Hungry for a Way to Give Back to the Agility Community?

Join this delicious community project.

This article was originally published in the June 2026 OVERview digital magazine.

USDAA’s 2024 Volunteer of the Year, Betsie Bolger, is cooking up a delicious community project: “Agility in the Kitchen,” a compilation of favorite recipes for popular dishes (lunch, snacks, etc.) served at your local agility trials!

Proceeds from the self-published cookbook will fund a $1,000 college scholarship for a junior handler. An anonymous donor has offered to match the cookbook proceeds dollar for dollar. Ideally, this scholarship will be offered annually.

And we need YOUR help to make it happen!

First, submit your recipe(s) — and/or ask your fellow agility club members and other friends to do so — to Betsie via email (ebetsy@swbell.net) or Facebook Messenger (Ebetsy Monjott). Then please share USDAA’s social media posts about “Agility in the Kitchen” on your own channels.

What kind of recipes is Betsie looking for, you ask? Well, what do volunteers at your agility club’s trials whip up for lunch and/or snacks?

At Lucky Dog Training Center in Tyler, Texas, Robin Visniski’s Tex-Mex tortilla soup is a favorite dish. Katherine Lai from California is legendary among local agility aficionados for her delicious homemade Chinese culinary delights.

Or if your agility-food jam is picking up kolaches and donut holes for competitors’ breakfasting pleasure, as Crystal Ragan does at Center for Canine Sports’ trials in Garland, Texas, then we want to know where you get takeout plus any pro tips, such as warning the donut shop’s manager ahead of time that you’ll be needing donut holes for 50, so they can make extra and you don’t totally wipe out their stock for the day!

In addition to submitting your recipe(s), please include a photo of you and your dog(s) along with your full name as you would like it to appear in the cookbook; your dog’s name(s); your agility club affiliation (if you have one); and the venue(s) in which you trial — e.g., USDAA, AKC, UKI, NADAC, CPE, ASCA, etc. Because our agility community is all about diversity and inclusion!

Junior handlers from any or all of the venues listed above will be eligible to apply for the junior handler scholarship. To judge applications and select the winning scholar, Betsie is putting together a board composed of representatives from each of those organizations.

As a major deciding factor in the application process, would-be scholarship recipients will be required to write an essay explaining how their participation in dog sports has prepared them for a successful and happy life. Thank you for being a part of this worthy agility community project.

Betsie looks forward to receiving your tasteful contributions to “Agility in the Kitchen”!