MY STORY
First and foremost, I thank God for the opportunities He has
and continues to give me. He has blessed me with an amazing husband and children as well as the ability to be involved in
something I love doing.
My life has always included dogs, in fact I do not remember
a time when I didn't have a dog by my side. I am a third generation professional dog trainer and handler, and have had wonderful
opportunities throughout my life to travel and learn the art of training dogs.
I grew up on a ranch in western Oklahoma, and in fact, I still
live on the same ranch with my husband and two sons. There are currently 4 generations of my family living here in close proximity.
In more ways than one, this has helped me lay a solid foundation for my dog training business today.
My life training dogs began at a very young age. I not only
learned how to handle the stockdogs around our ranch, I learned how to condition, train and show conformation dogs, with my
first step into the ring at the tender age of 5. I was surrounded by professional handlers and I wasn't even old enough to
compete in junior showmanship. I could barely see over the table the first time I presented my dog to the judge.
In high school, my FFA projects were centered on my dogs and
training, and I placed twice at Nationals after winning at the state level. I have given demos for church and school groups,
and have traveled with top professional handlers to some of the most prestigious shows in the country.
When I was 16, I chose a Border Collie puppy to keep from a
litter born on our ranch. XP Strait was the first Border Collie I trained completely on my own to herd livestock. I handled
him to two championships with wins at the local, state and national level along the way. My father, nationally known stockdog
trainer Kent Herbel, has been my teacher and mentor throughout my years of learning to work with dogs. He has taught me the
best way to train dogs is through fair and consistent communication. I have learned to apply these highly successful techniques
throughout all phases of dog training.
In 2001 I met my future husband, Mark Syzemore. It wasn't long
before he caught the "training bug" and adopted a border collie pup, Todd, from our second litter. His first weekend in the
herding arena he took home a Reserve High in Trial. Mark and I married in 2004 and have two boys. Warren, born in March of
2006 and Everett, born in July of 2009.
I am currently on the management team of our family-owned ranch
and professional stockdog training facility. I take in my own clients and train dogs on a daily basis. I truly enjoy working
with dogs, and my greatest reward is helping my clients develop a better relationship with their dogs.
