About our Club
SAINT Louis Herding Club
The Saint Louis Herding Club was established in 1997 by a small group of Missouri and Illinois herding enthusiasts to provide herding events and to promote training of working herding dogs in this region of the Midwest.
The club hosted its first American Kennel Club (AKC) sanctioned herding trial in November, 1999 at Purina Farms in Gray Summit, Missouri. Since then, the club has hosted 2 or 3 weekends of AKC tests/trials each year. Recent events have been held at Purina Farms, but other sites have included RottiEwe Farm, Whiskey Creek Sheep Farm, Away2Me Farm, and McElroy Farm. In addition, the club has added the Farm Dog Certification test to its list of events.
The club has also hosted trials sanctioned by the American Herding Breed Association (AHBA) and the United States Border Collie Handlers Association (USBCHA).
While the club sponsors educational events, it does not provide lessons to its members or offer training of members' dogs. Seminars are generally open to dogs at all levels, including dogs with no experience on stock at all. Club practices, however, may only be attended once a dog can work calmly and safely with stock. You can see upcoming seminars and practices on the Events and Trials page.
Membership to the club is open to everyone – you do not need to have a purebred herding dog to join. However, the purpose of the club is to train working herding dogs, so dogs with herding backgrounds are our main focus.
The club holds monthly meetings. Associate memberships are available for those who are not able to attend club meetings on a regular basis. Practice sessions for club members are offered on club meeting days. In addition, weekly practice sessions are held during the summer months.
SLHC Officers
President – Bettie Kinsley
Vice President – Bob Bruce
Secretary – Elaine Haas
Treasurer – Eileen Wilson
SLHC Board Members
Greg Jones
Jan Thompson
Wayne Pillen
Questions: If you have a question for one of our officers or board members, click info@slhc.org and email your question.