The Rocky Mountain Regionals
Okotoks, Alberta. June 23 - 25, 2023
The Rocky Mountain Regionals
Okotoks, Alberta. June 23 - 25, 2023
Hosted by Rocky Mountain Agility Club, the 2023 AB/NWT AAC Regional Championships will be held from June 23 – 25 in Okotoks, AB. With pristine fields just behind the Centennial Arenas, dogs and handlers alike will have easy access to a variety of services all nestled in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
AMAZING!!! Thanks to the incredible response from all of you, we have so many entries that we've needed to add ANOTHER RING. That's right, we will be running 4 rings!!!
Meet Our Judges
We are fortunate to have three incredible judges for the event this year.
Paula Collins - Alberta
Tara LaBelle - British Columbia
Yanick Villeneuve - Quebec
Bridgette Hunter - Manitoba
Paula Collins
I am from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I began agility in 1996 with my Belgian Tervuren. I have also lived in Denmark and Norway where I participated in agility with my Belgians. I’ve since had a series of rescues (mostly terrier mixes) and now Border Collies. We have competed across Canada from East to West Coast. Dogs are my life’s work and I’ve been involved in the Veterinary world for over 25 years and am a Certified Professional Dog Trainer.
I have competed at the Canadian National Level with several of my dogs. We’ve achieved Regional wins and multiple podium placements at our Regional and National level. We had the fun opportunity to compete at the Nordic Nationals with one of my Belgians when living in Norway.
I became an AAC judge in 2015. As part of being a judge I have taken personal responsibility to become as educated as possible as this is a “job” that I am being hired by clubs to do. I have attended 3 course design/judging clinics with Tamas Traj. I am a National Level certified judge through the Global Judges program, an independent judges training program. This program focuses on elements such as Safety, Course Design, Judges Path, Accurate Calls and more.
In addition to judging club trials I have judged AAC Regionals in Alberta 2021, BC 2022 and Nationals 2022 AAC as well as the US Open 2019.
Judging has become a passion for me. As a National level judge education is crucial and I seek further education whenever available.
It gives me great pleasure to have the best seat in the house watching teams navigate the courses. I am beyond thrilled and thankful to have the opportunity to judge amazing teams at the 2023 AB/NWT Regionals! I can’t wait to watch the teams step to the line!
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Tara Labelle
I’m excited and honoured to be part of the judging team for the 2023 AB/NWT AAC regionals!
I started participating in the sport of agility over 15 years ago with a Sheltie. My active competing dog; Jet is a Border Collie who I’ve been fortunate to represent Team Canada as part of the AAC National team 5 times. Jet is a 9x IFCS world medalist and is just coming off a gold medal at the 2022 IFCS world agility championships.
In my everyday life; I’m a full time dog training coach near Vancouver, BC. I teach dogs of all breeds and handlers of all abilities. This perspective has served me well in my judging and creating courses. My goal with any course is to create a fast, fun, flowing sequence with natural lines and appropriate spacing for dogs of all sizes.
I’m looking forward to seeing competitors in June!
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Yanick Villeneuve
I am very honoured to have been invited to be one of the judges for the 2023 AB/NWT AAC regionals!
I have been involved in agility and AAC since 2007 with my first dog, Jedi which was never the fastest but definitely one of the most reliable dog out there. Since then, my love for the sport has only grown.
I have been a Frisbee Judge since 2012 and then made the jump to agility judge in 2015 and it has been a passion since then. I currently do not have a competing dog but Saga is my 5 months old puppy ready to take on the field. Who know where we will end up!
My professional life brings me all around the country as I serve aviation customers everywhere in the country, but it's never as good as when I travel to judge competitions. I know this will be one to remember and I will be ready to cheer every single team that will be stepping to the line to show what they can do. I know I will!
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Brigitte Hunter
I am thrilled and exited to be part of the judging team for the 2023 AB/NWT AAC Regionals.
I am a retired high school teacher and live just outside of Winnipeg, MB. I have been lucky enough to share my life with Siberian and Alaskan Huskies for almost 40 years. Besides Agility, I have successfully participated in a variety of other dog sports incl. Sled Dog Races, Obedience and Rally O Trials, Confirmation Shows, as well as Barn Hunt and Scent Detection Trials.
I have been involved in Agility since early 2000 and have successfully competed in AAC, CKC, AKC, NADAC and UKI with four of my Siberian Huskies, one Alaskan Husky and two Border Collies. Some of them have achieved placements at Regional and National events and all of them (except the young BC) have achieved their ATChC.
I am an AAC Master Judge, an active member of Agility in Manitoba and own and operate Klondike’s Northern Agility where I teach various levels of Agility.
I still love all aspects of the sport as much now as I did when I was first introduced to it 23 years ago.
I look forward to cheering everyone on and wish you all good luck!!!