MASCA welcomes You to the world of the miniature australian shepherd

I started out showing Quarter horses at 8 yrs old. And with horses come Aussies. When my husband chris and I were married 32 yrs ago he came with a little Red Merle Los Racosa bred Aussie named Jigsaw. Since then we have bred, raised and or bred some of the top Miniature Australian Shepherds in Canada and the US. We also breed show and raise Australian Shepherds and Welsh Pembroke Corgis. Professionally I was a EFS (Equine Fertility) now retired. Currently a stay at home mom/Memaw! Chris and I have 3 girls, Paige, Blair and Ashely and a grandson, Wade and a granddaughter, Laine. I Served on MASCA’s Board of directors for nearly 7 yrs. Since serving I have only missed 1 Nationals. It is definitely a privilege to serve. I take my position seriously and the betterment and future of this breed is a passion of mine.

Frank Lobeck, born 1965, Currently I am Vice President of MASCA. I am holding a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and work as a professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Back in 2002 my wife Anja and I first noticed the Mini Aussie as a smaller variation of the “standard” Australian shepherd when we saw one along with some other Western Riders. We have been fascinated by these dogs and very soon there was the idea to start breeding these great dogs. At that time there were only very few Minis here in Germany and it was hard to find good dogs. But after some search we found our first Mini in Arizona and took him to Germany in 2003. Sparky, a beautiful and absolutely great black-tri boy, who represented all the good attributes of the Miniature Australian Shepherds was the founder of our breeding program and he also gave the name to our kennel “Sparkingheart”. All our dogs are living together with us as members of our family on a small farm, where they can find a lot of activity. We are living here together with our American Paint and Quarter Horses and our cats and there is always something to discover for the dogs. Most of the Sparkingheart puppies have found their new homes along with families, not only in Germany, but also in other European countries, like the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark or Sweden. Our dogs have conformation titles and we are proud about some Champions also. But my first interest is to keep up the health and outstanding quality of the Mini Aussie and this is my primary motivation for my activities with MASCA. Along with that I am also president of DMASC, the german Mini Aussie Club.

I have been breeding, showing, training, and competing with dogs for over 30 years. I also trained and competed with Quarter Horses for many years. I was a zookeeper and am well versed in breeding, training and animal husbandry. Along with my duties with MASCA I am currently the PRESIDENT / FOUNDING MEMBER of the THAI RIDGEBACK CLUB of CANADA and the PRESIDENT of the MAPLE LEAF KENNEL CLUB (UKC) . I am also the rescue co-ordinator for the Thai Ridgeback Club of Canada. I was previously VICE PRESIDENT of the CANADIAN NATIONAL NEAPOLITAN MASTIFF CLUB, as well as the SECRETARY/ SHOW ORGANIZER for the CANADIAN MOLOSSER ASSOCIATION and on the board of Directors for the CANADIAN MINIATURE AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD ASSOCIATION.I am employed by the Canadian federal government however my Passion is dogs and dog sports, and I am very active in the dog show/sport world attending events nearly every weekend in the spring/summer/fall world wide. My dogs have conformation titles from around the world including 2x FCI World Winner, FCI International Champion, and FCI(Slovakia)Thai Ridgeback Specialty winner. My Thai's and Aussies compete and have titles in many areas such as CGC/CGN, conformation, agility, rally-obedience, herding, lure coursing, barn hunt, flyball and scent detection. I have Judged junior handlers, matches and Specialties, rat wrangled at Barn Hunts, been a hide official for scent trials, judged at race meets and acted as hunt master at Lure coursing trials. I currently teach Barn hunt, show handling and scent detection classes. I have travelled world wide to compete with my dogs and evaluate and purchase dogs for both mine and others breeding programs.

Our family has been involved with the Australian Shepherd breed since the early 1970's. My dad's first Aussie was a little red bi named Rice's Lil Bit Honey, aka "Bunny". Bunny was out of the Silvertone and Las Rocosas lines and registered through the NSDR. Bunny was an outstanding stock dog. Our dogs were used exclusively to work Charolais cattle with our cutting horses. Bunny was very small, around 17" tall, what we now refer to as a "Mini". In the spring of 1991 I bought a male Phantom merle Australian Shepherd puppy who was NSDR registered as a blue eyed Black tri named Foster's Muchacho Bonito, aka "CHACHI". Chachi was my constant companion for nearly 17 years. He worked Charolais and Angus cattle fearlessly. He guarded the property and loved to play frisbee with the kids. He also loved to take a dip in the pond on hot days so much that I bought him his own wading pool. He was the best dog I ever owned to help me start my cutting horses on cattle in the round pen. In June 2009 I ended up bringing home my first registered mini Aussie, Rice's Raisin The Bar, a beautiful blue merle male. Raisin has earned numerous BIS, and has Rally-O titles and is my best little buddy. Shortly after I got Raisin, I joined MASCA and began serving on the board in 2010. I am also a Past President of MASCA. In 2010 I retired with 35.5 years as a Nuclear Chemist from the United States Enrichment Corp. I ‘ve been married to Greg Beldean for 16 years. My daughter, Heather Nickel, co-owns Legendaire Aussies and Legendaire Acres Performance Horses with me. My husband and I also raise and show Miniature Schnauzers. I am a licensed UKC and IABCA judge. I have raised and shown Quarter Horses and Paints for over 50 years. I have earned National and regional titles in Hunter Under Saddle and Cutting. In 2021 my double registered AQHA / APHA stallion, Sweet Boons Merada, was nationally ranked 1 st in Amateur 3yr and older Stallions, and 3 rd in open 3yr and older stallions in conformation in ARHA. I am honored to serve on the MASCA board once again.