Martha McHardy lives on a small hillside acreage in Cowichan Station; located ten minutes south of the town of Duncan, in the Cowichan Valley - an hours’ drive north of Victoria, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Previously she lived in Metchosin, based on the farm of her friends, the Buchanans, and their commercial sheep flock; the Parry Bay Sheepfarm. For more than twenty years, she trained working Border Collies for practical farm work, and also competed in sheep dog trials throughout western Canada and the USA. She was the first handler from British Columbia to compete at the USBCHA National Nursery and Open Finals in 1995, 96, and 97, and at multiple Finals since. All of her competitive trial dogs were of her own breeding, and were started and trained by her; representing multiple generations of dogs that have demonstrated consistent abilities that have been successful for Martha, as well as for others, with dogs from her line. She is well regarded as a breeder of top working Border Collies, and has a special interest in starting young dogs, and enjoys bringing out the best of their potential abilities, as well as in helping their owners achieve productive and positive relationships with their dogs.

Throughout the 1980‘s and 90‘s, Martha combined working with her Border Collies, with her career as an Occupational Therapist. Many of her dogs accompanied Martha to Victoria area hospitals, where she practiced  for many years as a multi-disciplinary team member in the field of Geriatric Medicine.  She  reluctantly gave up practicing, when in 2003 she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Despite her diagnosis, she was able to continue her work with her dogs, and continued to remain a competitive Open handler, trainer and breeder; albeit with a reduced schedule, while learning to balance her ongoing interests in sheep and dogs, within the limitations now imposed upon her by her diagnosis...

Martha was one of the principal organizers of the Metchosin Sheepdog Trial, and for twenty years. the event was one of the annual highlights in the local community, as well as in the larger sheepdog  trialling community. The trial attracted international regard, bringing judges, handlers and spectators from both North America and the U.K., to Metchosin each July, from 1992-2012.

Martha and  puppy “MarCar Mairi”, born Dec 2011 - “ the beginnings of another special partnership for the future..? “