10/04/2026
I’m not really sure how to put this weekend into words.
Our first WCERA trial. The first WCERA trial in Canada. And somehow, it’s already over.
Was it perfect? Absolutely not. 😂 There were things I would change, things I learned, things that worked better than I expected, and things that definitely did not work the way they did in my head.
Apparently, summer-planning Alice forgot that it gets dark really early in October, and an evening trial involving outdoor rings might be a bit of a problem. Whoops. We adapted, did make-up runs the following day, and made it work.
The running order and flow changed more than once as we figured out what worked best in a completely new environment land the apprentice judges gained confidence, and I am incredibly grateful to every competitor who rolled with it, stayed patient and flexible, and trusted us while we worked through the growing pains of doing this for the very first time.
And, in classic Alice fashion, my overthinking brain spent a good portion of the weekend hyper focused on whether everyone was actually having a good time. Thankfully, many of you repeatedly assured me that you were. 😂
Because that is what matters most to me.
WCERA isn’t supposed to be about following a million crazy strict rules perfectly or putting so much pressure on ourselves that we forget why we showed up in the first place.
It’s about setting dogs AND people up for success.
It’s about laughing when things go sideways. Celebrating when something finally clicks. Watching dogs gain confidence. Watching handlers gain confidence. Learning how to communicate with each other a little better. Trying something new without being afraid to fail.
It’s about building relationships with our dogs.
And this weekend, I got to watch all of that happen.
I watched people laugh. I watched people cheer for each other. I watched dogs figure things out. I watched handlers get creative. I watched teams walk out of the ring proud of something their dog had done, whether or not it was the fastest run of the day.
I also somehow managed to take almost no pictures. Apparently, I was a little busy trying to keep everything moving. 😂 But we did celebrate with some great ch*****ne and the ugliest cake I have ever seen. If you were there, you know the story.
That was the vision I had for bringing WCERA to Canada, and seeing it actually happening in my barn this weekend made me more emotional than I can probably explain.
I also need to say a huge thank you to Kelly, the founder of WCERA. She created something incredibly special with this sport, and I don’t take lightly the amount of trust she has placed in me, not only to bring WCERA to Canada, but to help protect what makes it special and be part of where it goes from here. It’s an incredible feeling.
I am so grateful that Kelly trusts me with her vision and with the future of a sport that I have fallen completely in love with. I’m incredibly excited about what’s ahead for WCERA, and about helping it grow while holding onto the fun, creativity and the dog/human connection that made me believe in it in the first place.
None of this would have happened without a whole lot of people behind me.
My right hand, Aleks, brainstorming, Cricuting, shopping, problem solving, listening to me overthink absolutely everything, and about a thousand other things I’m probably forgetting.
Jason who went above and beyond getting everything ready and somehow survived all of the late nights and every version of stressy, snappy, anxious, excited, adrenaline-filled Alice that appeared over the past few weeks. Thank you for the work, the patience and, most importantly, the endless love and emotional support.
Elizabeth who showed up before the trial to help completely rearrange the barn and then was there all day, every day, volunteering and jumping in wherever she was needed.
My wonderful Aunt Shelagh, who somehow took on the role of trial secretary having never experienced a dog sport event before and handled it like a champ.
My apprentice judges Desdemona, Aleks and Danya, thank you for seeing the vision for this sport, believing in what we’re trying to build here, and stepping in to keep things moving whenever something didn’t quite go according to plan.
And then there’s Dana.
Really, this entire weekend is partly her fault. 😂
Dana told me she wanted to come all the way from Newfoundland this week for some WCERA lessons.
And naturally, my response was, “Well… why don’t we do something better and have a trial?”
So we did.
And somehow that little conversation turned into the first WCERA trial in Canada.
There are things I’ll do differently next time. There are things we’ll tweak, improve and learn from. That’s what firsts are for.
But when I look back on this weekend, I’m not going to remember the running order changes, the printer going on strike (jk printers are the moodiest pieces of technology and I will forever hold a grudge against it) or the fact that the sun had the audacity to set in October.
I’m going to remember the dogs.
I’m going to remember the laughter.
I’m going to remember everyone cheering each other on.
I’m going to remember watching people and their dogs leave the ring a little more confident in each other than when they walked in.
And I’m going to remember that a group of us got together in a barn in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and held the very first WCERA trial in Canada.
That’s pretty damn cool.
Thank you to every single person who came, competed, volunteered, helped, laughed, adapted and trusted me enough to be part of this first.
We did it. ❤️
And congratulations to all! Results post coming soon!
