Meeker Classic, 2022: Jack leads every stage

Key facts

Champion

Faansie Basson with Jack

Other Basson finalist

Finn, third

Highest preliminary score reported

Jack, 85

Two successful dogs, different paths

The organiser’s retrospective identifies seven-year-old Jack as the 2022 champion and four-year-old Finn as third, both handled by Faansie Basson. Barbara Ray and Grantham finished between them. The account places Basson in Hico, Texas, at that stage of his career, after his move from South Africa. His earlier 2012 Meeker title had been with Don, a different dog. These details distinguish a successful handler’s separate partnerships rather than implying that the same animal won a decade apart. The retrospective was published in March 2023 and concerns the previous year’s competition.

Jack’s three-round performance

The report describes oppressive heat during preliminary competition and a field of 135 runs. Jack’s Friday score of eighty-five was the highest preliminary figure; he then led the semifinal and final. Finn also had a strong preliminary, earning Thursday’s Top Dog on seventy-nine, the next-highest preliminary score described in the account. The two dogs therefore contributed different achievements within the same edition. Jack’s leading scores across all stages are an exceptional documented sequence, but the stages remain separate results. They should not be added into a new total that the organiser did not publish as the championship measure.

A handler’s account of working the sheep

Basson’s profile emphasises understanding livestock and adapting the dog’s work to the sheep, rather than reducing training to directional obedience. He describes Jack’s calmness around sheep as important to the partnership’s success, while explaining differences in Finn’s style. These are a participant’s observations tied to the dogs in this edition, not objective temperament scores for every related dog. The organiser’s awards document supplies the formal record alongside the narrative. Read together, the sources preserve a particularly strong week by one handler with two dogs while showing why championship, daily recognition and third place should each stay attached to the correct partnership.

Common questions

Sources & further reading

References for this guide. Rules and services can change; check the responsible organisation for current details.

• Meeker Classic — Faansie Basson’s 2022 champion and third-place dogs (opens in a new tab)
• Meeker Classic — 2022 special awards (opens in a new tab)

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