Amanda: taking time
I have been on the set of the Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Next, Humphrey Bogart will rear his cute head.
We came down to earth a little yesterday, working the trialling dogs in the afternoon, in what Haley called the “Cove”, on the southwest corner of the less wild part of the ranch.
We gathered back and forth, five hundred yards or so. Haley has a new weapon in her Cy dog, a grandson of her Diona, and a son of my Monty. Very stylish, more so than Monty, great feel for his sheep, giving everything he has, which is considerable. Maybe with any luck, Blair will keep her tied up here at the ranch and she won’t come out trialling with the beautiful dog.
We worked dogs in a different field closer to the ranch action. I took one end and Haley the other. a hundred horses gathered around the fence to watch the sheep dog work at my end, and at hers, as many or more cattle, whose calves had been shipped a couple of days before. It obscured the sheep and we both sorted out some outrun difficulties, problems, not as smooth, but good work.
I drove up to the Dayton Oasis. and Mary Minor and i took sheep to a surprising good work field, big and green, alongside a Cotton wood lined river. We went back and forth to the enjoyment of the dogs and their hands.
If you hadn’t been a local, you never would have known about the good little Italian bistro in Dayton.
Today I go to my western home away from home in Sonoma, California. It was a long drive through Tahoe, but beautiful.
BevLive: the Badlands
Catch up time. Jamie and Lee Spring’s trial went off without a hitch unless you count my not doing very well. The sheep were great, moving well but being nice range ewes with all of the pleasure that such sheep bring to handlers and dogs alike. Joe ran really strong after too many trials and not enough schooling. Hemp was a very good boy but also a tad strong for the sheep the first day.
Jamie Spring's ranch.
The sheep were set very nicely by a rider and a handler giving each competitor an even start. Wind was a factor on the fetches during the late morning when there was no hearing for the first 200 yards. That certainly favored the dogs that needed less attention than mine.
Today the top six handlers had a double lift final. Ever the bridesmaid I was 7th. Dennis Gellings and the ever faithful Jan won.
We are now at Laura Hick’s ranch for the next event starting in the morning. I drove through the Badlands getting here and even stopped and got some pictures for you all.
Badlands National Park on the road from Jamie's trial to Laura's. Playing tourist again.
Amanda: California dreaming
The drive through Nevada seems interminable. Dust devils swirl everywhere. Rattle snakes are suspected of lurking below every sage brush. Fat cattle lol around on what seems hopeless pasture but it must be giving up something to them. The highway climbs are huge and the opposite descents swift. The salt flats of Utah, terribly toxic and oppressive–the stuff of other planets.
After better than a twelve hour day driving, we arrived at Mary Minor’s oasis in Dayton, Nevada. She made us supper. Provided Pinot noir. The twelve hours didn’t seem so bad. Monty bred her bitch, Val–the festival of Monty/Val.
Mary went off to work early in the morning. Sandy Milberg and I drove down to Bridgeport, California, high in the Sierras, home to newlyweds , Blair and Haley Hunewill. The drive was rich in spectacle. 395 followed river courses high into the mountains. And suddenly the cut back route opens up to the fat valley, home to the Hunewill ranch, flanked on all sides by high Sierras.
We took a Long beautiful ride around a perimeter.
This morning we had a show of young dogs, half my breed and half Haley’s. They looked good.
Mount up, Haley!
BevLive: hiking
Nice day in Deadwood. Took the three dogs this morning and hiked for almost ten mikes on the Mickelson Trail. It follows an old railroad track for a hundred miles through the Black Hills. Beautiful trail but I think I saw too much of it. We were all tired when we got back.
Dogs on the trail
Spent the afternoon doing a little window shopping and goofing off. Fun day. Back on the road to Jamie Springs place tomorrow after another, shorter, hike.
Wild turkeys spotted
Amanda: sometimes bad stuff happens to good dogs
Things went wrong for a few of us at the tail end of the qualifying running. The sheep were extra obstreperous late in the day. Hot and grumpy and hungry. Ron didn’t finish. Dorey ran like a pro for Barbara under trying circumstances. She fought them all the way around the course to be called for popping them ten feet from the shedding ring. The judge was over heard to say to Faansie Basson, “Aren’t you glad you are not running this afternoon?”. I suppose he could have been glad.
Barbara Ray ran a 94 first thing in the morning on Saturday. A couple of scores caught her later from the two Scotsmen Tommy Wilson and jack Knox.
On Sunday, Monty drew up tenth, second after lunch. The temperature fluctuations in Meeker are radical. Forty degrees when we start the trial, an eight five by noon. I had a painful run around the course with combative sheep. Twenty five minutes. With only five minutes to shed, I had at it and got down to two uncollared sheep. I went for them with twenty seconds to go. A collared broke and Monty stopped it. DQ’D.
Rain storm over Utah salt flats
I am headed to California. I was proud of my dog.
BevLive: thumb-twiddling in South Dakota
Not much to report. Left Meeker this morning and played the tourist.
Independence Rock
Stopped at independence Rock where the Oregon bound settlers crossed Wyoming. Then on to Deadwood, SD where the miners gambled away their gold. Just had a really lousy dinner at a place full of slot machines and senior citizens with so much money they drive all the way to South Dakota to give it away.
Wyoming. There's a lot of it.
Walking back to my camper now. Tomorrow I plan to see the sights here, assuming there’s more than just slot machines.
BevLive: Meeker semi-finals
Running was good all day and I think quite even. Barbara Ray started us off with a really good run we never expected to see get beat. Jack Knox got a higher score just before lunch and Tom got another big score in mid afternoon.
Hemp ran really well for me and I was very proud of him. We finished 16th alas with 15 dogs going throught to the final. Too bad.
So that’s Meeker over for me for this year sure hope to be back next year, it’s a great trial.
Amanda: short Meeker Day 2 report
Great Meeker running today. Sheep very difficult. Bev went for broke, like I usually do, and she took a grip at the pen after a belting run around the course. The weather remained ideal for dog running, overcast and cool. Roz runs late tomorrow and Barbara Ray is running Adorable. Cross your fingers for us.
Amanda: trust betrayed and then renewed
Monty has never before betrayed every trust. Before his final run at Soldier Hollow, I enjoyed complete confidence in his ability to do it well. He could meet every obstacle presented with poise. The toenail problem has dogged him, admittedly. He has resented the attention required to get him not noticing it so much, and it has spouted blood from time to time if he knocks it. But let’s forget the excuses. He did not take his redirect on the first outrun. A near cross. He bucked at the comebye flank on his first fetch, not quite missing it but close enough. Monty knows how to go back, so why pretend not to know on the final day of Soldier Hollow? His second fetch went well, the only part of the run. His drive was silly. As the sheep went high on the crossdrive panel, I asked for right flank. No dog. Because he was busy pissing on one of the many spruce trees that obscure the course. The shed went badly.
I drove as far as Vernal, Utah that night. We had a date with outfitting guide, Bruce Clatterbaugh, in Meeker. And quite a day fishing trip it was. We rode up to 9,000 feet to the flat top. Spectacular. A gorgeous little lake, flanked on all sides by mountains, clear blue. Mich caught a fifteen inch cutthroat, dazzling as it exited the water, so bright and colourful. I got a Brookie, maybe a foot. We enjoyed a Hamburger lunch and made our long decent. Mich and I took it hard with welts on the bums for so long in the saddle. We cooked up the trout for supper with some steamed fingerling potatoes. Wine took care of the pain problems.
Fisherwomen
Meeker is such a cheery trial. Everyone is excited. We all still have a hundred points. The first day’s running was a little sad. Clive was DQ’d for a get going grip at the post. Barbara Ray lead the day with a 75. We barbecued salmon and celebrated the hopefulness of the day.
Monty and Amanda at the shed
Today Monty is leading the running with an 84, but there are lots of good dogs to go.
BevLive: Meeker, Day One
We mistakenly thought the sheep looked pretty broke yesterday as the wranglers moved them about the field. Wrong. Was one of the toughest first days I remember at Meeker in years. Sheep didn’t really fight. They just didn’t want to move. They most certainly didn’t want to go through the fetch gates, around the post, or through the first drive gate. Oddly, they were their most agreeable at the second drive gate. That may just have been that only the most agreeable sheep and ablest dogs got that far.
There were many runs that took eight to nine minutes to complete the gather. Very hard sledding all around the course for most of us. Barbara and Stella made it look easy with the day’s high score, a 75 with no pen. Hemp ran midway through the day and while he made it look hard he did a great job getting a 67, currently tied for 4th in good shape to make the semifinals. It was very hard though, as the judge called many poor souls for grips, making all of us very cautious in the face of sheep that were reluctant to move and repeatedly faced the dogs.
Running was fairly consistent through the day. Weather got warm in the afternoon with periods of moderate wind but I thought the sheep seemed pretty even. The sheep are certainly beautiful. Very fit yearlings that are fun to work, or would be if we weren’t all trying to make the semifinal at Meeker.