Cheryl & Ron Pitkin - 2015 - Pioneers of Dog Agility

In the early 1990s, Cheryl Pitkin of Fremont, New Hampshire, enrolled her young Rottweiler in an obedience class with trainer and author Julie Daniels. During class, she met Brenda Buja, and after a few sessions, the three of them decided to explore involvement in the new sport of dog agility. They enrolled in agility training sessions with Jean McKenzie at Mount Ida College in Massachusetts, who had the only set of agility equipment in the northeast.

A few months later, after a phone call with USDAA President Kenneth Tatsch, Cheryl became one of the founding members of NEAT (New England Agility Team) and a member of the USDAA-Pedigree® demonstration team.

Cheryl and her husband, Ron, were instrumental in expanding agility in the New England area and increasing awareness of the sport. In the 1990s, Cheryl performed at numerous equestrian events across the country as part of the USDAA’s national demonstration team, and she became a USDAA judge.

Ron was a huge supporter of several groups in New England and a supplier of agility equipment throughout the region. He frequently volunteered to build and deliver equipment to local shows and all along the east coast.

Even their daughter, Julie, helped promote dog agility a few years later. At the age of five, Julie ran one of the family's Rottweilers before a packed house in the Junior Handler event at the 1995 championships. Her amazing run brought down the house as the audience cheered the young, petite girl controlling a massive dog through a course.

The husband and wife were both named Pioneers of Dog Agility simultaneously.