Stephanie Hedgepath

My involvement in purebred dogs began in 1969 with the purchase of my first show dog, a German Shepherd Dog whom I showed but never finished. I did work him in obedience, earning a CD, but retiring him from competition in Open when he was kicked in the leg by one of my horses and my vet told me not to jump him anymore. I worked with him in tracking and in man-work –when I was allowed to join up with a group of military trainers from Shaw Air Force Base. I’m still in touchwith one of them to this day. In the mid-seventies I began breeding and showing Pembroke Welsh Corgis under the Jimanie prefix and have finished, on average, a champion a year for the last 45+ years. Almost all were breeder/owner handled to their titles. In 2010, I formed a loose partnership with two long-time friends under the Trifecta prefixand I still breed and show my Pembroke Welsh Corgis. As just stated, I am a breeder/owner/handler and hope to continue to breed and show even after I have retired from judging. Over the years I have owned and shown dogs, mostly from the Herding and Sporting groups plus a few Toy breeds, though my first Grand Champion was a Tibetan Spaniel! I started out showing in the Working group with my German Shepherds and then with the Corgis, before the herdingbreeds were split off into their own group. I always lovedto hunt, so usually had a “bird dog” around and thus also showed Brittanys, Pointers, Golden Retrievers and even an Irish Setter over the years. I have made up champions from the Toy group and also,as noted before, onefrom Non-Sporting, a very special Tibetan Spaniel. I love all dogs, from the best of the purebreds to the mixed breeds that have wandered into my lifeand every single dog that has ever walked into my ring. It still thrills me to be allowed to pet dogs all day as a judge –I love every minute of it. I started my judging career in 1988 with AKC approval to judge German Shepherds and both Cardigan and Pembroke Welsh Corgis. I now judge the Herding, Sporting, Toy and Non-Sporting Groups. I have been fortunate enough to have judged dogs throughout the US and Canada and also in Jamaica, Finland, Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, China, the Philippines, Ireland, theUnited Kingdom and Mexico. In 2011, I was accorded the supreme honor of being asked to judge the Welsh Corgi League show in the UK and in previous years the Cardigan Welsh Corgi and Pembroke Welsh Corgi nationals in the US. Since then, I have also judged the Pembroke National in Canada. I have also had the high honor of having judged many National and Regional Specialties for breeds I did not breed, own or show from the four groups that I am approved to judge. When I judge, I am there for the dogsand for the individual breedsto try to help preserve them.I was trained and worked as a Respiratory Therapist and became the head of that department in a new county hospital in 1971.This precipitateda move frommy birthplace ofCharleston, SC (from which I thought I would never leave!) to the greater Columbia, SC area, where I currently reside. I now make my living as an artist, mostly through the design and publication of counted cross stitch designs and needlepoint, but also through paintings, sculpture and jewelry design. In the past several years I have begun authoring and producing DVDs on the canine, mostly dealing with structure and movement. I live on 11 acres in the country and love to work in the flower garden, leaving the veggie garden to my husband. I love all typesof craft work and one of my great joys is sharing my love of art with my oldest grandchild, Kaitlyn, who is an accomplished artist in her own right. Last, but certainly not least, I have been married to Jim Hedgepath since 1972 and am the mother of two and the grandmother of four.