AMERICAN SCHUTZHUND – JUDGES

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF JUDGES

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & DIRECTOR OF JUDGES

DEBBIE ZAPPIA
Debbie Zappia is a World Champion who has been a trainer/competitor in Schutzhund for over 30 years with 9 world team showings.
In 2004, Debbie and her dog Escobar Adelrik, placed second at the WUSV IPO World Championships in the Netherlands.
In 2015, Debbie and her dog Iron von den Wolfen “Eros” represented the United States as USA1 at the World Championships in Finland and made history when she became the first American to win the WUSV IPO World Championships.
Debbie has also won National, Regional and other Working Dog Championships with different GSDs. She has titled a plethora of dogs that include several different working breeds.

AMERICAN SCHUTZHUND JUDGES

JUDGE

CARLA GRIFFITH
NORTH CAROLINA

214-476-6428

Carla entered the USCA judge’s program in 1996 and became a licensed judge in 1998. In addition, Carla held a SV Judge’s license. Carla has judged over 250 club trials in the USA and Canada and 20 Regional and National events. Carla has successfully titled and competed with many dogs.

JUDGE

KEVIN SHELDAHL
NEW MEXICO

505-250-4576

Kevin is a Police Canine Handler, Instructor, Judge (Psp, DPO, WPO Utah POST) and is a Police Canine Certifying Official (Detection, and Patrol) for the National Police Canine Association.

Kevin is also the Training Director for New Mexico Hundesport and has been for 20 plus years. He is a frequent lecturer at Police K-9 conferences around the US and has taught in other countries such as Germany, Colombia, and China. Kevin has successfully titled and competed with many dogs in multiple venues.

JUDGE

JAN NIELSEN
WASHINGTON

209-403-8879

Jan is a Certified Master Trainer of Patrol and Narcotics Detection and is highly experienced with the latest training techniques from Norwegian Customs, KNPV, and the Dutch National Police. Jan continues to train worldwide with top working canine trainers. Jan is also a certified police K9 judge and has judged multiple police canine competitions throughout California. Jan has successfully titled and competed with many dogs in multiple venues.

JUDGE

KATYLN SCHWARZWAELDER WELLS
412-352-4006

Katlyn Schwarzwaelder has experience with and has worked extensively with police, border patrol, service, and hunting dogs. Since 2010, she has been the owner and head trainer of Von Schwarz Doberman Kennel. Von Schwarz Doberman Kennel, is a very well known and respected breeding kennel. Since 2017, Katlyn has also been the owner and head trainer of The Northern Border K9 Athlete Center, LLC. Northern Boarder is a prominent board and train facility that provides agility, dock diving and the hosting of multiple K9 events.

In addition, Katlyn Schwarzwaelder is currently the President of Vita Nova Doberman, Vita Nova Schutzhund, and Vita Nova AS Sport Dog Clubs, as well as The Northern Border, LLC CPE and USDAA Agility Clubs. To date, Vita Nova Doberman Club has hosted 2 National Championships, and Vita Nova Schutzhund Club (USCA) has hosted Nationals, Regionals, and Conformation Shows.

Katlyn Schwarzwaelder is also a very successful Schutzhund competitor.
She has titled over 20 Dobermans in IGP (IGP1-3) and 3 German Shepherd Dogs (IGP1-2).
The following is a list of her accomplishments:

2018 UDC IGP3 National Champion with Ferro vom Bergkönig
2019 UDC IGP3 National Champion with Ferro vom Bergkönig
2019 USA- 01 IDC World Championship Team in Hungary with Ferro vom Bergkönig

From 2020 – 2022, dogs from
Katlyn’s breeding and training program have won the UDC IGP3 National Championships and Fall Classic Championships (Ender von der Schwarz IGP3 and Jarro von der Schwarz IGP3)

MER Working Dog Championship IPO3 4th Place and High Tracking (All Breed, USCA) with Ferro vom Bergkönig
FH1 with 92 points under SV Judge Adolf Glasser
Kata Leistungsblut von der Schwarz 3rd place at the UDC IGP3 Fall Classic Championship, and the first Doberman in history to achieve an AS1!
Ender von der Schwarz IGP3 (a dog Katlyn owns, bred, and trained along side Vita Nova) won first place with a cash price of $7,500 at the first American Schutzhund all working breed Protection Tournament.

In addition to Katlyn’s outstanding achievements, she is also a certified IGP Helper who has worked the front and back half at 3 trials.

JUDGE

BEN LIPINSKI
763-587-5505

Ben Lepinski is a working dog trainer by trade. Ben began his dog training career with Tarheel Canine where he trained hundreds of police k9s for different departments all across the country. To date, Ben now owns his own business, Lepinski K9 Services.

As a teenager, Ben began competing in hunt tests and field trials with retrievers. Then, he found the world of Malinois and the ProtEction Sports Association (PSA).

Ben was certified as a PSA decoy in 2015, later becoming a senior decoy. Ben has since worked over 100 trials, including 4 regionals, and 2 national championships. After several years as a PSA competitor and a senior decoy, Ben achieved a judging assignment with PSA as well.

In addition, Ben has been involved with American Schutzhund since the organization’s first helper certification where he successfully certified under the AS Director of Helpers, Joeri Veth. To date, Ben is a certified AS helper and a scent detection instructor.

Listed are Ben’s competitor accomplishments:

Second place PSA1 2017.
First place PSA2, high obedience and high in trial 2018.
PSA 2 national champion, 2018.
First place PSA 3, 2021.
First place PSA 3 second leg 2021, making them the 28th team to achieve PSA 3.
In 2022 Ben and Fury accomplished their BT all the way through AS3 in 11 months and became the AS3 national champion.

JUDGE

TIM VAILLANCOURT
585-406-1401

Tim is a former Marine Corps IED Detection Dog Handler, one of American Schutzhund’s first certified helpers, AS certified detection instructor, judge for AKC and NACSW scentwork sports, and has been training under Deb Zappia since 2014. He also attended the 2023 AS judge’s conference with Dr. Helmut Raiser

 Throughout his training in Schutzhund, Tim has been fortunate to have access to some of the best trainers in the world. This training has afforded him the ability to understand and recognize dog behavior through many different lenses. The diversity in training that Tim has received gives him an objective outlook on the natural dog and trained behaviors.

 Tim has taken his dog, Nero, from a BT through AS3 and showed at the first AS nationals in 2021. Tim and Nero also competed in the first protection tournament at the 2022 AS nationals.

JUDGE

TARA BURKE
843-814-0035

Tara brings an exceptional depth of experience and dedication to the sport. She is the owner and head trainer of Ridgeside K9 in Summerville, SC and previously served as a K9 Unit Supervisor with the Summerville Police Department, where she oversaw multiple K9 teams, training programs, certifications and deployments.

Her background also includes service as a police officer, a U.S. Coast Guard operations officer with overseas deployment and leadership roles in U.S. Army logistics and operations.

Beyond her professional résumé, Tara’s hands-on accomplishments in working dog sports speak volumes. She has trained and titled multiple dogs across PSA and American Schutzhund, earning titles including PSA2, AS2 and advanced scent detection titles. Several of her dogs are actively progressing toward higher levels this season.

Tara’s knowledge, work ethic and real-world experience make her an outstanding addition to the American Schutzhund judging program.

JUDGE

TONY STOKES 570-573-9244
Tony Stokes brings nearly a decade of experience as a professional dog trainer, coach, mentor, and working dog enthusiast to the American Schutzhund judging program.
Throughout his career, Tony has earned a reputation for technical excellence, a commitment to continuing education, and a passion for developing both dogs and handlers.
As the owner of Lead Your K9, a successful training, boarding, and daycare facility employing 13 staff members, and the founder of Stokes School for Dog Training, Tony has dedicated his career to educating others. Through seminars, private instruction, and hands on coaching, he has worked with sport competitors, police K9 handlers, search and rescue teams, and professional trainers in American Schutzhund, IGP, PSA, and Mondioring.
Since beginning his dog sport journey in 2016, Tony has relentlessly pursued education under many of the working dog community’s most respected instructors, including Michael Ellis, Forrest Micke, Stewart Hilliard, Mia Skogster, Deb Zappia, Joeri Veth, Ford K9, Heather Beck, Melanie Uhde, Paul Edwards, and many other accomplished trainers. His education spans all three phases of the sport, including obedience, protection, tracking, detection, canine cognition, behavior, and helper development.
Dedicated to advancing the sport beyond competition, Tony founded an American Schutzhund affiliated club, serves as its Training Director, and earned his American Schutzhund Helper Certification. As an educator and mentor, he has developed an exceptional ability to evaluate performance and deliver constructive feedback that helps handlers improve. He believes judging extends beyond assigning points, it is about recognizing quality work, upholding consistent standards, and providing meaningful evaluations that help competitors grow while preserving the integrity of the sport.

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