Sadly, Holly left us on August 11, 2008.  It was a warm and breezy afternoon and she was buried on the top of the ridge near our house, overlooking the barn and the pasture full of sheep where she worked for so many years.   This is a huge loss for us and she is very much missed! 

"Holly retired at eleven years old, but she had been a dream dog for me.  She was purchased at five weeks old for $100.00 from a man named Gordie Cline in Tazewell, Va.  I have always had dogs but she was my first Border Collie.

With a new pup and a competitive nature, it didn't take me long to become interested in field trialing.  In the spring of 1995, I ran her at the Ligon's trial in the Novice Novice division.  She won the first day and was in a run off for first on the second day.  As fate would have it, she won the two day average that weekend, along with eighty dollars and a beautiful painting.  I had no idea that she would become such a successful trial dog.  In July of 1996, I entered her in the open class at Jeff Hoffman's trial in Gordonsville, VA.  Dr. Ben Ousley was the judge and it was on that day that she won her first open trial.

Despite my lack of training knowledge, Holly stuck with me.  She was a very intense worker, with the heart of a lion.  She had the right amount of power and enough courage for two dogs.  The bond between us was so strong that I believe she would have done anything for me.  There were many times during her training that I did the wrong things, but because of her desire to work and please me, we made it through.  My friends joked about us saying we were the "blind leading the blind" and in fact we were, but what a great time we had.

Holly was not a National Champion, but she was an outstanding first dog by any standards.  She qualified for the National Nursery Finals two times and the National Open Finals nine years in a row.  Her biggest accomplishment was a fifth place finish at the 1999 National Finals at Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown, VA.  I will never forget that run!  It was a twenty-seven minute course and I ran in the heat of the day.  The sheep were very heavy and although Holly was bred and over half way through her gestation period, she still gave me everything she had.  When I closed that pen gate, I had never been so proud of any dog.

During her open career she won the Virginia Border Collie Association's (VBCA) Skip Myers Award for the best Virginia bred dog in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, and 2004.  In 1999 she finished sixth in the country for Purina's Outstanding Herding Dog.  She also won the VBCA's Open Dog of the year in 1998, 2003, and 2004.  In 2003 Holly was inducted into the VBCA Hall of Fame.  She won the North Carolina-Tennessee Triple Crown in 2002 and again in 2004.  During her last trial season, at almost eleven years old, she was Overall Champion at Montpelier, won the Breezy Hill Trial, the VBCA Winter trial, the Georgia State Double Lift Championship, Seclusival, Donald McCaig's and the Piedmont/Circle BR trial at Dr. Ben Ousley's culminating with winning Dr. Ben Ousley's famous North Carolina State Double Lift Championship.

Holly was always a happy dog, who was eager to work and would try anything that I asked.  I'm very grateful to have been blessed with a first dog like Holly.  She opened so many doors and made friendships for me that will last a lifetime.  She will always be remembered as a truly great working dog and a wonderful companion."  - David Henry

To read a write up about Holly, go to www.littlehats.net/great-dogs.html and about David www.littlehats.net/top-handlers.html