Maggie Schoolar – Happy Dog Sports Owner and Agility Coach
Maggie is the owner and agility coach at Happy Dog Sports. She believes our dogs are first our family and all the rest is just for fun. She has been competing in agility for 15 years and has been coaching teams for five years. She loves the bond that agility brings between the human and the dog. She learns from some of the top trainers in the world and brings that focus and insight back to her coaching. Maggie loves dogs and all of their unique personalities. Supporting teams to unleash their full HAPPY potential is her passion.
Maggie has competed with four dogs, (Maltese Gus, Poodles, Jagger and Cher and Border Collie, Elvis) they have earned 17 AKC Master Agility Championships, UKI Championship, and have competed at multiple AKC Agility Nationals, AKC Agility Invitationals, UKI Opens, Westminster, WAO and EO World Team Tryouts and the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge.
Courtney Moore – Happy Dog Sports Agility Coach and Guru
Courtney has been training dogs for over 25 years. She has taught and competed in obedience, rally, barn hunt, nose work, FastCAT and agility. In her primary sport of dog agility, she has competed with multiple large and small breed dogs at the national level in AKC (Nationals), USDAA (Cynosport), and UKI (US Open). Recent accomplishments include: 2016 AKC PNAC 4″Champion, 2019 AKC Invitational #5 chihuahua, 2021 10″ USDAA Steeplechase Champion, 2021 22″ USDAA 3rd place Team, 3rd place Biathlon, 2021 UKI Speedstakes 8″ reserve winner, 2022 AKC National Bronze Medalist 12″ division. In addition to being an avid competitor, she is also a well-known and highly respected judge for both AKC and UKI. Because of her dual roles as both competitor and judge, she has a unique perspective on course design and creating optimal lines for both the handler and dog. She has a deep understanding of how dogs and their humans navigate courses, and she can help each team understand the best handling paths for them. As an instructor she is flexible and can teach within any handling system. Her presentation style is relaxed and fun. You can expect lots of working time for the dogs and ample positive reinforcement for both dogs and handlers.
Nikki Luxenberg – Happy Dog Sports Canine Fitness, Foundation and Engagement Trainer
Come to Nikki if you want to improve your dog’s fitness or engagement. Both critical elements for success in dog sports. Nikki has been training dogs for seven years and is a Certified Canine Fitness Trainer through he University of Tennessee, has her CPDT-KA certification, is a certified evaluator for AKC’s Canine Good Citizen Program and Trick Dog titles as well as AKC Canine Fitness. Nikki personally has competed in agility, disc, dock diving and fast cat. Her current competitive dog, Split just received his Champion Trick dog title and has become Nikk’s primary demo dog. Nikki uses reward-based training to reinforce behaviors when teaming dogs. She believes in building teamwork through clear communication and that training should be fun for both the human and dog.
Sammie Garrett – Happy Dog Sports Director of Growth & Human Fitness Coach
Sammie Garrett is a (human) fitness professional with over seven years of experience instructing. She is a two-time Instructor of the Year nominee through FIT4MOM, a national fitness company, leading successful group classes throughout Austin. She has also worked as a certified running coach, preparing runners of all abilities for peak performance and is currently a coach at Orange Theory. She loves to exercise, especially cross-training, weight lifting, and yoga. Sammie’s philosophy is that exercise should be fun, effective, safe, and attainable for all levels. She is excited to support handlers and community members in reaching their fitness goals.
As Director of Growth for Happy Dog Sports, Sammie is often wandering the property with a can of paint and a drill. She is involved with facility management, event assistance, social media support, frequent trips to Costco, and more!
Michelle Swartz – Happy Dog Sports Agility Coach – Foundations & Sequencing
Michelle’s love for dogs started at a very early age and she has had the wonderful fortune of having canine companions of various breeds throughout her entire life. In 2000 she fell in love with Australian Shepherds. Michelle’s addiction to agility began in 2010 with her “one-in-a-lifetime” partner, Kyli. Kyli taught Michelle the importance of clear communication, timing and ultimately, teamwork. Michelle currently loves and trains her four Aussies: Kyli, Ridley, Treasure and Riff. Michelle’s dogs have achieved agility championships in AKC & ASCA and numerous titles in AKC, ASCA & NADAC, AKC Trick Dog, Fast CAT and CGC titles as well as Farm Dog and Herding Instinct Certificate. Michelle has been teaching agility classes from Pre-agility to Masters/International since 2014. When Michelle is not busy teaching classes, training her own dogs or at an agility trial, you can usually find her taking classes or attending seminars pursuing her interests in agility training, dog health & nutrition and working with sensitive dogs. Michelle is committed to continuing education and sharing her knowledge with her students. Michell’s primary goals for her handler/dog teams is to have fun and enjoy the journey!
Kerry Rodgers – Happy Dog Sports Agility Trainer – Sequencing
Kerry has been involved in agility since 2005, has multiple MACH’s on two different dogs, and her current competition dog has been one of the top boxers in the country for the last few years. Kerry loves the bond that agility can forge between handler and dog, and above all else thinks that agility should be fun and something which the team enjoys doing together. Kerry is also involved in conformation, obedience, rally, scent work and dock diving with her dogs.
Cheryl Sepulveda- Happy Dog Sports Facility Director & Ranch Decorator
When Cheryl was a kid, she didn’t always have a dog! Lassie was her dog and she watched her every Sunday night. Fast forward many years, to “empty nester”, when she discovered Shelties! She had the joy and privilege of training Breezy, Rudy, and Sophie (doggie angels now) and helped them earn many titles in agility, obedience, rally, and tricks. Currently, she is playing with Shelties Pepper and Cota as they learn agility skills at Happy Dog Sports. HDS is definitely their “happy place”!
Sue Beckage – Happy Dog Sports Obedience and Agility Coach
Sue Beckage began training dogs in 2007 as a diversion from her stressful job as a criminal lawyer. She quickly became addicted to training and competing in Conformation, Obedience, Rally, Agility and Nosework with her Doberman Pinschers. To date, Sue and her Dobes have achieved over 250 performance titles, including 24 Agility Championships and a Rally Championship. Sue’s Dovermans have qualified for every AKC National Agility Championship and AKC Agility Invitational since 2012, have all been Finalists in the Doberman Pinscher Club of America’s Agility Top 20, and have all ranked Top AKC Agility Doberman (#1 Nationaly). Her only male Doberman, Comet, finished his Rally Championship at only two years old and is qualified to compete at the 2022 AKC Rally Championship in July, 2022. Sue has been instructing dogs and their owners since 2011. She has instructed puppy pre-school, companion obedience, Good Canine Citizen and Puppy STAR prep classes, as well as all levels of Rally, pre-agility, agility foundations and competition level agility.
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