Pick of the litter

If you don't think border collies can do it all, Cindy Brick wants to have a word with you.

"Border collies do it all, but people have to know how to do it, too," Brick said.

Brick, a nurse from Stevens Point, Wis., is an experienced dog trainer who will be bringing her 6-year-old border collie, Ariba, to ESPN Great Outdoor Games V presented by Dodge in Madison this July.

Although the team is new to the Games' agility competition, they have a strong record of success in other events. In addition to her national agility titles, Ariba holds an advanced tracking title and intermediate obedience degree. As a licensed therapy dog, she occasionally accompanies Brick to her work at an area nursing home and participates in volunteer events and demonstrations for the disabled.

"She does some sheep herding, but not too often," Brick added. "We don't own sheep; they're too hard to house train."

For Brick and Ariba, the July 8-11 Games will also be something of a family reunion. Ariba is a littermate of Remy, an agility champion and the fourth-place finisher at the 2001 Games.

"Terry (Smorch, Remy's handler) was looking for a boarder collie and I told him, 'This is probably a good place to go,'" Brick said. "I got first pick so, actually, Remy is the leftover puppy and that's always been the standing joke between us. She's had how many tremendous accomplishments?"

Getting outside, worldwide

On its fifth anniversary, the Great Outdoor Games will include athletes from five countries. Competitors from the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and New Zealand will be at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., July 8-11.

While all of the athletes from Australia and New Zealand compete in timber events, Canada sends both timber and agility competitors. Germany, represented for the first time in 2004, is sending Disc Drive competitor Marcus Wolf.

Golden girl

In 2002, LaCrosse's Abby Hoeschler became the youngest athlete to win any Great Outdoor Games medal. She was 15 when she teamed up with her uncle Fred "the Silver Fox" Scheer to win a Mixed Doubles Boom Run bronze medal. At 16, she became the youngest gold medalist in Games history for winning the Women's Boom Run, a title she will defend this summer.