Sharing Maverick

Partnership proves mutually beneficial.

Jeremy Gerhard and his gold medal-winning teammate, Maverick, have been running together since February 2017. At the time, Maverick’s owner, Sally Slade, was looking for somebody to compete with him while she recovered from surgery, and their partnership has continued successfully for years.

Sally Slade and Maverick

“The first couple runs didn’t go terribly well, but it got better,” Jeremy said. “Running Maverick is VERY different from running my own dogs. He is a very fast Corgi, but those little legs can only carry his body so fast; he has so many more strides between obstacles than my dog, Ruckus. Maverick is also an extremely honest worker and always tries to do what he thinks is correct, while Ruckus can be a bit independent and hard-headed.”

Jeremy does not spend much time with Maverick outside the ring, leaving most of the dog's training and conditioning to Sally. When Maverick was younger, Sally often trained his skills in her backyard, and now they practice in class once a week with plenty of hiking to help keep him in shape.

Sally has had her own successes with Border Collies, Golden Retrievers and Corgis, including Maverick, for a long time. When she and Jeremy meet at trials, she often reminds him how to adjust to Maverick’s training during their walk-through.

“I teach all my dogs that they must listen to other people,” Sally said. “Jeremy and Maverick have made a very good team over the years despite some differences in handling. Jeremy is much faster and can get in plenty of front crosses, while I do more distance, blinds and rear crosses.”

Jeremy Gerhard and Maverick

Although they do not compete together as frequently as in previous years, Jeremy and Maverick will return to this year’s IFCS World Agility Championship with their eyes on more podium finishes.