Sheepdog News

BevLive: Getting to the Bluegrass

It rained all day yesterday at Wilson’s. I managed to get all my dogs worked but didn’t do as much as I should’ve. I got Joe to turn back a couple of times for sheep. He never managed to do a clean turn back but he did convince me that if it ever became necessary for him to find a second group of sheep we might eventually manage to do so…maybe.

Spent today driving to Lexington. It was a little over seven hours of uneventful driving, the best kind. It’s warm and sunny here. I seem to be parked next to a very noisy generator which is unfortunate but not surprising. I’m parked in the shade of some big trees which will be good as hot weather is forecast.

The field looks beautiful as always. The outrun is 425 yards with the normal huge cross drive. The set out us 175 yards from the holding pen which is very good as sheep breaking back are often a problem here.

I’m up early with Hemp and then have both Meg in Ranch and Joe in nursery tomorrow. So I get to try them all on the western sheep. They have Texas lambs for both open and novice this year. Should be interesting. [Editor’s Note: Bev and Hemp got a 70.]

BevLive: Hanging at Edgeworth

The last day at Borders was another beauty weather wise, just perfect sunny weather with a light breeze. The sheep continued to run well and the beautiful field with its nice hill proved quite a challenge to the young dogs. The day started with the nursery. There were only eight dogs but there were some very good runs. I think there were like four or five top runs separated by only about five points any of which could easily have won. A very strong nursery class. Joe ran first and I think his earlier experience in the open just gave him that little bit of a leg up that allowed him to just barely beat Tom Wilson’s Roy for first place. The runs were very close. Roy who has been out very little looked great and may well do both of his parents, Sly and Tom’s old Roy, proud.

I ran Meg in the ranch where things didn’t go quite as well for me and then left before the class ended to drive to Wilson’s five and half hours south of Turbottville, PA. Tom stayed until the end and reported continued good running and more very nice young dogs.

Florence and I caught up on the news from the winter which I won’t bore you with. I worked Joe a little and then worked my youngster of the trip, Becca. Becca is only about fifteen months old and is my current hope for next year’s nursery. She has only begun her training but minds her manners enough that I trust her on other people’s sheep. Tom worked his new youngster,Fan, and we got to congratulate each other on having nice prospects for the future. What a great way to end a good day.

BevLive: Back from the Dead

Heather met me at the Borders on Paradise Trial and the first event on my spring trial junket and asked me so nicely to blog that I was flattered into writing yet another tale of my adventures.

I’m currently at my first event in Pennsylvania. This is a really nice small farm trial that draws a serious field of competitors including Tom Wilson and Scott Glen along with Lori Cunningham, Carla King, yesterday’s winner Viki Kidd and fifty other dangerous dogs. There aren’t a lot of sheep so we need to rerun them but they handle very well. The weather has been perfect, all good auguries for my trip.

Yesterday was the first open with a tie between Tom Wilson and Viki Kidd ending with Viki winning a run off.

I’m traveling with good old Hemp who is getting some age to him but still pushing on hard when he gets a chance. I have young Joe, my nursery dog, as my second open dog as Nel my usual second open dog is home with pups. I’m running Meg in ranch and hauling two yearlings to give them some extra attention and experience.

Borders on Paradise, Day Two

Second day of open running was more perfect weather. The biggest complaint of this nearly perefect event would be that this was the first hot day of the season, reaching 87 degrees. I think the sheep, with some notable exceptions were a little better than yesterday.

Sue Schoen and Esther had an early run that set a high bar at 86. It was a very clean run with some shed trouble. The shed proved to be the most difficult part of the trial all day, with many nice runs ending with no shed.

After lunch Joe and I had a good go to score 90 followed immediately by Tom Wilson and Sly also scoring 90. Late in the day Scott Glen and Don had a very good run that would have beat us but the sheep just wouldn’t cooperate in the shed. That left Tom Wilson in his second run off of the weekend for first. Happily for me Joe proved his good run wasn’t a fluke and made another good trip around to win his first trial.

Carla King’s young dog, Sage, ran well placing both days in her second open trial. My Hemp was a good boy but we just never really got things together and then capped our mediocre run by failing to shed.

Tom and Sly won the over all with Lori Cunningham and Matt reserve.

We finished running around 5:00 and after the prize giving a group of us went to a local hotel for dinner. It was apparently prom night somewhere so while we were a tad under dressed we soldiered on and had a great dinner.

Amanda: Summing Up the Finals

Cell service at the National Finals was difficult. All the elaborate plans for Iphones becoming hot spots were dashed when there was no using cel phones much at all. I apologize for failing to report but communications just seemed impossible.

We got parked at Carbondale among friends. Lucky, because it was tight. Joni Swanke, Robin French, and Barbara Ray were my immediate neighbours and I call that a party. It was.

The handlers meeting at the National Finals is always fun–all the hands converging in one spot from all quarters of the country. Many like minded people who had almost come as far as I had, hopeful, excited. Everyone still has 100 points, at the handler’s meeting. Thirty eight dogs were to b e run per day and I did not run until Wednesday.

The running was predictable difficult. The sheep were a genuine test, even, naive, range yearlings. A flock of beauties. My dogs had been running capably for the last couple of trials on similar range ewes so while comfortable with the work, anxiety for the competition itself, was undeniable. The running was exhausting. I talked about it with Bob Stephens and he commented that he felt “gutted” after his runs, which just about sums it up. On a day that I had two runs, Nursery and Open, Sandra Massie asked if I wanted to go hiking. I said no impolitely. It just took everything out of me.

First cousins, Bridget Strang and Ellen Neislanik, who orchestrated this event, had drawn in some food vendors that were out of this world. We need not have worried about stocking up at the Whole Foods in Denver. The food on the site was fabulous and who ever would have guessed. Croissants of the diverse and delicious variety, great coffee, savoury things that all my discriminating gourmet friends would have loved to taste. The Strang girls had it worked out. The Crafters were good too–a hat guy, a western jeweller. The Carbondale Finals stayed mindful of its western showcase side and made a great job of it. Weather drove an outdoor extravaganza party into the indoor arena. It looked for all the world as though that situation had been planned. There was no hitch to the new setting. Five hundred people must have been fed great food. All local–trout, lamb, corn. The swinging little country band in the corner set a celebratory tone and it just kept up all night. What a party. It looked so easy, one assumes it is part of a well oiled machine that parties a lot and is very good at it.



Anyone reading this probably already knows the story. My open dogs ran well enough to make it into the semis on Saturday. I was negligent with Clive at the shed, failing to watch for the grip that took him out of it. Call me an idiot. Roz, of course ran on in the final. Dorey was the most exciting to run, taking her sheep around the course in the Nursery in good style, twice. To be the US National Nursery Champion. I have run in the finals nearly twenty times and never won it, often with very good young dogs. I would understate it to say it was a thrill. And she can run next year too. Adorable. We celebrated at a great restaurant in Carbondale, with delicious Pinot Noir, from Southern Cal and Oregon.





Sunday was a long anxiety laden day, with Roz drawing up sixteenth of the seventeen runners. When she crossed in her second outrun, it was a grave disappointment, considering I had convinced myself she would not. She normally goes back so well. Every trust betrayed. Things were not all that good afterwards. The sheep were painfully slow and they finally picked up steam in their drive. I made a split second gaff in the shedding ring after pretty much doing it right, that cost me doing it again. While it went OK, even the second time, there was no time to pen. Blow.

Clearing Denver on Sunday night, Mich Ferraro joined me for the ride home. We listened to lots of music. Talked about the runs, the dogs, Mich’s new dog Dennis Gellings’ Jake, running styles, things we admired, things we didn’t admire. It was a long drive. I always feel disoriented for a few days when I get back from such a trip. My dahlias are breathtaking. I can scrape together a few feeble tomatoes for something. I will go back to my office routine. I will apply myself to my dogs, getting them ready for next year’s finals.

And the winners are . . .

Diana Antlitz (comment #13)

Darlene Hastings (comment #40)

Random numbers from 1 to 110 generated courtesy of random.org. Diana and Darlene, please email me at hln@littlehats.net to claim your DVD box set. Congratulations, and thanks for playing, everyone. Hope you enjoyed watching the Finals this weekend!

new USBCHA board members announced

The newly-elected USBCHA board members are the following:

1: Geri Byrne

2: Dan Keeton

3: Thad Fleming

4: Ron Burkey

5: Pearse Ward

6: Lori Cunningham

7: Barbara Levinson

8: Dwight Parker

9: Jim Murphy

10: Corey Perry/Wendy Schmaltz (runoff election will be held)

At Large: Robin French

Amanda: the keys to Paris

I can’t quite remember when I last reported.

Roz had a great start to her run and then the thunder started Things went south. Everything was “I can’t. I am scared.” I got the sheep to near the shedding ring, warning her not to come back without the sheep but it was not satisfactory. They stopped the running after mine for an hour. I was mad at Roz. She had to sleep in crate.



The next morning saw improvements. Kak, Mish, and I joined Bruce Clatterbaugh on a horseback ride up the Marvine Creek watershed. I rode Paint, who was very sure footed. We went up the water shed about eight miles to a high lake on the Flat Top, where Bruce was picking up four male-bonding, wannabe wilderness adventurers. He led a string of four horses on which they were to ride out, and his pal Ron led two pack horses on which all their stuff was to travel. Bruce was my banker, now retired, and doing outfitting for the rich and famous who come to Meeker for fishing and hunting. The ride was a triumph for a couple of reasons: a diversion from the radical disappointments of thunderstruck dogs; the postcard beauty of the surroundings; the careful but willing horses; and the entertaining company. No motorized anything is allowed in the wilderness spaces, not even chainsaws, and definitely not ATV’s. Horse, or on foot, is the only way to get there.

We got back in time for handler’s dinner where Barbara Ray and I, joined a handful of others to be hypnotized. It was a little like being stoned, very relaxing. I can’t tell if my sore back came from the riding all day or the dancing we did at the prompt of the hypnotizer. He was persuasive. The crowd was entertained.



Today we watched the semi finals. Clive ran pretty well and we have drawn up third tomorrow morning for the big one.




This now being Monday morning, many of you have heard that Clive won Meeker. I ran third, a desirable draw. I wore my sweater spun out of Campbell Hansmire sheep (the Meeker sheep) and knitted for me by my pal Val, at the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston. His first outrun was good. A gunshot went off across the river in his first fetch, and in retrospect it might have shaken him a little and been responsible for the nonsense at the first fetch panel, which he missed. Sound sensitivity is a bad vice that rears its head at inopportune moments. Think of Roz in the thunder. After that everything went extremely well with a slight low crossdrive, but good panels and turns. At the shed I had a collared villain I named scarface for a permanent blemish that showed she tustled with something several months ago. She never gave up trying to exit the ring. She broke out once, costing me my point there. When down to two uncollared sheep, I had to go to plan b, and take them out one at time, or she would have gone again. Clive saved the day, bringing her back. He penned boldly. I then had to wait all day for the great dogs and handlers who ran after me but none could quite catch it. Jean Gellings had a winner on the go but Star gripped, uncharacteristically, at the shed and was disqualified.

I am honoured to run among the hands I run with. And doubly honoured to win this big hard trial on the western slope of Colorado.



The dogs are having abed fest this morning. Today I am fly fishing on the White River with all the dogs and slowly making my way down to Carbondale for the US national Finals.

Win a DVD Box Set of the 2011 National Sheepdog Finals

And now for something completely different, we’re going to try a blog giveaway to promote the Finals web cast. This giveaway was inspired by a similar one implement by Jenna Woginrich at her always-entertaining Cold Antler Farm blog. Jenna is a NEBCA member and owner of a young border collie sired by last year’s Finals winner Riggs. She’s training him to be a sheepdog, and I’m sure they’ll be a successful team soon!

And now, to the meat of the post. We’re giving away two complete DVD box sets of this year’s Finals–that includes every Open run, the preliminary rounds through the double-lift Finals. Everyone can enter a total of four times, by doing four different things to promote the web cast. Here’s how it will work:

* Leave a comment to this blog post saying what you’re most looking forward to seeing in the web cast–that will be Entry #1

* Post a link to this instructional video explaining how to sign up for the streaming video to your Facebook wall (some of you have done this already–you don’t need to do it again) and come back and leave a comment telling me how many friends you have that will see it. That will be Entry #2.

* Write a short entry on your own blog linking to the instructional video and come back and leave a comment with a link to that blog entry. That will be Entry #3.

* Print out this poster and hang it up somewhere in your community (a vet’s office, feed store, etc.), and then come back and leave a comment telling me where you hung it. That will be Entry #4.

Not everyone will be able to enter four times, since not everyone has a blog or a Facebook page, but I wanted to give you all the options to throw your hats into the ring multiple times. The contest will run up until the end of the Finals. At that time. I’ll generate two random numbers from 1 to the number of comments we’ve gotten, and the two numbers corresponding to the comment numbers will win a DVD box set.

Good luck, everyone!

Barbara Ray: Meeker Report

9/10: Yesterday evening was especially hard as a thunderstorm came up during Amanda’s run. We, the hands, had been watching it draw closer for hours. Poor Roz, like most of the border collies, is thunder phobic. The beautiful outrun did little good as she was reluctant to push the sheep that clearly wanted nothing to do with moving in the storm. Finally they made it to the post but only 4 minutes remained. Normally Amanda could finish strong, but Roz wanted a warm dry bed. I thought I heard her tell Amanda a warm bath and massage were on her immediate wish list. Time ran out before the drive was finished. Next up was Nancy Stevens who declined to step to the post. Action stopped for about an hour and there had been some talk of holding off till the morning. Suzy Applegate and Buzz, last year’s winners, wished the delay till the next day were true. Buzz crossed on the outrun and stalled on the fetch, demonstrating he too did not like the thundering atmosphere. Every run last evening failed. Luck of the draw is always a factor. Amanda hosted a wine party in her camper for the friends whose run failed expectations. Needless to say the camper was quite full.

I saw Beverly for a brief moment this morning. She politely inquired about Amanda’s run and asked if I had gone yet. It appears she is hibernating in her camper, reading and relaxing, occasionally venturing out to the practice field.

I took Stella out this morning to watch a few outruns. She saw Michelle Howard’s dog arc right back to the exhaust and now she is sure that’s the focal point. My heart has sunk. Maybe she will forget that nonsense when we step to the post.

Stella had her run today and as expected she had difficulty with the outrun. She took off looking both ways letting me know she had no idea where the sheep were. I gave many redirects but she only kicked out well with one of them. Much of the top left outrun at Meeker is out of site, so when you see the dog going wrong it’s usually too late to save a cross. She came inside the horse and nearly under the sheep . Needless to say it was tight and again we were off to the races. We made the fetch and a nice tight turn around the post. The first drive had one miss while there was serious bobbling on both sides. The cross drive was a mad dash missing high. She convinced them to return to the ring for a handler error imperfect split. The pen was very challenging with many break-aways on both sides, cleanly covered by the youngster. That has been our main focus at the practice sessions. I’m still proud of the girl. I think she’s pregnant too.

9/11: I’m sad not to have made it into the Finals but will cheer on Amanda as she is a favorite for the Championship. Clive, just like Monty, is distracted by the Gelling bitches being in season. We are treating with Vicks, but the urge is still apparent.

If any of you have heard rumors that Amanda and I were hypnotized as the after entertainment at the handler’s dinner, it’s all true. Yes, we were limp like rag dolls and did some crazy dancing. Amanda was the most humorous: when told to ballet dance, she went right for the pole. Guess her ballet classes were more progressive than mine. Fun was had by all, but Amanda and I are in serious need of chiropractic care.

I’ve had to leave the Finals to pick up my daughter Jessica from the airport in Grand Junction. Before I left there were four completed runs, and Amanda was way out in front. However, Clive made a fatal error forecasting the go back and refused to flank on the first fetch waiting for the send back. Unfortunately, the sheep went off line and missed the panel. All else went well and they completed the course.

9/12: I was fortunate to witness Amanda’s winning run but not many others. As you can imagine Amanda was a gracious winner. She treated all that stayed to dinner at the Meeker Hotel. Now it’s packing up and off the the Finals. Thank God for a clean slate!

Amanda: end of Soldier Hollow, beginning of Meeker

Shauna Gourley organized a great little haulout training session on range finewools. Barbara Ray met us in the morning. Both she and I were worried about Monty adjusting to someone else handling around me, but it was no problem. He was a pro. Our work party was quiet and successful, the dogs relaxing after their long rides. Afterwards we went to a fabulous part of Utah hitherto unknown to me, called Fruit Lane, between Ogden and Logan. An intense production belt of all kinds of vegetables and stone fruits being the genius of the season. Peaches!!! A giant box of them. And sour cherries, for pie. Back at Kelly Creek, we watched a couple of agreeable young dogs getting going with their sheep work and headed down to Soldier Hollow.

Park City’s Whole Foods stocked up my camper on the way down with all kinds of great goodies. We had a big chunk of wild caught Alaska King Salmon and rib eyes glorified. Our camp has a picnic table and a pot of fresh basil for the Fruit Lane tomatoes (not mine, but OK). We are the people with everything, a cheerful consolation in case we don’t win the trial. The trial is any one’s game. The odds have improved for the five that qualified for the final day yesterday, which includes me and Roz. Roz tore a dew claw in front which, although superficial, is painful. I had to wrap it before her run so she wouldn’t be banging it on the tough tall grass. Her run didn’t go as well as I would have liked—a difficult, hot time in the afternoon but she took them around gamely with a good finish for a score that got by.

Soldier Hollow is tautly managed trial with a couple of eccentricities. No other trial requires leashes. And of course there is the popularized shed, (not popular with handlers) with eight collared sheep of the sixteen for the double lift final. They bring in about 275 glamourous range ewes. Since that is insufficient to run all the dogs on fresh sheep, they structure the trial to run back the top five dogs from each day and re run the sheep. The management advantages are clear. It could give us ideas in Kingston.

The running here is always a shocker to the uninitiated. It sometimes looks so easy but it is always difficult. The sheep are fleet of foot athletes. Dogs who have never met such racey ovines, do things they never do back home, with grave disappointments to their handlers. Running on them can alter perspectives on dogs, with massive kennel reviews occurring after a trial like Soldier Hollow. It is tough.

My dogs were OK. I made it into the double lift with Roz, running in draw number eight, which means one in the afternoon. I would have considered that unfortunately hot, but cloud cover kept the fantastic heat, that can envelop the afternoons, from gaining any traction. It was hot enough, but nothing like it could have been. Bill Berhow and his senior citizen Pete, turned in a near flawless run for a 148, laying down a gauntlet that was never met. Roz had trouble with the first outrun, which was tricky in the extreme, with the sheep obscured by the big Olympic information center and the Olympic spruce trees that dot the course. She was with the crowd on that problem. Only Pete and Bill succeeded with no redirects, and some dogs were lost altogether in the tall shrubbery above the set out, or the trees below.



The prizes ceremony has something to teach all of us about sheepdogs and show biz. The Scottish pipe band from Salt Lake piped away, the Frisbee dogs made catches, the dock dogs won awards for the longest dock dive. And then the real stars of the show, the sheepdogs, with sheep all around the back made their climb onto the Olympic podiums. Roz wins Silver, representing Canada.

Next stop: Meeker, Colorado.

I left Soldier Hollow on Monday night, putting in a couple of hours to Vernal, Utah. I stopped, slept, and finished off the drive in the early morning. Eastern Utah and western Colorado are high desert, so imagine my surprise when the rain set in. A rainy day in the desert is a rarity. Meeker is like my home away from home. Remember I spent an extra several days here last year, stuck with axel issues on my camper. I know nearly everyone in town, or more accurately, they know me, in a good way.

For the first time ever, and I have been coming here for twenty some years, the parking area was difficult because of mud. Good god, in the desert. Mud in the car park and heavily scented sage brush. This is cheerful, hopeful handlers’ camp. This trial is the convergence of all sorts of handlers, not like Soldier Hollow where everyone is there for one win or another. All is levity and celebration, excitement about the next morning’s sport. The spotting crew moved the flock around the trial field on horseback to acquaint them with all the nooks and crannies and ways of escape. Handlers walked the course, watched the sheep, raved about the beautiful evenness of the flock, how do you do’s, talked of their last trials, ate pizza. The place is abuzz.


The running was just about what you would expect, with telltale signs that the sheep have been a little better handled by their home dogs. They weren’t quite so wild as last year, which usually means better dogs at home, a credit to their head honcho, Julie Hansmire. Dennis Gellings turned in the top run of the day at 83. Our own Ute, Shauna Gourley, turned in an 80 to assure herself a spot in Saturday’s semi finals.. Joni Swanke and Griz scored a 78 with no pen. Clive in next with 77.


Mich Ferraro , Sandy Milberg and I went to the practice field at the mid day. I dusted off Dorey, newly bred to Patrick Shannahan’s Riggs. She ran hot but settled down toward the end of her session. I’ll try to take her again tomorrow. Feist has become an avid sheepdog trial spectator, so much so, she has even come to like her leash.

Tonight Gus and Christine Halandras put on their usual gorgeous spread. What a pair of entertainers they are. And what a joy to see so many friends who are now becoming old friends.

Roz runs late on Thursday. And on Friday I have a fishing trip organized with Bruce Clatterbaugh, my retired banker. We are riding up seven miles to a high lake, fishing for and hour or so and riding back.