Les and his wife, Katrece, live in Childress, a town in the Texas Panhandle. Les was raised in southwest Texas, where his family raised sheep, cattle, and goats. He began working with Border Collies with help from his father, Eddie, who had trained, used, and trialed dogs since the 1960s. Les got his first working dog in 1986, trained him, and began trialing shortly afterward. After ranching and training dogs for nearly a decade, Les changed careers and stepped away from dogs until his children were raised. With help from his longtime friend Emil Leudeke, Les reconnected with his passion for working Border Collies after retiring from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Les has enjoyed training and trialing in Texas and beyond and has served as a director for the Texas Sheep Dog Association on multiple occasions. A formidable Border Collie handler, Les has won and placed at many of the top Open and Nursery sheep dog trials. He recently finished in fifth place at the Soldier Hollow Classic with his good dog “Jig.” Les truly enjoys the training process, the competitive aspects of sheep dog trials and the lifelong friendships made along the way.

John Campbell is an active and engaged member of the USBCHA and contributes to the organization in a number of meaningful ways:

• Organizes and manages three well-run and well-attended trials each year. Each trial is held at separate venues and offers both open and novice classes. John also assists with other trials, both as a volunteer and as vendor for sheep.

• Supports the improvement of the Border Collie by importing and breeding high-quality herding dogs. Offspring of his breeding program perform well in USBCHA competition.

• John gives back to the herding community as a volunteer, a judge, a current director, and as an active participant in trials. An accomplished handler, one of his dogs is currently ranked in the top ten in points, and another is among the top sixty dogs nationwide.

• John’s spouse, Sally, is also an active, engaged competitor and contributor to the herding community. With John on the Board, the USBCHA will benefit from both John and Sally’s sustained interest, service, and commitment. John is well qualified to lead District 6. John’s long-term demonstrated commitment and service to the USBCHA is exemplary. John and Sally are assets to the USBCHA.

Tildon and his wife, Amy, live in Rome, Georgia with their 3 daughters. They manage a small cow calf operation, along with a small flock of hair sheep. He transitioned into working with Border Collies after several years of training reined cow horses. In college, he started training horses during summer breaks to earn extra money. He earned a reputation for being a good hand at starting colts and fixing problem horses. Several horses he worked with went on to be successful in various western disciplines. He also took side jobs with his horses and dogs to help local farmers catch wild cattle. The dogs back then were completely different from what he uses now. He turned down an opportunity to work at a top reigning horse facility to start a family and a farm of his own. He bought his first Border Collie in 2019 to help save time with farm chores and was bitten by the trial bug shortly after. His passion is running his home-bred dogs on the big challenging sheepdog courses. He also enjoys judging and has judged several open trials accross the country. He is a National finalist, a Bluegrass finalist, the inaugural recipient of the Purina Outstanding Nursery Dog of the Year, USBCHA open rookie of the year, USBCHA nursery rookie of the year, Irish Woods triple gather champion, and back to back Tennessee State Champion. He is a manager for a large telecommunications company and manages several different teams responsible for building an underground fiber network. If he’s not out with the dogs on the farm, he’s probably at a ball game cheering for his daughters.

 I have been working bordercollies for over 25 years, and I get to be one of the hosts on stockdog philosophies podcast.

Paul is a strong force in the Northeast sheepdog community. He puts on clinics, trials and gives lessons and trains dogs at his farm in Canandaigua,NY. Paul is a successful open handler and judge. We are fortunate to have him as a nominee for director.

I am a long time sheepdog border Collie lover/owner/breeder – nearly 30 years.  I breed, raise, sell, compete with dogs of my own breeding & those purchased into my kennel. 

I have been involved in sheep dog trials since 1996 and a member of the USBCHA since 1999.  During that time I have attended trials across Canada, many of the eastern, mid-west and southern US states, qualifying for the USBCHA Finals nearly every year.  

I have had the privilege of judging trials in all of those areas including many Double Lifts. 

I served two terms as Board member of the Canadian Border Collie Association during the early 2000’s, as well as more than a dozen years as an executive member (in various roles) on our local association – the Ontario Border Collie Club.  I have participated in hosting trials (large, small and Championship events) in every possible capacity: hosting, as a secretary & course director volunteering, the pens, set-out etc. 

Trialling, judging and hosting events Trialling and judging in many areas of both countries has afforded me a broadened insight of many points of view and experience to bring to a director position.

Experienced sheep dog competitor. Familiar with USBCHA history, guidelines, growth. Interested in supporting the future growth of USBCHA. Known to most District 10 members.

My name is Thad Fleming and I own and operate a plumbing business. I have been running dogs at trials for approximately 18 years. I have competed at all the finals with the exception of one. I have been an ABCA and an USBCHA Director in the past. We are very passionate about our dogs and enjoy the sport.