Photo by Dustin Vyers
By Christina Mlynski
Erin and Her Aussies Prove Why They're Top Dogs
Rounds of applause erupt as Erin Turman strides down thebrnavy blue carpet of the showroom with her furry sidekick, BriarbrooksbrInvincible, at the Texas Kennel Club. A judge dressed in stark black stands inbrthe middle of the room, keeping a keen eye on Erin as she struts in a circle tobrshow off her purebred Australian Shepherd. Erin briskly leads Briarbrooks Invinciblebrback towards the judges, stopping quickly enough for him to stand in perfectbrcomposure — exuding confidence. Applause fills the showroom as Erin leads herbrtrusted companion off the carpet. For Erin, this show leads to win No. 114.
After the dog show is all said and done,brErin and her family pile back into their silver van, which carries the bumperbrsticker, “Hauling Aussies.” Then, it's on to the next competition.
Erin competes in 40 shows a year,brtypically traveling between three and eight hours, two to three times a month. Althoughbrit might be hard to calculate how long that is in doggy years, the yearly tripsbrto Austin, San Antonio and even Wichita Falls are all stepping stones to get tobrthe end goal of competing in the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
“I've always had a love for dogs, andbrthis is just different from sports,” Erin says. “I don't want to do sports. I'mbrnot bad at sports, but it's just so typical. I want to do something that's outbrof the ordinary and make a name for myself.”
The love for showing dogs is a familybraffair. Before Erin was born, her mom, Carroll ISD Accounts Payable Clerk,brKathy Turman, began training Rottweilers for agility competitions. This clocksbrthe fastest time for a dog to complete the obstacle course put in its path.brThat's where the love story began.
However, once Erin decided to take overbrthe family hobby, Kathy and her husband, Craig, took a different route when itbrcame to their miniature Australian Shepherd, Lola. Lola's breeder convinced thebrTurmans to train Lola to compete in conformation shows, which show off the purebredbrbreed of the dogs, which are then awarded accordingly. After training Lola forbrfour months, Erin attended her first conformation competition at the age of 7,brwinning best junior in her category.
“After that, I just kind of got hooked,” shebrsays.
Duringbrher first year in 2010, Erin competed in 15 shows. At just 9 months old, Lolabrearned her MASCA Championship. On average, it takes a dog until the age of 5 tobrfinish its championship.
Betweenbr2010 and 2012, Erin and Lola competed in hundreds of conformation competitions,brtaking home 282 different awards, ranging from Texas Mini Aussie Club No. 1brFemale of the Year, to MASCA No.1 Conformation Dog of the year andbrInternational Canine Kennel Club Top Junior Handler of the Year.
“When Ibrwon best junior that year, I had 434 best junior points, which is a record,”brErin says. “I'm retired out of the rare breeds competition, but I have friendsbrin there who are still trying to beat my record.”
Lolabrstill competes, but she's no longer strutting her coat through showings.brInstead, she's taking to the obstacle courses and is getting ready to competebrin various agility competitions.
Currently, Erin competes with BrookshirebrInvincible, who is an AKC-certified Australian Shepherd and goes by Vince whenbrhe's not on the road. The 3-year-old furry fellow comes from one of the topbrkennels in the country, Briarbrooks Kennel, which is known for producing somebrof the country's best Australian Shepherds and taking home hundreds of awards, evenbrsetting records.
Vince joinedbrthe Turman family in May 2013, and it was love at first lick. Since then, thebrdynamic duo has received more than 100 different awards. To prepare forbrcompetitions, Erin trains Vince 40 minutes a day by attaching a leash to herbrbicycle and riding throughout the neighborhood. Additionally, Erin trains withbrrenowned handler, Clint Livingston, who is one of the top handlers in thebrcountry.
Thisbrsummer, Erin and Vince will travel to Colorado, where Clint lives, and compete inbrvarious dog shows throughout the Midwest and the South for two months.
Clint explains that Erin's desire tobrlearn, her passion for Vince and determination to perform to the best of herbrabilities are what set her apart from other junior handlers throughout thebrcountry.
“Shebrwatches, asks lots of questions, and you can instantly tell she is doingbrsomething she loves and just wants to get better and better at it,” he says.
Like her fellow companions, Erin isbrextremely professional when she is on the road and competing at shows. However,bronce everyone returns home, the Turman family gets the chance to unwind — evenbrVince and Lola.
“They getbrhome, and they turn into the biggest goofballs ever,” Erin says. “They are justbrhilarious with what they do. Vince will just roll over and look at me like,br‘scratch my belly.'”
However, downtime is a rare commodity inbrthe dog show arena. On March 1, Erin began her pursuit of conformation shows,brultimately attempting to win enough awards to earn Vince's championship. To reachbrher goal to qualify for Westminster, she must finish his championship or win 7brBest In Shows in the junior handler competitions.
Vince is already qualified for the AKC/EukanubabrNational Championship, which takes place in December. This championship receivesbrthousands of the world's top canine competitors from all over the country,brearning the title of Best in Show honors.
As Erin continues to compete, manybrchallenges and benefits will continue to rise to the surface. However, thebrbiggest obstacle is creating a reputation and earning recognition in thebrshowmanship world.
Given the nearly 50 shows Erin competesbrin annually and the impressive awards she is taking home, it won't be longbrbefore she becomes a household name.
“Justbrlike anything that people compete in, there are ups and downs, emotional highsbrand lows,” Clint says. “But in the end, you get to share your time with man'sbrbest friend.”
Erin'sbrTop Accomplishments
2011: MASCA Top Junior Handler of the Year
2011: Texas Mini Aussie Club Top Junior Handler of thebrYear
2012 #1 MASCA Dog of the Year
2012: International Canine Kennel Club Top Junior Handlerbrof the Year
2013: No. 8 on the 2013 Juniors Breed Top 10