How Did I Get Started In THis?
I started my competitive life in horses, enjoying many years of showing and training in a variety of disciplines, both privately and for some sport barns. My first dog experiences were in Border Collies. I owned some fabulous working dogs, who were my beloved pets and barn dogs, and I enjoyed herding and agility with them. I still love the breed deeply, along with all their quirks.
When I was a very young child, I attended a Morgan Horse show in upstate New York, working as a groom to help a friend with her driving horses. While I was there, I kept hearing barking from a neighboring field. As someone who had always desperately wanted a dog, I was drawn over to see what was happening and soon found myself watching a lure coursing trial. I was mesmerized. My main horse interests were jumpers and retired Thoroughbreds, and I suppose my admiration for athletic horses transferred over to athletic dogs. I was determined to own a sighthound after this experience, but I wasn't sure which would be the best breed for me. I never wanted a couch potato.
In 2011, via an online dog forum, I found myself staring at a photo of what I thought must be the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. Jason was skinny and had a rough, sun-bleached kennel coat, but I still thought he was stunning. I inquired about him the same day, although I questioned my sanity. I had plenty of dog experience at that point, but I knew absolutely nothing about this breed, and had barely even heard of them. Still, Jason "called" to me, and within the month he had joined my home and I had found my perfect breed. Even with the baggage of being a rehome and a former kennel dog, Jason was perfect to me and exactly what I wanted. He turned out to be a fantastic first Lure Coursing dog, and I was even convinced to show him and showed him to his Grand Championship and several BOB wins, despite my poor handling. Jason inspired me and I've gone on to personally own nine Ibizans, and I've met and interacted with well over a hundred of them at this point.
Via Lure Coursing, I met my close friend, Katie Belz of Kamar Ibizans, and I steam-rolled into the breed by helping her whelp and raise numerous litters (I still do). It was invaluable experience learning lines and evaluating puppies as they grew, and I have become extremely attached to these happy, active pedigrees and want to maintain my piece of them within my own vision of the breed. Katie provided me with my second Ibizan, who became the love of my life. Aiden summed up everything people refer to as a "Heart Dog" for me, and he could just about do no wrong in my heart. His father, Fenix, who lived with me in his later years, was one of my very favorites in the breed, and Aiden just took so many of the things I loved about him and mixed them with his mom's sassy sweetness. I will probably always look for these dogs in future litters as the ideal type of my heart. My two current boys are both Kamar dogs, with the traits of those lines that I tremendously value.
I questioned for a long time if I wanted to breed Ibizans, and ultimately decided that we need more breeders of these amazing dogs, and we need more people studying pedigrees and health. I purchased Evie with the hope of creating my own vision of the breed, and I hope to see that come to be in the near future. Above all else, I want to preserve this breed in as healthy of a state as I can manage. While I occasionally show my dogs, it's very low on the items of interest for me. I've finished multiple of my dogs and major-pointed everything I've shown, but it's not something I enjoy. My goals and interests are far more performance-oriented. I love hunting with my dogs, Lure Coursing, and competing in LGRA and NOTRA racing. I love enjoying them as my silly and super funny pets. I will continue to show them out of obligation, but it's far from a primary goal for me.
Along similar ideals, in 2014 my friends Eddie & Selma Kominek came wandering over to our set up while Lure Coursing in Kentucky, and they had at the end of their leash one of the coolest looking dogs I had ever seen. Brienne grabbed my heart instantly, with her small, athletic build and her patterned coat - I had never seen anything like her. I left that trial and messaged Selma that I was interested when they bred her, and proceeded to join a bunch of Facebook groups on primitive Afghan Hounds. While the racing bred dogs are not primitive like dogs from their country of origin, they most closely resemble them in modern pedigrees. Brienne turned out to be a brilliant performance dog, and when her second litter was announced bred to a German racing Afghan, I knew I would regret it if I didn't take the opportunity and I ended up adding a mostly racing/hunting-bred Afghan Hound to my family in 2018. Fleura is an extremely talented runner and has been very successful in both Lure Coursing and racing. She pairs beautifully with the Ibizans and I've really enjoyed her sassy personality.
When I was a very young child, I attended a Morgan Horse show in upstate New York, working as a groom to help a friend with her driving horses. While I was there, I kept hearing barking from a neighboring field. As someone who had always desperately wanted a dog, I was drawn over to see what was happening and soon found myself watching a lure coursing trial. I was mesmerized. My main horse interests were jumpers and retired Thoroughbreds, and I suppose my admiration for athletic horses transferred over to athletic dogs. I was determined to own a sighthound after this experience, but I wasn't sure which would be the best breed for me. I never wanted a couch potato.
In 2011, via an online dog forum, I found myself staring at a photo of what I thought must be the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. Jason was skinny and had a rough, sun-bleached kennel coat, but I still thought he was stunning. I inquired about him the same day, although I questioned my sanity. I had plenty of dog experience at that point, but I knew absolutely nothing about this breed, and had barely even heard of them. Still, Jason "called" to me, and within the month he had joined my home and I had found my perfect breed. Even with the baggage of being a rehome and a former kennel dog, Jason was perfect to me and exactly what I wanted. He turned out to be a fantastic first Lure Coursing dog, and I was even convinced to show him and showed him to his Grand Championship and several BOB wins, despite my poor handling. Jason inspired me and I've gone on to personally own nine Ibizans, and I've met and interacted with well over a hundred of them at this point.
Via Lure Coursing, I met my close friend, Katie Belz of Kamar Ibizans, and I steam-rolled into the breed by helping her whelp and raise numerous litters (I still do). It was invaluable experience learning lines and evaluating puppies as they grew, and I have become extremely attached to these happy, active pedigrees and want to maintain my piece of them within my own vision of the breed. Katie provided me with my second Ibizan, who became the love of my life. Aiden summed up everything people refer to as a "Heart Dog" for me, and he could just about do no wrong in my heart. His father, Fenix, who lived with me in his later years, was one of my very favorites in the breed, and Aiden just took so many of the things I loved about him and mixed them with his mom's sassy sweetness. I will probably always look for these dogs in future litters as the ideal type of my heart. My two current boys are both Kamar dogs, with the traits of those lines that I tremendously value.
I questioned for a long time if I wanted to breed Ibizans, and ultimately decided that we need more breeders of these amazing dogs, and we need more people studying pedigrees and health. I purchased Evie with the hope of creating my own vision of the breed, and I hope to see that come to be in the near future. Above all else, I want to preserve this breed in as healthy of a state as I can manage. While I occasionally show my dogs, it's very low on the items of interest for me. I've finished multiple of my dogs and major-pointed everything I've shown, but it's not something I enjoy. My goals and interests are far more performance-oriented. I love hunting with my dogs, Lure Coursing, and competing in LGRA and NOTRA racing. I love enjoying them as my silly and super funny pets. I will continue to show them out of obligation, but it's far from a primary goal for me.
Along similar ideals, in 2014 my friends Eddie & Selma Kominek came wandering over to our set up while Lure Coursing in Kentucky, and they had at the end of their leash one of the coolest looking dogs I had ever seen. Brienne grabbed my heart instantly, with her small, athletic build and her patterned coat - I had never seen anything like her. I left that trial and messaged Selma that I was interested when they bred her, and proceeded to join a bunch of Facebook groups on primitive Afghan Hounds. While the racing bred dogs are not primitive like dogs from their country of origin, they most closely resemble them in modern pedigrees. Brienne turned out to be a brilliant performance dog, and when her second litter was announced bred to a German racing Afghan, I knew I would regret it if I didn't take the opportunity and I ended up adding a mostly racing/hunting-bred Afghan Hound to my family in 2018. Fleura is an extremely talented runner and has been very successful in both Lure Coursing and racing. She pairs beautifully with the Ibizans and I've really enjoyed her sassy personality.