Karen Holik
Karen Holik is an agility coach and competitor and the founder of On Course Agility, located in Brandon, Florida. She provides private and group lessons and instructs seminars throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Bermuda, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Year-round, Karen provides lessons in real-time and via video for students at all levels. Karen shares her life with her husband Eric, his Sheltie Jiggy, and her Border Collies Zenn, Kidd, and Starr.
In 1992, while in downtown Chicago, Karen saw an agility demo and could not wait to try it with her chow/sheltie mix, Simon. Together, they set off on a journey that would ultimately see Karen leave her long-time position at a legal firm to focus on agility full time in 2007.
Early on, Karen recognized that fundamental skills and consistency are crucial to success. Believing that all dogs can achieve their full potential with the right mix of education and motivation, her training programs focus on the dog's understanding, which leads to confidence, speed, and independence. In addition to focusing on the dog's progression, Karen has an intuitive eye for the minute adjustments to handling skills that can have a profound impact on a team relationship. This balanced perspective is central to her philosophy that agility is a team sport and should always be fun for dog and handler.
Karen's training philosophy and work ethic have been borne out by her records in multiple venues. She is a 15-time USA World Team Member with three different dogs at three different heights, 5-time National Champion, Gold and Silver Medalist at the World Agility Open (England), Silver Medalist at the FCI World Championships (Austria), and Silver and Bronze Medalist at the IFCS World Championships (Netherlands and Italy).
Since her Sheltie Sizzle took her to the heights of the sport in 2008, Karen has returned to the echelons again and again with her Shelties and Border Collies. Today, Karen continues to test the boundaries of the sport with Zenn, Kidd, and Starr, focusing on independent weave and contact skills that are the hallmark of her handling and training philosophies.
Karen has been teaching agility for over 25 years and describes her teaching style and philosophy as "Very basic. Teaching fundamentals is very important and should not be skipped." She describes her handling style as "Meat and potatoes. Do what works best for your dog. Just because something is the latest trend doesn't mean it is best for your team."
Karen adds, "I love teaching all dogs/handlers no matter what level or aspiration. Whether they never intend to enter a trial or aspire to be on a world team. I want everyone to enjoy this sport with their dog as much as I do."
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