Meet Linnea...
Growing up, I was always an outdoor person, involved with horses, 4-H and FFA. After college at Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo, I worked as a professional horse trainer, giving lessons, training and showing western performance horses. Later, when I moved to Arizona, horses became a hobby, not a business. I met my husband, Gary while we both worked in the Sedona jeep tour business. We then ventured into the western collectibles/antique market for several years. Now, I am semi-retired and loving it!
About 6 years ago, I was looking for something to give my rescue McNab, Jo-B, a job to do and help with her excess energy. I found out about the Verde Valley Dog Agility Club and began agility lessons. Coming from a horse background, I found agility a natural fit. There are so many similarities in training the two. Jo-B and I both loved it. Not only did it form a great bond between us, it settled her mind and as a special bonus, kept me physically active. Since then, we have added two Border Collies to our family. Megan, who is 8, has moved through the ranks of AKC agility and has her Master titles in Standard Agility, Jumps with Weaves and the FAST class. She qualified for the AKC Nationals this past year. Pearl, who is 3, has also moved along nicely through the AKC ranks, to earn her Masters titles in Standard Agility and Jumps with Weaves, her excellent title in FAST and is closing in on her Time 2 Beat title. Pearl and I would like to run in more USDAA agility trials to possibly qualify for the 2016 Cynosports (USDAA Nationals) that are being held in Scottsdale.
I started teaching agility as a way to supplement going to agility trials. However, it has become so much more. I have learned more about people, dogs and the sport, than I ever could have without this experience. I love my students, their dogs and watching them be inspired by the teamwork built between them. My main goal is to see the confidence build, along with the joy and bonding experience that they can achieve with their dogs.
Growing up, I was always an outdoor person, involved with horses, 4-H and FFA. After college at Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo, I worked as a professional horse trainer, giving lessons, training and showing western performance horses. Later, when I moved to Arizona, horses became a hobby, not a business. I met my husband, Gary while we both worked in the Sedona jeep tour business. We then ventured into the western collectibles/antique market for several years. Now, I am semi-retired and loving it!
About 6 years ago, I was looking for something to give my rescue McNab, Jo-B, a job to do and help with her excess energy. I found out about the Verde Valley Dog Agility Club and began agility lessons. Coming from a horse background, I found agility a natural fit. There are so many similarities in training the two. Jo-B and I both loved it. Not only did it form a great bond between us, it settled her mind and as a special bonus, kept me physically active. Since then, we have added two Border Collies to our family. Megan, who is 8, has moved through the ranks of AKC agility and has her Master titles in Standard Agility, Jumps with Weaves and the FAST class. She qualified for the AKC Nationals this past year. Pearl, who is 3, has also moved along nicely through the AKC ranks, to earn her Masters titles in Standard Agility and Jumps with Weaves, her excellent title in FAST and is closing in on her Time 2 Beat title. Pearl and I would like to run in more USDAA agility trials to possibly qualify for the 2016 Cynosports (USDAA Nationals) that are being held in Scottsdale.
I started teaching agility as a way to supplement going to agility trials. However, it has become so much more. I have learned more about people, dogs and the sport, than I ever could have without this experience. I love my students, their dogs and watching them be inspired by the teamwork built between them. My main goal is to see the confidence build, along with the joy and bonding experience that they can achieve with their dogs.
