AGILITY Instructors
Mary ChampagNe, owner
(CSMAT, OneMind Dogs Instructor)
Mary first got involved in agility in 1994 because she thought it "looked fun" and has since trained a variety of dogs of all sizes, breeds and mixes thereof. She began teaching for a local agility club around 20 years ago and now runs her own training school, The Agility Facility, in Salem, Connecticut. Mary's dogs have competed extensively in the Northeast earning the sport's top titles, and have also been semi-finalists at multiple championship events across the country and ranked in the Agility Top Ten national standings. An advocate of strong foundation training for agility and not rushing her dogs, Mary believes that "it is a journey from the time dogs begin their puppy fundamentals until they retire." Mary is a fun, knowledgable, experienced and very approachable instructor. She says she enjoys teaching new teams and loves the diversity of breeds of dogs. She loves seeing teams come together and being able to share in their journeys.
For the past few years, Mary has been following the OneMind Dogs methodology and has traveled to Finland twice with her dogs as well as Canada and Florida to train with several OneMind Dog coaches. This training fits right in with the way Mary looks at dog agility training.
Mary is ecstatic to join the OneMind Dogs team as a certified Instructor!
Holly Burchsted
(OneMind Dogs Instructor)
Holly Burchsted began her training journey with family dog classes and quickly nurtured an interest in behavior analysis and modification. This gives her a unique perspective which helps her troubleshoot when challenges arise in dog training. Just like her dogs, Holly's terrier tenacity loves to jump head-first into a challenge and problem-solve an outcome where everyone wins.
Holly's canine family includes 3 terriers and 2 border collies. Since following the OneMind Dogs agility training methodology Holly found that her relationship and understanding of her dogs has greatly improved. She loves traveling to faraway lands for agility training camps, including Finland, Canada, Florida, and Pennsylvania. She has met some truly wonderful people through agility and is most happy when surrounded by her dogs and peers, playing and talking agility.
Holly offers private lessons for behavior issues in addition to agility training.
2019 Podium wins and placements:
20” Masters Series Last Chance overall winner (UKI Canadian Open, August)
20” Masters Series Jumping round gold medalist (UKI Canadian Open, August)
20” Masters Series Final overall winner (UKI Canadian Open, August)
16” National Round 2 gold medalist (UKI Canadian Open, August)
16” Biathlon Jumping round gold medalist (UKI Canadian Open, August)
16” Biathlon Agility round silver medalist (UKI Canadian Open, August)
16” Biathlon overall winner (UKI Canadian Open, August)
20” Steeplechase regional Champion (USDAA NE, August)
20” Grand Prix regional bronze medalist (USDAA NE, August)
16” Steeplechase regional silver medalist (USDAA NE, August)
16” Biathlon silver medalist (UKI Atlantic Cup, June)
20” Steeplechase regional Champion (USDAA Barrie, June)
16” Grand Prix regional bronze medalist (USDAA Barrie, June)
20” Premier Cup Champion (AKC NH, January 2020)
Heather Witt
(OneMind Dogs Instructor)
Heather has taught dog obedience and manners for 30 years. 5 years ago she brought home her small sheltie, Rowan, and they found their true passion in dog agility. In the short time since, Heather has traveled throughout the US and to Finland in her thirst for agility knowledge. She became a certified OneMind Dogs Instructor, and has also been learning about the mental management aspects of competition and training. Heather and Rowan were invited onto the IFCS Development team in 2017 and made the 2020 IFCS Team USA competing in Belgium.
Heather enjoys teaching all levels of agility. She competes with her two wee Shelties in UKI, USDAA, and AKC. When not doing agility, she’s hiking, reading, cooking, and hanging out with her husband and two teenage boys, who do not sufficiently appreciate how awesome dog agility is!
Some of Heather’s accomplishments:
IFCS TEAM USA 2020 & 2022
2022 Gamblers Gold Medalist!!!2019 USDAA Masters Challenge Agility Cup 3rd overall and 2nd Games Challenge
2019 UKI US Open Last Chance Winner
2019 UKI US Open Speedstakes and Masters Series Finalist
2019 USDAA NE Regionals DAM Team 1st place
2019 USDAA NE Regionals Biathlon 1st place
2019 USDAA MId Atlantic Regional Steeplechase 1st place
2019 UKI NE Cup Speedstakes Challenge 2nd place
2019 Cynosports 6th place Team Snooker and 7th Place Team Standard
USDAA Contact Agility Overall Biathlon Winner 2018 and 2019
2018 UKI NE Cup Games Challenge 2nd place
2018 USDAA Regionals DAM Team 3rd place