During the 2023 AWDF Nationals in Little Rock, Ace Trainers Classic was able to sit down and talk with one of the legends of the working dog world; Wallace Payne. Anyone who has been around the world of schutzhund for long, knows who Wallace Payne is. He competed in AWDF Nationals with his young dog, Flash.

Wallace Payne has been training working dogs for decades and has a long list of accolades that prove his skill and dedication to the sport. Payne is President and training director of South Metro Atlanta Schutzhund Club – home of 4 world team members, and two current National Champions. He was also the 2004 USA National Champion: 99-96-99=294 High Obedience, High Protection, High H.O.T. He has worked and won all over the world.

Payne competed with his three year old German Shepherd, Flash. As was the theme for many competitors in this year’s AWDF Nationals; the tracking was challenging for Flash. On Saturday, it rained on a track that was already boggy from the days before. Flash did well in Obedience and Protection; scoring 83 and 94, respectively. As he stated in his chat with Steve; he still has work to do with flash. He will be back, though, and the results will show his hard work!

Ace Trainers Classic had a chance to catch up with Robert Hamilton and his 6 year old Doberman, Ringo. We were at the AWDF Nationals hosting the live feed and talking to the competitors. Ringo and Hamilton had a great performance in Obedience and Protection. The tracking caused them some problems as it did with many. The rain on Saturday did not help with the tracking woes.

Hamilton has been in the sport and training for 7 years. He loves spending time with his dogs. He loves seeing the dogs enjoyment with spending their time together as well. He is a member of Controlled Chaos WDC. Hamilton won 2nd place at UDC Nationals and at UScA NC Regionals in 2022. He also won MER Helpers Choice in 2022. His goals are to keep doing what he loves and not letting anything steal that from him.

When we spoke with Hamilton at AWDF Nationals; he was just finishing up Protection where Ringo did very well. Up next for Hamilton and Ringo are the UDC Nationals in Seattle. We’re excited to see how they do and see them in December at the Ace Trainers Classic!

Ace Trainers Classic caught up with the calm and reserved Erin O’Shea at the 2023 AWDF Nationals in Little Rock, Arkansas, last weekend. At the time, we didn’t know she was going to win it all. She and her dog did fantastic all through the weekend.

Erin O’Shea competed at the 2023 AWDF Nationals with her 2 year old German Shepherd, Joker. She started in the sport back in 2008 with a showline German Shepherd named Zambo. O’Shea says she enjoys watching her dog learn and the relationship she builds with them along the learning path. One of the highlights of her IGP career is winning WUSV Universalsieger twice. She has also won the GSDCA and USCA GSD National Championships. O’Shea wants to become a better handler and trainer and learn new approaches to training.

O’Shea can now add 2023 ASDF Champion to her resume. She finished the tracking strong when we spoke with her, which was a huge feat in itself. She was very open to talking about the scores and performances. O’Shea was quick to give credit to Marko Koskensalo for helping her get where she is in the sport. The sky is the limit for O’Shea and her German Shepherd, Joker.

In our sport; there’s always a need and search for great helpers. Finding a great helper in the back end can be even more challenging. Over the years, Marcus Hampton has made a name for himself as being one of the best out there. He definitely lived up to his reputation at the 2023 AWDF Nationals.

Marcus Hamptonam is a National level helper, and since 2000, has worked almost 50 national and world level events. It’s easy to see why he is a preferred pick after watching him for just a few minutes. One thing you cannot teach in any sport is heart. Marcus Hampton definitely has the heart to be at the top of our sport.

When he’s not helping at national level dog trials, he can be found at home training dogs. Hampton is the head trainer/owner of Hampton’s K9. He has quite a collection of videos and pictures to help with training. Hampton also breeds and sells different breeds of dogs.

While working the 2023 AWDF Nationals, Hampton made the play of the day!  When one of the  dogs veered toward the judges during the long bite exercise; Hampton ran between the judge and the dog.  Although Hampton writes it off as just another day of helper work; anyone who knows this sport knows this is no small feat.  Without his quick thinking and reaction; a much worse situation could have taken place. 

Mario Gomes loves to have fun with his dogs. Some might even say it is the most important aspect of Gomes’ training. When we caught up with Gomes at the 2023 AWDF Nationals, he was just coming off of the field with his Malinois, Jesuz. He also competed with his German Shepherd, Tchala.

When Mario Gomes comes to mind, it’s easy to find heart-warming stories of love between a man and his dogs. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find stories about Gomes’ love for his family. One thing Gomes takes pride in is having fun with his dogs.

Mario Gomes has been involved in training dogs for sport since 1998. He loves seeing things click in the dog’s mind when he finally “gets it”. Gomes has competed at the world level with three different dogs. His goal is to have fun with his dogs and friends in the sport.

The day we caught up with Gomes; he had just left the field with Jesuz, his young Malinois.  We briefly discussed his performance.  The conversation quickly moved to the tracking.  This trial was very tricky with tracking.  Some dogs did very well with the tracking and others really struggled.  The rain did not help with the soggy conditions.  Jesuz did not do so well with tracking, but his German Shepherd, Tchala did much better.  

What drives Dave Kroyer and Frank Phillips can be a loaded question. Ace Trainers Classic was able to catch up with both Kroyer and Phillips while they were working their dogs between rounds during the 2023 AWDF Nationals. We hear so much about drive when it comes to dogs. Dogs don’t stay driven by chance. It takes the perfect combination of drive in trainers, handlers and dogs to build a championship team!

When we found Kroyer and Phillips, they were getting ready to work their dogs in a park near the middle school where the 2023 AWDF Nationals were being held. The park was alive with activity. Many of the teams found their way to this park after competing all day. These guys have always been a lot of fun to talk to. They are both full of wisdom from years of training and competing.

Dave Kroyer was competing with his 4 year old German Shepherd, Hector. Kroyer has been training dogs for over 23 years and has represented the USA in fifteen world championships with 6 different dogs in 2 different sports. He gets satisfaction with goal-oriented training and competitive sports. Just a brief talk with him would reveal that Kroyer is a competitor at heart. He is also an avid BMX competitor.

Dave Kroyer uses his passion for helping others as Head Trainer and Owner of Canine Headquarters and DKA for dog trainers over at DaveKroyer.com. He shares knowledge and expertise and has quite a collection of free videos to help with IGP training.

Frank Phillips was competing with Asko, his 4 year old German Shepherd. Phillips has been involved in this sport for thirty years. He loves training and trialing dogs. His dog, Asko, put on quite a show in protection at the 2023 AWDF Nationals.

It didn’t take long to start talking about the results of the AWDF Nationals. What was happening and what was to come was on the top of everyone’s mind. Kroyer still had tracking the next day. With all of the rain on Saturday; tracking was a hot topic. Phillips had obedience coming the next day. When asked about the Ace Trainers Classic “Money Trial” there was no hesitation in the excitement around it!

This weekend Ace Trainers Classic had the extreme pleasure of hosting the official live stream at the AWDF National Championship. Steve and I set out to Little Rock with our equipment. We were excited about seeing everyone at one of our nation’s largest dog competitions. We knew Ivan Balabanov was planning on being there and Steve had his sights set on getting a few nuggets of wisdom from one of the best in the working dog world.

If you have never attended the AWDF National Championship; you should really make a point to next year. The days and nights were filled with amazing dog trainers, handlers, gurus, and the like. Getting the chance to really get into a conversation with someone like Ivan Balabanov at an event this size can be difficult. The atmosphere was electric. There was so much greatness happening all around us. But, Steve persisted, and we got a few minutes with Ivan.

Anyone who has ever spoken to Ivan for even a few minutes or tuned in to his very popular podcast, knows that he is passionate about our sport. He was so generous in thanking Ace Trainers Classic for “…stepping up…” and doing the live feed for the 2023 AWDF Nationals. He quickly transitioned into his passion of freedom in our sport. Ivan Balabanov is passionate about trainers and handlers being allowed the freedom to train their dogs the best way they see fit to help their dogs be successful working dogs.

Ivan Balabanov is a multiple-time World Champion dog trainer and author. He has a self-proclaimed obsession with animal learning and cognition. He is passionate about behavior studies and evolutionary psychology. You can find out more about Ivan Balabanov’s game changing dog training methods over at Training Without Conflict. Be sure to follow Ivan on Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter as well!