2017 July August

“Oakley”
Oakley gathering yearlings on the
Twin Oaks Ranch 2017 wetlands
2016 SUPREME CHAMPION STOCKDOG
WTCH-X SLIDING S LAND’S END SURE SHOT DNA-VP PATDcs AFTDcs
Sherry Baker
Our story began when Susan Severns, my very close
friend who I’ve known as far back as grammar school
when we were 11 years old, wanted to breed her
Australian Shepherd, HOF WTCH-X Sweetgrass
Painted Blue Skye PATDs OFTDs. Skye was a great-greatgranddaughter
through her mother’s side of my two ASCA Supreme
Champion Stockdogs – Bull and Kit. Bull was ASCA’s second
Supreme Champion Stockdog in 1991 and Kit had been the last
Supreme Stockdog in 1995. So in 2010 we decided to breed Skye
to my HOF WTCH-X Twin Oaks Black Bart II PATDcs AFTDcs,
who was a great-great-grandson of both Bull and Kit and their litter
sister Cicada. The litter produced eight puppies, one of which was
Oakley, who Diana Land, DVM, of Land’s End, then purchased
from Susan’s Sliding S Aussies.
I remember when Diana would bring Oakley to my Twin Oaks
Ranch in Galt, California, as a 9- to 12-week-old puppy to watch
my herding lessons. She was so “turned on” that with every stock
movement in the arena she would dash to the end of her leash as if
flanking to stop the stock. She would get so wound up that she would
have to be moved out of sight of the stock. By six months of age
Diana brought her to her first lesson. I put her in the round pen with
90 AUSSIE TIMES May-June 2017
sheep, as I start every young dog, and worked her myself. When
I finished, I sensed that this was a dog that could be great. By the
third lesson weeks later I couldn’t keep that opinion to myself and
began to express to folks that Oakley had truly amazing potential.
When she was old enough, Diana placed her in training with me
for 90 straight days. It was like being a schoolteacher who has a
genius in the class. But she was more than just smart; she was also
fun to train and handle. And, oh my, was she instinctive.
Diana took her home at the completion of those 90 days and
continued with largely once-a-week lessons as she prepared to
trial her. Diana took her to various trials, including in Montana,
as well as the 2012 and 2013 Nationals. Along the way, Oakley
completed her Started titles on cattle, sheep, and ducks; notched a
Most Promising Started Aussie honor; and then achieved her Open
duck title and one leg in Open cattle.
While moving up to the Open division, Diana put her back in
training with me for another 30 days. During that time I realized
Oakley simply did not need to be trained like any other dog I had.
She was already not only capable of doing any ranch chore for a
dog but anything expected of an Advanced trial dog, including work
our Post Advanced courses. But she needed to move up faster in