#CelebratingOthers - “Savant “ Dog, Rey, Wins Calgary Stampede with Nancy Creel
- Terri Tomoff
- Aug 19
- 4 min read
Do you love dogs? Do you love stories about unbelievably intelligent dogs who are also pets? I’ve got one for you with Nancy and Rey of Bozeman, Montana.
I guess there is never “late” when it comes to writing (even books/letters/other writing stuff are published posthumously), especially when a dog I know (have met) brings home the 2025 World Stock Dog Championship from the Calgary Stampede (it was last month). However, when my friend and college teammate, Nancy Creel, who lives in Montana, won the biggest prize with her very intelligent border collie, Rey, a heart emoji or a “congrats” on social media was never going to “cut it” for me.
Nope.
I had to call Nancy so she and I could gush about her championship dog and her stellar patience in a surprise win with Rey.
You see, it was not all rainbows and puppies to achieve what Rey, an eight-year-old border collie, did to win this prestigious event. Knee injuries really set her back in her training! Structured rehab and lots of veterinary care eventually helped catapult Nancy and Rey atop the champion podium.
To give some context about how profound this achievement is for Nancy and her family, as well as the family of dogs she lovingly takes care of, I need to go back a few years.
While on my busted trip entitled: Annapolis to Anchorage in an Accord in the summer of 2022, I met up with Nancy, her husband Scott in Bozeman, Montana (all of us runners/track athletes who went to Bowling Green State University and graduated the same year), and her two dogs, Rey and a four-month-old Ava, another border collie. Nancy and Scott’s two daughters were not home that summer, or at least not when Linda Misencik, my travelmate, and I visited them for a short spell.
The next morning, Nancy, excited to show us how she trains her dogs, took us to a sheep farm located in a valley near her home in Bozeman. I don’t know about Linda, but I was mesmerized by how Nancy executed her whistle calls and how her dogs, both Rey and Ava (who was 4 months old at that time), responded so diligently. I’ve never seen this type of work in person, so I was equally pumped up to witness this art IRL. The connection between woman and dog, or Nancy and Rey, and Nancy and Ava, was indescribable, but I’ll take a stab at it, ultra astonishing!
According to Nancy and the “Rey Press - Bozeman Chronicle,” here is more of this incredible story:
On day two of the World Stock Dog Championships, the same 60 dogs compete again to get the best combined time of the two go rounds. The course consisted of 7 obstacles, which comprised barrels, a chute, and a pen. Rey was really “pushing through the bit” on this course, and after a couple of reminders from Nancy, the run came under control, and the duo was able to pen their 3 sheep in just under the course time of 4:00.
The two runs combined put Nancy and Rey into the twelve-person Final in 5th place. The Finals were run in reverse order of finish, and when Nancy and Rey ran, the top two times were Louanne Twa’s 3:55 and Peter Gonnet’s 3:56, with a course time limit of 4:00 again. The course went well with Rey sleekly managing the sheep through the barrel pattern. Rey’s style was a mixture of border collie “eye” and generous flanks to steer the sheep. Rey has a lot of feel for her stock and could rate the ewes so that they didn’t get upset at being moved around in front of the crowd of 5000 people in the Nutrien Events Center. At the pen, a lone Suffolk ewe parked so the gate could not be closed till Nancy and Rey worked together to get her to take the last step. The crowd cheered before the gate was closed, and Rey ran around the back of the pen, nearly pushing the sheep back out. Nancy quickly got Rey back in position and closed the gate. The time came in at 3:54, and they squeaked into first place. The remaining four dogs had a good chance to beat the time, but due to the complicated nature of the sheep, none of the remaining border collies were able to persuade the ewes to finish the course. Check out the video below.
The World Stockdog Championship started at the Calgary Stampede in 1997. During the award ceremony, Nancy had a chance to admire the traveling trophy and see the names of many respected handlers in the sheepdog community. Nancy was presented with a check for $10,000 by BF Goodrich, the event sponsor. She also received a buckle, pennant, and coat rack. Nancy and Rey were the 4th Americans and the first Montanans to win the World Stock Dog Championship at the Calgary Stampede.
YAY, Nancy and Rey! Nancy had to help manufacture a lot of sunshine, this time in patience, for Rey to finish her treatment and heal those precious and skinny legs to outlast a stellar field to win the World Stockyard Championship at the 2025 Calgary Stampede!
Yep, her border collie, Rey, is smart-savant, if possible for a canine, and can work a crowd like no other. Congratulations to both!!!
For a deeper dive, here are two links showcasing Nancy & Rey’s Stampede Win:
Photos below: 1) Rey in background, another border collie in foreground; 2) Champion Rey, 3) Nancy and Ava - then 4-month-old in 2022 (next champion?) 4) out for practice in Bozeman; 5) me snuggling with Ava, 6) Nancy and Terri upon our arrival to Nancy's home
bSoelille! And cheers to Nancy and her family! This is so exciting!
Terri
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