my National Specialties. As an exhibitor there have been many priceless memories – my first UD, first OTCH, winning my National Specialty in both Conformation and Obedience and winning the Best in Show.
I have co-bred several litters over the years and truly enjoy the early training of these puppies for Obedience, Agility, Tracking and Conformation.
I currently exhibit in Conformation, Agility, Obedience and Rally and I hope to continue making memories and enjoying all the canine activities for as long as I can.
Curt Curtis
Mr. Curtis began training dogs at the age of 8 in 1960 and has been training and working with dogs ever since. At the age of 16 he began to instruct and train professionally, working full time at a kennel in the Portland, Oregon area while attending school.
In 1972, Mr. Curtis founded his own dog training and consultation business, where he met his wife, Karla.
Curt has conducted dog training and tracking classes in the Pacific Northwest, with new training ventures developing in his new home area of Pahrump, Nevada. During this same period of time, Mr. Curtis acted as a consultant and trainer to several Police Canine Programs, in Obedience, Tracking, Scent Work and Handling.
Mr. Curtis is approved to judge all AKC Obedience, Rally and Tracking Classes, as well as being an evaluator for CGC, Trick Dog and Temperament Testing.
In 2005 Curt was hired by the American Kennel Club to oversee and run the Companion Events Department, governing the sports of Obedience, Rally, Tracking and Agility until his retirement in 2012. During his time with the American Kennel Club, his team developed the Beginner Novice Class along with creating many new Companion Event titling classes. Another highlight during his tenure with the American Kennel Club was the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Obedience.
After leaving his position with the American Kennel Club, Mr. Curtis has served as the President for the Tualatin Kennel Club and Portland Dog Obedience Club.
Although Mr. Curtis started training with a Black Labrador, the past 61 years have allowed him to work with and title numerous dogs from many groups in Obedience, Rally, Tracking and Conformation. Curt and his wife Karla are currently having fun working and showing their Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
In closing, Mr. Curtis stated his love of dogs and our sports would not have developed, if not for the support and guidance of his mentors who helped to guide him along the way.
Judie Howard
Arydith Obedience School, Inc. was established in the mid-1970s, with the first Beginners Class and a Novice 1 Class being taught on a tennis court at Campolindo High School in Moraga, CA. Judie and her husband, Gary Howard, were told they would never, ever get dogs into the gymnasiums, but after one principal took a chance on them they were allowed into many gyms in the area to hold classes. Most of the year they had 90+ Beginners in two separate classes per session with a ratio of one assistant for every 4 dogs. Judie taught every class. People often ask where the name “Arydith” comes from. The “Ary” is from Gary, and the “dith” is from Judith, whom people know as the less formal “Judie”.
As the popularity of the classes increased the classes were separated into beginners, Novice 1, Novice 2, Novice 3, Open and Utility. They could not take Open B or Utility B students yet because there was not enough room. The Novice 3 and Open A Classes had over 70 students in four rings, and Utility A was limited to 26 students in the four rings. In 1991 they built a beautiful 2500 square foot facility with 12-foot ceilings, heated and air-conditioned. Judie owned one of the largest obedience schools in the country for 24 years, with an enrollment of over 350 dogs per week. She has put more than 70 AKC obedience titles on dogs including 18 UDs, 7 UDXs and 13 OTCHs. (Another dog is three-fourths of the way to his OTCH and has all of his first places.) She has earned more than 150 AKC High in Trials, including twelve 200s on 6 dogs and has given more than 120 camps and/or seminars throughout the U. S. and Canada.
She is also:
- A member of the National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors
- A member of the 1988 AKC Obedience Advisory Committee
- The instructor of 27 students whose dogs have earned the OTCH title
- The owner/trainer of 5 dogs in the Golden Retriever Obedience Hall of Fame
- The owner/trainer of 15 multiple High in Trial and High Combined dogs
- The first person to finish an OTCH in 4 straight trials with all first places
- The only person to have earned OTCH titles on dogs from 6 different breeds and 5 different groups – all earned in the United States
- The only person to have earned 13 OTCHs
Judie Howard is not only a highly accomplished handler and instructor who has given her life to the sport, she is beloved by all who know her. She is the very definition of a life well-lived.
Nominees in Performance Events
John (Jack) Unbehaun
In the fall of 1969, after receiving my Ph. D. in Mathematics, I came to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a Professor of Mathematics. At the end of May 1999, I retired.
In 1970 while driving by a field I observed a group training their Labrador Retrievers. After stopping to see if they would want me to shoot birds, they invited me to join them and purchase a Labrador puppy from a group member. I became an active member of Blackhawk Retriever Club. I worked my way through the Club offices of Secretary, Treasurer and President. I chaired many Retriever Club Field Trials, beginning with informal trials and then AKC License/Member Club Trials. I started judging AKC Field Trials in the mid-1970’s and have continued judging both major and minor stakes for well over 40 years with well over 100 assignments in trials all over the United States.
Since my first Labrador, I have owned Labradors continually and competed with them. I have competed in a National Amateur. I owned a National Open finalist. I ran two National Derby Championships and was a finalist in one. I have worked at National Amateur Championships in either set up, marshalling, traffic committee, gunning, or special committee.
I own field trial grounds in both Wisconsin and Georgia and allow multiple clubs to use them for their events. In Wisconsin the National Amateur has used them to run several series of their events in 2013, 2017, and 2021. I helped form a new club, the Southwest Georgia Retriever Club, Americus, Georgia, and am a charter member. I am very active in this club. I am a life member of the Madison Retriever Club. The Blackhawk Retriever Club has twice awarded me the AKC medallion for Outstanding Sportsmanship. I am an AKC Delegate for the Blackhawk Retriever Club, a Member Club of AKC.
Sharol and Sean Hathaway
My wife and I started in Herding in 1989 with our first dog, Timber. We soon discovered that the upstanding dog trainers available needed much to be desired; so, we bought our own sheep and really learned how to do it.
Through the 1990’s we learned a lot about Herding. We learned that there are good trial dogs and that there are good working dogs; that there are ways to win and ways to work stock. Somewhere in there Timber became the fourth Belgian Tervuren to achieve HC status. Our first student came to us, and we tried to impart to her and the group that followed the things that we had learned. Our emphasis was on training the Herding teams how to succeed…and how to win. We also developed a method of training to aid all of us in this endeavor.
In 2000 our “proof of concept” dog was born, Utah. We trained him from the ground up with all that we had learned. And it worked. Utah, at 26 months, became the youngest HC in the Belgian world. He was also the #1 Herding Tervuren in 2003 (ABTC rankings), a feat which he duplicated in 2012 at the age of 12. His son, Zion, has continued in his footsteps getting his HC at 28 months and he’s been the top dog twice out of his four years.
In the past 30 years we have trained and handled everything from a Bearded Collie to a Catahoula and most of the breeds in between. We have put Herding Championships on Malinois, Tervuren and a Border Collies; Eleven HCs all together.
In 2002 we became AKC Herding Judges in order to give something back to the sport we love. As judges we look for good stock work; work that you would like to see on your own farm dealing with your stock. We aren’t concerned overly much about “style” as long as it gets the job done in a satisfactory fashion. When asked a question about our judging we usually can answer, “Have you read the rule book?” That is how we judge, by the book.
We have trained several AKC Judges, many of whom have their own facilities that support the AKC Herding venue. The most important part of Herding is realizing the breed standard and the connection it has to health, structure and temperament.
Laurie Soutar
Laurie Soutar has been involved with sighthounds since she was a teenager, bred her first litter of Greyhounds under the Lakilanni prefix in 1976, and since then has worked to breed, encourage and promote dogs who could be successful in both the field and in the ring.
She has been involved in promoting and preserving various Performance Sports for many years, and she has extensive experience in all facets of Performance Events. She hosted events at her property for 30 years, including shows, Lure Coursing, Rally and Obedience Trials, Draft Dog Tests, as well as Specialties and Breed Club Events. She has been Trial Secretary or Chair for many different sports for different clubs and has assisted and supported the creation of numerous Performance Clubs. She has mentored Judges, Field Trial Secretaries and Lure Operators. She oversaw the creation of the Canadian Amateur Racing Association and wrote the rule book. She created and wrote the rules for a Lure Coursing program for the UKC, which included the first ever coursing titles for non-sighthounds. The program was so popular that the following year AKC adopted virtually identical rules, and the CAT and Fast CAT® programs have introduced thousands of dogs and their handlers to the joys of running sports.
She has promoted Performance Sports enthusiastically and tirelessly through articles in many dog publications, teaching classes, as well as offering seminars, workshops and try-it days, and currently teaches Obedience, Rally and Scent Work, as well as running Lure Coursing practices. She is licensed to judge Lure Coursing in every venue, and various other sports through several registries. She organized the Fast CAT® test for the first Eukanuba Performance Games, has hosted the National Lure Coursing Championship, and when AKC Scent Work was introduced, she organized and was Secretary for full trials on the first official date.
She believes that Conformation and Performance go hand in hand and has bred more than 30 Dual Champions since the inception of AKC’s Lure Coursing program in 1991, and more than 50 that included ASFA (American Sighthound Field Association) Field Champions that were also AKC Bench Champions. She was awarded the AKC Performance Breeder of the Year in 2015. In addition, she has titled Greyhounds in nearly every sport, and has had numerous dogs achieve #1 status in Lure Coursing, including two dogs that were #1 in AKC, ASFA and CKC Lure Coursing in the same year.