Michele Ritter, Trustee

Michele-for-web (2)

BCCA 2010 Member of the Year

  • Is a Breed Pioneer
  • Is an active participant in both the conformation and performance arenas
  • Is primarily a breeder/owner/handler
  • Has bred over 100 AKC Champions
  • She is an advocate for promoting the versatility of the breed with many of her dogs standing at the forefront of achievement in Obedience, Agility, Herding and Rally.
  • She has devoted her time and expertise to the design and promotional work with the many different facets of our National Specialties over the years, and also serves on the Bulletin staff as assistant to the Editor.
  • She has an unmatched and enviable record for firsts in the breed including winning the first Regional Specialty ever held in 1986, owner/handling the only Beardie to ever win the American and Canadian National specialties in the same year, winning six National Specialty Bests of Breed and has retired the BCCA National Breed Challenge Trophy twice. She can boast the first two- time National Specialty winning beardie and followed this up by breeding that Beardie, to produce another two-time winner. She has amassed 15 owner/handled Bests in Show and over 200 Herding Group Ones. She bred the first AKC Bearded Collie Herding Champion and the first AKC Rally titled Beardie.
  • The five Beardies who have obtained the BCCA’s highest level in achievement in Versatility, the Masters, have all been bred by her.
  • She was named the AKC’s Herding Breeder of the Year in 2005.

The above achievements are only a dream for most, and yet they represent just a broad overview of all this individual has achieved in her 31 years in this breed. It would be hard to dispute that she is one of the most, if not the most, successful and versatile breeder/owner/handlers in the history of our breed.