Welcome to the online home of the Colorado Disc Dogs!
The Colorado Disc Dogs club started in 1994 and gives Frisbee dog enthusiasts a
chance to gather as a group and ply our hobby. We get together at least once a
month during the season, exchanging ideas, tips, stories, and information about
the sport, as well as practicing with our dogs in a fun, comfortable atmosphere.
Our very own Red Rocket Rider makes the front page!
We also run competitions, playdays and training seminars each year so that Colorado
dog owners can enjoy the fun and benefits that playing with a Frisbee dog can bring.
Among our ranks are Regional and World Finalists, National Champions, National Distance
Champions, the Colorado State Champion, and many others. We have appeared on NBC, ESPN, espn2,
USA Network, Animal Planet, TBS, and other national and local networks. Our demo
teams have performed at NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS, NCAA, and NLL halftimes. The Colorado Disc Dogs
also donate a considerable amount of time each year supporting local and national
charities and humane organizations.
Every August, the club runs the Colorado Canine Challenge - widely considered one
of the premier disc-dog competitions in the nation. It is a two-day event that
lures much of the top talent from all over the country to compete in the Open
divisions. For more information on this year's Challenge, click here.
However, you don't have to be an expert thrower to participate. You don't even have
to be a "member." All our events are open to everyone, regardless of experience,
and many are cost-free. Every competition includes a novice division that is especially
designed for new-comers. The guidelines are very simple and fully explained at every event.
It has happened more than once that someone just out walking their dog has entered and won
the novice division. For a complete list of this year's competitions, including maps, click here.
The club also has custom logo merchandise available for sale,
including official competition discs - click here for more information.
So, if you have a dog that might like to give this disc fetching thing a
try, we greatly encourage you to come and hang out with us at any of our events.
For more information on the club or its functions, contact Rick Brydum.
Welcome to the online home of the Colorado Disc Dogs!
In 1974, 50,000 spectators at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles jumped to their
feet and cheered when an uninvited canine athlete named Ashley Whippet ran
35 miles an hour, leaped nine feet in the air, and caught Frisbee discs
from his owner Alex Stein for eight uninterrupted minutes between innings.
But neither that audience, nor the millions watching the pennant-crucial
game between the
Ashley Whippet in mid-flight...
Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds on television,
could have predicted they were witnessing the birth of a canine competition
that would soon thrill legions of dog lovers throughout the world.
Ashley's national stadium debut was engineered by his owner Alex Stein,
then a student at Ohio State. When Hollywood talent scouts failed to return
Stein's calls, he took matters into his own hands and smuggled Ashley into
Dodger Stadium on the evening of August 4, 1974. Ashley went on to break all
records, winning the Canine Frisbee Disc World Championships three times.
Later, Ashley starred in a television commercial, entertained Amy Carter and
her friends at the White House, performed at halftime at Super Bowl XII, and
was a guest with Stein on such television programs as: "Wide World of Sports,"
"Good Morning America," "The Tonight Show," and others. He entertained at
practically every NFL and Major League Baseball stadium in the United States
and Canada, and starred in "Floating Free" -- a film documentary nominated
for an Academy Award.
History of the Colorado Disc Dogs
There were certainly dogs catching frisbees in Colorado prior to the early 90's,
and there were even competitions being run in some cities. Posters from the 1984
Rocky Mountain Frisbee Championships even advertised frisbee dog demonstrations.
But until 1994, there was no organized club to promote the sport and introduce new
people to this great pasttime. The year before, Californian Rick Brydum loaded up
his family and came out to the Rockies. Rick found no clubs, and very few competitions.
Rick Brydum's frisbee dog interest and abilities were honed in the '80's
Southern California frisbee dog scene. Regularly competing with the likes of
Lou McCammon, Gary Suzuki, Bill Watters, Gary Gomes, Reed Ferguson, and other
folks, Rick was in the thick of the sport at its very epicenter. Rick and his
two Aussies, Sean and Sasha, were excellent competitors -- multitime regional
finalists. Rick's frisbee dogs appeared in a Japanese shoe commercial, and Rick and
Sean eventually won the Pacific Coast Championship. These two amazing Aussies
were also one of the first "double dog" teams around! Rick brought all this
experience and enthusiasm to Colorado in
Rick Brydum back in the day!
1993, and in 1994, started the state's first frisbee dog
club, the Front Range Flyers K9 Disc Club.
Around the same time, another Californian
refugee and his family moved to Colorado. Glen Medford brought a mess of freestyle
tricks and a lot of willingness to help out and teach the younger generations starting
off in Colorado. Glen's dog Brittany had traveled the world catching frisbees, and
even appeared in a Sunkist ad. Glen was very influential to the first "native"
Colorado Frisbee dog freestylers.
Rick shortly adopted another great Aussie, Barney, and with a new club and an itch to
make something happen in the state, Rick contacted Irv Lander, the executive director
of the Ashley Whippet Invitational, and co-founder of the sport. Rick told Irv there
was not much here, but lots of potential. Irv was excited to have a local contact in
Colorado, as they had wanted to put an event in the Denver area for some time. Rick
and Irv worked together, and the result was one of the most famous and formidable
contests to ever run -- The Open Regional.
The AWE events consisted of several regional contests. The top two competitors from
each would earn a trip to the World Championships. The Open Regional was conceived
as a "last chance" to earn one of those World Championship berths. The first Open took
place in 1994, at Dove Valley Park, across from the Denver Broncos training center.
Nearly 100 teams showed up -- the cream of the frisbee dog crop! The event continued
through 1997, when it was split into 2 regionals, an east and a west, held on their
respective coasts. The Open regional spawned the Colorado Canine Challenge, which
continues the tradition of top flight frisbee dogs gathering to establish the top dog!
Chris Sexton and Laika
As Rick was helping to establish some new competitions in the state, his work had enough
of an influence to cause a second Colorado club to come into existence. In early 1996,
in the frisbee-saturated Ft. Collins area, Chris Sexton, Liz Brennfleck and Todd Stevens
started the Northern Colorado Disc Dogs. This club was a smaller, regional club, hosting
the Ft. Collins competition and regular playdays. The two clubs always attended and
assisted each other's events, with Rick providing guidance and experience to the
excited upstarts.
To the south of Denver, another of Rick's proteges, Rob Provost, was building a contest
of his own. The Colorado Springs scene grew largely out of Rob's efforts in that city,
both in demos and at his heavily attended contest. Rob's dog Hershey would prove to be
one of the most consistent and excellent MiniDistance frisbee dogs around, and was the inspiration
for the Club's annual "Hershey Memorial Award," given to the team with the highest
MiniDistance score of the year.
Rick, Rob, Chris and Todd worked together to run great contests, and very soon, club
resources were combined. The two clubs ran as one entity, and in early 1999, the last
vestiges of 2 separate clubs were retired. The new club name was unveiled -- The
Colorado Disc Dogs. A killer logo and more contests and shows than ever made
Colorado a frisbee dog hotspot, and it continues to be today.
Today, Rick and Chris still help to run the club, along with a ton of support
from many club members. The Colorado State Championship Series, which awards
the Colorado Cup to the State Champ each year, was started in 1997. The series
continues today, with a Rookie of the year recognized each year as well. Playing
host to prestigious events like the FDDO, The Quadruped, and World Cup events,
Colorado will be in the fast lane for frisbee dog action for a long time to come!
