Judges Biographies
Patricia (Pat) Norris - Champaign, Illinois
A devoted tracker, Pat Norris has raised and trained Flat-Coated Retrievers for over thirty years, participated in not only tracking, but obedience, fieldwork, conformation, agility, and therapy work as well.Pat has been an AKC tracking judge since 1983 and is approved to judge all levels of tracking. Judging tracking tests has been a satisfying way for her to contribute to the sport. She feels fortunate to have judged well over 750 dogs in twenty states, experiences which have given her fresh views of the sport. She claims that "Everywhere, trackers are the friendliest, most helpful folks to be found in canine sports."
Over the years, Pat and her late husband, Richard, helped several tracking groups become established. Pat continues to conduct seminars and to assist and encourage trackers who are new to the sport.
As a freelance writer, Pat has written "Tracker's Forum" for Front and Finish magazine for many years and has published other articles on tracking for the AKC Gazette.
Pat is an active member of the Dog Training Club of Champaign-Urbana, The Flat-Coated Retriever Society of America, the Midwest Waterways Flat-Coated Retriever Club, and the Prairie Peninsula Tracking Society.
Allison Platt - Baltimore, Maryland
Allison Platt has been a breeder/exhibitor of West Highland White Terriers since 1983. She has earned advanced titles on her Kirkton Westies in all the areas in which they are eligible to compete: breed, tracking, obedience, earthdog, and agility. In 1999, her dog, Ch CT Sprite AX OAJ ME OJP OAP RN, Sprite, was the first terrier and the 20th dog of any breed to earn a Variable Surface Tracking title and a Champion Tracker title. Another of Allison's dogs, Ch McAlpin Claim to Fame at Kirkton TD, was Top Ten Terrier, two-time Westminster breed winner, and number one Westie in 2002. Allison has been involved in tracking for more than sixteen years and is currently the tracking training director for Oriole Dog Training Club. Her dogs, both owned and bred-by, have earned multiple tracking, breed championship and other performance titles. Allison put her experiences with Westies to good use when she wrote the performance chapters on Westies in The New West Highland White Terrier, a Howell Book House publication (1998).
Allison became an AKC Tracking judge in 1999 and competed with Sprite at the first AKC Tracking Exhibition in June 2002.
Steve Ripley - Westfield, Indiana
Steve Ripley started in the sport of purebred dogs with a German Shepherd before switching to his current breed - Golden Retrievers. Steve met Jeannie Fox, an obedience and tracking judge, through his involvement with the White River Golden Retriever Club and she was instrumental in getting him and his wife, Janet, involved in tracking. With Jeannie's guidance, Steve put TD titles on several dogs before training an older Golden to a TDX in 1985.Zoe, Steve's current dog, earned her TD title in April of 2004, her TDX in October of 2004, and her VST in one try in October of 2005. Her training came into good use while attending the Golden Retriever National Specialty when the pair participated in the search for a lost Golden Retriever. Steve and Zoe followed the twenty-five hour old scent trail for four hours and three miles before darkness ended the search. The dog was later found one fourth of mile from where they were forced to stop. The two were instrumental in finding the lost Golden Retriever since they took the search into an area that the foot search party had originally thought was too far for the lost dog to have traveled. This search was a true VST track; a mixture of hard surface, grass, and pavement that took the pair through an office complex, housing area, college campus, and park area.
Steve is currently approved to judge all levels of tracking. He accepted this judging assignment with mixed emotions as he had planned on entering Zoe in the Invitational; however, he could not pass up this "once in a lifetime assignment." He plans on entering the 2009 Invitational with Zoe and hopes to have Archie, the dog he is currently training, qualified to enter as well.
William (Sil) Sanders - Stanwood, Washington
William (Sil) Sanders and his wife Anne have shown and bred West Highland White Terriers since 1972. They have put Championships on over thirty owner-bred dogs, mostly owner-handled from the bred-by class. Sil began tracking with his Westies in 1980 and, in 1984, his dog Alicia became the first Westie to earn a Tracking Dog Excellent title. Three more of his Westies have since earned their TDX titles and a total of fifteen of his Westies have earned Tracking Dog titles. Sil does not limit his time to tracking; he is active with his Westies in obedience, rally, and agility. In addition, he has been involved with AWTA Working Terrier trials since 1976 and AKC Earthdog trials since their inception in 1993.
While serving as chairman of the West Highland White Terrier Club of America's Performance Evaluation Committee, Sil has created annual obedience awards, created and sponsored the Versatile Dog Award, and helped license the club for AKC Obedience, Tracking, Agility and Earthdog events.
Long active in AKC Tracking, Sil has been a tracking judge since 1992 and served on the 2004 AKC Tracking Advisory Committee.
