Profile: David Henry's Holly
For more about David's dogs, visit his web site
How many years had you been in sheepdogs when you got Holly? Did you train her, or was she already trained? From whom did you purchase her?
Holly was my first Border Collie. I purchased her for $100.00 from a
man named Gordon Cline who lives in Tazewell, Virginia. I have done all
the training myself.
What were Holly's greatest strengths? What were her chief weaknesses?
Holly’s strengths are her heart, her courage, and her desire to work
like no other dog I have ever been around. She has tremendous balance
and has always remained keen and happy to work regardless of the heat,
livestock, or training pressures that I have exposed her to. I was gathering
sheep for a neighbor once and Holly overheated to the point that she could
not stand on her back legs. She remained in a sitting position and tried
to drag herself toward the sheep. She did not want to quit working and
would have died that day if I had not stopped her. I regret allowing her
to work to that point and I guess I have been Holly’s chief weakness.
Having said that, she did not have a natural feel for sheep and she would
constantly push them too fast. When I first started Holly, things I did
in her training created a fear in her that her sheep were going to escape.
Whenever something went wrong during the drive, she would flank around
and start bringing sheep to me, FAST! She felt that she had to constantly
be in control of the sheep.
How long did it take you and Holly to succeed as a team in sheepdog trials?
As luck would have it, Holly won her first trial. It was at Seclusival
in May of 1995 in Nov Nov. In July of 1996, I ran Holly for the first
time in open at Jeff Hoffman’s. She won her first open trial that
day and is still going strong.
Was there any one moment that caused you to realize that she was a
very special dog?
I don’t think there was any one moment. I think that it was a series
of events that built on one another. When I saw her handle tough situations
on the farm, that day that she would not stop working even though she
was overheated, and the fact that she was strong enough to do real work
and still be competitive at trials, but I guess the real deciding factor
was how hard it has been to find a replacement for her. When you go through
dozens of dogs over the years, from many different kennels and bloodlines,
only to find that nothing quite compares to what you have, it is then
that you know
you have been blessed with a truly great dog!
What were the greatest challenges that you and Holly faced together?
I think our biggest challenge was the fact that we were both so inexperienced.
How successful was Holly as a brood bitch? How many litters did she
have? To whom was she bred? In general, what qualities did she tend to
pass on to her offspring?
Holly was only bred once to Kent Kuykendall’s Coon. She had three
puppies by C-section, one male and two females. Unfortunately none of
the puppies turned out to be what I was looking for.
What was the most exciting/gratifying trial in which you and Holly participated?
I guess I would have to say the 1999 National Finals. Holly and I were
13th in the first go, 3rd in the semi finals, and 5th in the final round.
Is there anything else about Holly that you'd like to add?
Through a wonderful dog named Holly, God has opened a whole new chapter
in my life. I have made friendships that will last a lifetime, and had
the opportunity to travel all over the United States and Great Britain
with these wonderful dogs. I will never be able to repay her for all she
has done for me!