Rural Missouri - May 2013 - (Page 42)

A hobby that’s gone to the dogs 10-year-old Sage Rush shows dogs in the big league — and wins F or Sage Rush, taking a dog on a road trip with her family is a normal event. She shows dogs at American Kennel Club dog shows all year long across the United States. Sage began showing dogs when she was only 6 years old. Currently, she has a 2-yearold smooth collie named Twinkle. She also shows a 1-year-old St. Bernard named Cypress. “She’s diligent about exercising and training her dogs,” says her mother, Sheila, a member of Gascosage Electric Cooperative. To exercise her dogs, Sage might ride her bike and have them run alongside. She also has them jump through tires, go through tunnels and walk across a teeter-totter. So what happens at a dog show? Dogs compete to see who is the best to represent their speciﬁc breed — such as Sage’s collie or St. Bernard. There are 175 AKC breeds at an all-breed dog show. “You want to win the Best in Show title,” says the fourth-grader, who attends Miller County Elementary in Tuscumbia. Before she shows her dog, there’s a lot of work to do. Sage has to groom, brush out and blow dry her dog’s hair to perfection. She’s given a show number, and once her class is called, she leads the dog to the show ring. As the dog handler, Sage must keep her eyes glued on the judge, watching for directions the judge might give. She stacks, or poses, her dog. Then the dogs, which are always on a leash, are gaited around the ring by the handler as the judge watches. Finally, the judge comes around to assess each dog individually. Sage’s hard work routinely pays off. Now 10, she has more than 30 shows and 20 wins under her belt. While there is a youth division in which she could compete, Sage chooses to show in the open class with the adults, which is a bigger challenge for her. In March, Sage and Cypress took the title of Winner’s Female at the Belle City Kennel Club All Breed Dog Show at Purina Farms in Gray Summit. While she’s happy with her wins, Sage does have a bigger goal in mind. “I’d like to get Twinkle her Register of Merit,” says Sage. To do that, Twinkle must have seven AKC champion pups. When she isn’t working her show dogs, Sage is usually drawing or playing with her rabbits or riding her pony, Snickers. You can send an e-mail to Sage at Rush07@hypercon.net. photo courtesy of Sheila Rush Sage and her 1-yearold St. Bernard, Cypress, pose after winning at the Belle City Kennel Club All Breed dog show at Purina Farms in Gray Summit. Do you know a kid, age 15 or under, who’s doing something cool as a hobby or little business? Tell us about them! Send your e-mail to hberry@ruralmissouri.coop. You might see them on a future Just4Kids page. 42 WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP T ry your hand at my monthly word watch. It’s easy. I’ll list three words for you to ﬁnd. Read the stories in Rural Missouri and look for the words. When you ﬁnd them, send me a note telling me the stories where you found the words, what each word means as it’s used in the story and your age. If you get all the words right, your name goes into a drawing to win one of our Buddy Bear drawstring backpacks! We’ll pick up to ﬁve winners each month. Send your answers to: Buddy Bear’s Word Watch P. O. Box 1645 Jefferson City, MO 65102 Entries must be received by May 10. Kids, please wait a month before re-entering — and parents, this is only for kids up to age 15. Entries must be written by the youth, please. Can you ﬁnd this month’s words? behemoth, inherent and tilth Congratulations to last month’s Word Watch winners: Kirsten McBride, Keith Edelman, Gracie Williams, Mary Brandon and Monte Crewse According to the American Kennel Club, the Labrador retriever has been the most popular dog breed for the past 22 years. http://WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - May 2013

Rural Missouri - May 2013
Table of Contents
Comments
Columns
Chronicle of the corncob pipe
Missouri Snapshots contest
The family that drills together
Out of the Way Eats
Where bluegrass grows
Outdoors
Hearth and Home
Veggies and vision
Vertical gardening
Around Missouri
Marketplace
Neighbors
Just4Kids

Rural Missouri - May 2013