A Puggle from Camden named Pancho Villa was the winner of the 2009 World Championship Boatyard Dog Trials at the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show held in Rockland on August 9. Pancho was handled by Abigail Matlack of Camden. The duo wowed the crowd with their windsurfing skills beating out second place finisher Lisa Lane and her "Outward Hounds" team that included three Papillions and a Border Collie. Third place finisher was Annabel Parker and her dog Mattie.

According to the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show staff, dogs competing in the contest were held to uncompromising judging standards that focused on each dog's combination of style and pizazz. The contest is based on three simple rules:

• Rule 1: Either the dog(s) or handler(s) must finish completely soaked.
• Rule 2: Cheating is not only tolerated, but encouraged.
• Rule 3: There are no other rules.

The trials consisted of three primary events:

A Dockside Obstacle Course: Dog and handler negotiate a maze of lobster traps, piles of rope, and other assorted funky dockside paraphernalia. The event is timed, with lowest elapsed time to serve as overall tie-breaker.

A Dinghy-Hopping Trials: Dog and handler hop into and out of a VERY tippy dinghy that has been tethered to a float.

A Freestyle Event: This is each dog's chance to show off any special talents. In the past, a German shepherd convinced his human to jump into the water to fetch the stick, and another dog danced in a sailor suit. One dog even impersonated Elvis! There's a 3-minute time limit for this event, the funnier the better.

Judges for this year's event were Dr. Bjorn Lee of Pen Bay Veterinary Associates; Lucinda Lang, Spaniel Aficionado; and Holly Sherburne of Downeast Dog News. Bob MacLaughlin returned as Emcee, and a special guest appearance was made by Youthlinks summer campers and by the newly crowned Maine Lobster Festival Sea Goddess.

The 2009 Boatyard Dog contestants were:

Mykala Brown of West Bay Boats
"Last year's alternate could be this year's champ!"
Mykala (a.k.a. Mickey) has been itching for August to come so she can strut her stuff in front of the judges. As part of the crew at West Bay Boats in Steuben, she keeps watch from under the owner's desk and helps with the entertainment portion of break time. Her uncle Glacier competed in the Boatyard Dog Trials a few years ago, where he proved reluctant to get his feet wet. Mickey knows she has some over-sized paw prints to fill, and this sleek shepherd aims to restore her family's reputation--she's not afraid of a little bit of water!

Henri Getchell, the English Singer Spaniel "I sings what I wants to sing!"
Henri is a veteran performer at the World Championship Boatyard Dog Trials, having competed at the very first show in 2003, and acted as course fore-runner ever since. This specialist in canine vocalization is not wild about swimming, though. Perhaps that's because he fell in during his first competition and has yet to get over the embarrassment? He plans to make up for it with a musical performance worthy of a certain wildly popular television show....

The Outward Hounds
"Dogs with butterfly ears, Frisbees, and juggling: What's not to like?"
Sure to be a crowd favorite, this feisty all-girls team is made up of three Papillons, their flying ears, and a border collie. That sounds like a lot of dogs, but taken all together Haiku, Karmela, Leap, and Sally only add up to 51 pounds of fur-flying fun. In the off-season, the girls all compete with the Flyball Maineiacs to keep in peak condition. As a warmup to the Boatyard Dog Trials, they recently attended a tournament in Prince Edward Island.

Pancho Villa
"Make way, me hearties!"
Pancho is a 2-1/2-year-old Puggle (which, for those who don't know, is a blend: half pug, half beagle). He hails from Swanville, but now lives in idyllic Camden by the Sea. In honor of his favorite pirate star of the big screen, Pancho has taken to wearing eye make-up. In fact, he's a huge fan of all kinds of pirate movies, and spends a lot of time boating around Megunticiook Lake in search of "treasure." He has recently taken up windsurfing (this we have to see!), and he loves to ride on the surfboard behind the boat, accompanies by his crew of your Pirates-n-Training. He's not much of a swimmer (it ruins the mascara), but he loves his mates and being with them.

Mattie Parker
"Swimming's not my thing, but I've got my priorities straight!"
Seven-year-old Mattie, a transplant from New Mexico, is presumed to be a wheaten terrier mix. At least, that's her story, and she's sticking to it. Coming from the desert southwest, she's not a big fan of the water, nor does she much like it when the boat heels. However, she puts up with sailing aboard her family's 34-foot ketch in order to be as close to her people at all times as possible. We are told she is an excellent jumper, so we expect that aerials might be a part of her freestyle routine.

For more information about the Boatyard Dog Trials or the Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show, visit www.maineboats.com Photos by Tracy Barbutes www.tracybimagery.com