Our Story

I still have her.

Nicky — a stuffed Collie I got when I was five years old — has been with me my entire life. Long before I ever stepped foot in a show ring, I was walking her up and down the sidewalk on a shoelace, pretending we were in the breed ring, pretending the judges were watching, pretending she was going to win. She always did.

I did not know then that I was practicing. I just knew I loved Collies with my whole heart — and that someday, somehow, I was going to have a real one.

I got my first Collie at twelve. At fifteen, I had my first real show dog — and I was completely hooked. There is something about this breed that gets into you and never really leaves. The way they move. The way they look at you. The way they carry themselves in a ring like they already know they belong there. I built my foundation from the ground up, learning from breeders and mentors across the country who were generous enough to share what they knew. I studied pedigrees. I watched dogs. I made decisions, learned from them, and made better ones.

Over the years I produced champions, developed my eye, and grew into a clearer understanding of what I was really after. I did not hold on to pedigrees out of loyalty or habit — I moved forward when moving forward was what the program needed. That willingness to keep evolving, to keep asking whether we are truly doing better, is something I carry with me into every breeding decision I make today.

Then came Riker.

Jolis Boldly Go. I knew he was something special from the moment he was born — there are certain dogs you just know, even when they are hours old and you cannot fully explain why. Riker was one of those dogs. Watching him develop, watching him come into himself, and then watching him in that ring  at the 2025 national — that was the culmination of a lifetime of work. Not just the years I spent with him, but every decision, every lesson, every pedigree I ever studied that led me to the pairing that produced him.

Winning at the national level confirms something. Not just that your dog is excellent — but that the path you chose was right. That the standards you held yourself to, even when it would have been easier not to, were worth it. Riker did not just win a ribbon. He announced that Jolis Collies had arrived.

What comes next is the part I am most excited about. I am stepping into this chapter with clearer eyes and a deeper sense of purpose than I have ever had. I know the dogs I want to breed. I know the qualities I am building toward. I know what it looks like when it comes together — because I have seen it now, held it, shown it, and watched it win.

Nicky is still on my shelf. She has watched all of it.

She still has her ribbon.