PREVIEW

WORDS BYLINE: Seamus Duff

On the West Coast of America, there is a talented pooch who is as famous as celebrity dogs like Toto, Bouncer and Lassie. Since 2016, Derby, the Mohawk sporting Goldendoodle, has wowed audiences with his daring surfing skills – bagging medals and trophies from sports judges as well as treats and pats from his owner, Kentucky Gallahue. TV fans may recognise Derby from Amazon Prime’s reality show The Pack, while surf enthusiasts will recognise him from competing in dozens of contests across the United States – from San Diego to San Francisco and even Hawaii.

This month, Kentucky and Derby will take to the waves at the Helen Woodward Animal Centre’s annual Surf Dog Surf-a-Thon at Dog Beach in the coastal town of Del Mar, California, where they stand to add one final trophy to their collection before they retire.

“It would be cool to win!” Kentucky, 44, admits while stroking Derby on his lap in their San Diego home. “It would be a great send-off. But at the end of the day, it’s about having fun and showing people what you can do out on the water with your best friend.”

Kentucky and Derby’s journey together began in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2013 when the construction worker adopted the then one-year-old pup from a family who could no longer afford to keep him. Three years later, the duo moved to San Diego and found the ocean calling to them both.

“I had never surfed before,” Kentucky – who sports a matching Mohawk – recalls. “Derby had never seen the ocean. I had just got Derby used to swimming in a pool about six months prior to our move. He loves the water now. I can’t keep him out.”

After moving to Southern California, Kentucky was excited to give surfing a try – and was surprised when Derby followed him into the surf. “One of the best places to learn here in San Diego is Ocean Beach and Dog Beach,” he explains. “One day I wanted to go and surf while he hung out with the other dogs. But he kept following me out to the surf to the point I was up to my waist and he was swimming. I put him on the board and pushed him on a small wave. He rode that thing all the way to the beach and looked back at me like, ‘Is this what you are doing? Because this seems pretty easy!’”

Admitting that Derby mastered the art of surfing a little faster than he did, Kentucky said it wasn’t long before they found themselves entering surf contests together.

“We had been doing it for about three weeks when this dude walked up to us and said, ‘Hey man, you know they’ve got dog surfing competitions here in San Diego?’ I had never been to a human surf competition, let alone a dog surfing competition. That’s where it started.”

Derby came fifth while competing against dozens of dogs at his first solo surf event and immediately won praise from the local surf community.

“Everybody was like, ‘Where did you come from? How long have you been doing this?’ And it had been about three or four weeks,” Kentucky laughs. “I had no idea what I was doing. That was eight years ago and yeah, after that, we kept practicing. I got good enough at surfing that now we surf together in tandem events.”

Since then, Kentucky and Derby have appeared on TV, launched an apparel line, released a children’s novel, and spend their free time raising awareness and funds for animal charities (proceeds from sales of their tie-dye hoodies benefit the Helen Woodward Animal Centre) and help educate kids by reading their story in schools. But 2024 will be the last year they compete in the Ocean.

“Derby is 12 years old now,” Kentucky says when asked what made them decide to retire. “This past year, I noticed him slowing down, taking a little bit more time to recover. At his last competition, he was having a little trouble standing up on the board. He got tired and he would fall off. It was hard for him to get back on. Even now, when we surf on our own, we will surf and Derby will keep running back. But the minute he gives a look which says, ‘Hey man, I’m tired’ I will say, ‘Ok. We’ll go chill’.”

While the pair are preparing to hang up their surfboard, fans will see them riding around together in other ways. “We have a motorcycle sidecar. A bicycle sidecar. We ride scooters together. He loves to ride different modes of transportation,” Kentucky laughs, adding that they will spend just as much time together after retiring from competing.

“Derby is super smart. He picks up on tricks and opens doors when he wants to. If I point at something, he will go get it for me. I don’t think I’ll ever have a dog that’s this great. He always wants to know what I’m doing. When I go to work, he goes to sleep, and then he’s ready to go when I get back.”

Reflecting on their surfing career, Kentucky adds, “I’d still say he is a better surfer than me. But we’re laidback. We have fun. We always say the best surfer out there is the one having the most fun.”

The 19th annual Helen Woodward Animal Centre Surf Dog Surf-a-Thon takes place on Sunday 8 September 2024 at Del Mar Dog Beach from 8am until 2pm.