Payton's "Competitive Edge" Legacy

Please help fund a trophy to honor Payton, whose outstanding performance career was ended abruptly when she died unexpectedly at 5 1/2 years of age. The trophy will be awarded to Airedales who earn both Master Hunter and Master Agility Champion titles, as those were her most extraordinary achievements.

Sitting atop a wood base will be the bronze sculpture of a hunting Airedale, created using the 'lost-wax' process. A photograph of Payton exiting weave poles will be engraved into the front of the base. Also on the front will be a dedication plaque, with the trophy's name and its criteria. Airedales awarded this trophy will have their names added to a plaque on the base, and will receive a wooden plaque with that individual's name and date of award.

In addition to honoring Payton and awarding other Airedales at the top of their game in field and agility, the intent is also to inspire Airedalers already engaged in field work and hunt-testing to begin competing in agility, those already competing in agility to get their Airedales into the field where their history began and, finally, to engage no matter where, to keep going, and to go all out.

Below you will find reflections on, and highlights of,
Payton's life.
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"In the beginning, Airedales were hunting dogs."

Written by MJ Nelson, those words begin "The Airedale: Returning to Its Roots" which was published last year in Gun Dog Magazine.

MACH3 Connemara's Competitive Edge CDX RE MH MXB2 MJG2 MXF MFC TQX T2B2, better known to her legions of fans as Payton, enjoyed her last day of living on January 25. She died suddenly, unexpectedly. She would have been 6 this June 1st.

"Payton was SO riveting to watch, as everything she did, she did with GUSTO!" one of her fans observed.

That's how she hunted, in bold defiance of the deliberate style attributed to Airedales. Payton possessed the "strong hunting instinct" and "speed, endurance, and imperviousness" the Yorkshire working class sought to develop in the Airedale. She lived those descriptives, those words on the Airedale Terrier Club of America's Hunting and Field page.

Payton's water work was legendary. Trembling at the wait, when sent, Payton attacked the water, the way she flushed her birds. With the only canine butterfly stroke spectators had ever seen, she raced to her retrieve, then brought it back to present to her beloved Dee.




"Payton loved running first out of the pack of Dee's Airedales.
She wanted to run for all the others too . . .
She did not do anything that wasn't FULL TILT."

Payton was Deanna Corboy-Lulik's intensely devoted partner. In that Gun Dog piece, Dee says that Airedales' "greatest strength is their tenacity and determination" and then reminds us that, with Airedales, a "certain deafness to the whistle can occur." But, "˜trained ability', the imperative complement to that "˜strong hunting instinct', is Dee's forte. Running primarily on instinct, Payton would have remained an impressive Senior Hunter.

But, pure inspiration, Dee and Payton in partnership earned Payton AKC's MH "” Master Hunter title, the second ever awarded an Airedale"”second only to her mom Kaleigh.

"She loved the game."

"She loved each game she played, and that included Obedience, Rally, and Agility."

"Once the game was on, though, it was ALL about playing with Mom. She ran agility like she played in life, all out with both intensity and joy."

Both the MH "” Master Hunter title, and the MACH "” Master Agility Champion title are awarded to dogs who meet a certain standard.

Payton won her class with a perfect score her first time in the ring (click to see video).

Dee remembers . . . "I didn't think there were any breed milestones in agility that would be attributed to her. After all, her grandmother Darby was the first Airedale to earn a performance CH of any sort "” in her case, the first MACH. Kaleigh had the distinction of earning the most MACHs (8), and then it was brought to my attention that Payton did distinguish herself early on:

"She earned her first MACH at the youngest age of all Airedales who had ever earned a MACH.

"She was the top Airedale in agility in the US for 2011 and 2012.

"She was the only Airedale to have made it into the finals at any National Agility event in agility history when she made the finals at the Eukanuba AKC Agility Invitational in 2011.

"She was just getting started. We were looking forward to venturing into uncharted waters and going places we hadn't yet gone before. We thought we had so much time.

"She earned her last MACH, a MACH3 with two perfect scores and placements at Montgomery 2012 in the pouring rain and mud. When she died, Payton was closing in on her MACH4 and had thousands of points to spare to be used toward her future MACHs.







"She left us the day before she was to finish her Utility Dog, Versatility, and Graduate Open obedience titles.

"She just loved to work. She invigorated us to do more. The possibilities seemed endless. She was everything magnified."

The Dee Lulik and Payton Memorial "Competitive Edge" Trophy will be awarded to Airedale Terriers who earn both AKC's Master Hunter and Master Agility Champion titles.

May Payton and Dee inspire the "˜Competitive Edge' in all Airedales.