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Stockdog Trainer
World Sheepdog Champion 1987
50+ Stockdog Championships and Awards
Instructor Stockdog Training Clinics & Seminars
1985-2013
 In
1981 Elvin Kopp married his wife Jan and they settled at their newly
purchased “That’ll Do Ranch” near Westerose Alberta. Raising cattle was
one of their ventures and after time Elvin decided that he would like to
have some help dealing with his cattle. Consequently, a year after he
started his life as a rancher Elvin attended a dog training clinic
(1982). When he saw what a stockdog could do he was “hooked”. He
bought a Border Collie pup at the clinic and started training his
protégé. In 1984, two years later, Elvin entered his first competition
and three years after that (1987) he was the World Sheepdog Champion, a
meteoric rise to the top. During his time competing, Elvin trained
eleven different dogs to championships.
Competing against the top handlers from
across North America in his first competition, the Alberta Open
International Sheepdog Trials, Elvin’s results weren’t great but in the
ensuing seven years (1985-1992) Elvin was Champion at the Alberta Open
International Trials five times. He entered both sheepdog and cattle
dog competitions and was named “Handler of the Year” for both divisions
for five years (1986-1991). Elvin also won Super Dog of the Year (best
dog in both sheepdog and cattle dog categories) for the five years
(1986-1991) that this award was presented.
Handler of the Year in Two Divisions
Won Super Dog of the Year
1986-1991
2011 Reserve Champion at the Calgary
Stampede Cutting Horse Futurity
Fifty Personal Championships and Awards
 Included
in the championships that Elvin has won are: World Sheepdog
Championships 1987; Western Canadian Sheepdog Trials Champion 1988; Red
Bluff Cross Country Cowdog Championships 2006 and United States Border
Collie Handlers Association, Nursery Cowdog Champion and Reserve Open
Cowdog Champion 2007. Besides these titles, Elvin was Reserve Champion
four times at the Calgary Stampede (1998-2001) Locally, Elvin has won
the Lakedell Fair Stockdog Trials five times since 1995.
Another interest of Elvin’s is training
and competing with cutting horses and he has been involved in this
endeavor for ten years. In 2011 Elvin was Reserve Champion at the
Calgary Stampede Cutting Horse Futurity.
Besides competing, Elvin has shared his
knowledge and skills in stockdog training. For twenty-five years Elvin
has hosted an average of two stockdog training clinics per year at his
ranch and has instructed at numerous dog training seminars across North
America. He has instructed two week-ends a year at three Agricultural
Colleges: Olds College for five years, Fairview College for four years
and Lakeland College for nine years. Elvin also produced a set of
stockdog training DVD’s that have been on the market since 1989 and
continue to be marketed throughout the world. As well, Elvin hosted and
organized the Lakedell Fair Stockdog Trials from 1983-2003.
Border Collies: Slate, Jed, Pete, the
Mainstay of
Cattle Handling at “That’ll
Do Ranch”
Elvin has also judged many of the major
sheepdog trials throughout North America including the Meeker Sheepdog
Championships in Colorado; the Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Championships in
Utah; the Blue Grass Sheepdog Championships in Kentucky and the USMA
National Finals in South Dakota.
Elvin’s passion for stockdog training and
competing has resulted in a total of over fifty personal
Championships and Awards. His border collies have become the
mainstay of cattle handling at his ranch and a viable part of his
business. Over 6000 dog/handler combinations have benefitted from
Elvin’s expertise at clinics and seminars. These achievements are
more than worthy of Elvin’s induction into the Wetaskiwin and County
Sports Hall of Fame.
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