Sheepdog News

It’s late. Sue and I have been over in Amanda’s camper celebrating her arrival. Finally, she and Bill have made it at about 10:00 tonight. Except for a brief stop at Whole Foods to stock up on more delicious treats they have been driving almost nonstop since 5:30 Thursday night.

Trial got off to a very good start right on time at 8:00 this morning. We ran the 54th dog just before 7:00. This was our longest day until the semifinal of the open next Saturday and it went fairly well. Alasdair is currently leading with a 151. Sue and Peat had a very nice run late in the day to tie for 6th with a 126.

The sheep are very good. They run, they stop, they check out the dogs and depending upon what they perceive they either run or walk. I think they were more inclined to run in the middle of the day but it’s hard to tell. It appeared that with careful management they could be kept walking but it’s hard to tell how much is luck of the draw, how much dog and how much time of day, especially with young dogs.

I run Meg tomorrow morning. The sheep look very hard. I have no idea how we will do.

What a fun day. The Texans arrived at Edgeworth. I have found that how ever much fun you are having it can be increased with the addition of the right Texans. Ron Burkey, Ron Enzeroth and Alan Mills arrived in the morning and we all worked sheep. I had to leave early to get to the trial for a 1:00 committee meeting so they kindly let me go first. I hated to leave so much good humor but at 10:00 I bid all a regretful farewell and headed down another road. Happily this was a short drive to Belle Grove.

It was so nice to get here and find out so many people had been working so hard to make a Finals for us all. The place looked beautiful. Miles of fencing repaired and covered with black screening, tents erected, flowers everywhere. A really organized Finals. We are so lucky that each year a group volunteers for this horrendous task.

The Trials Committee that I’m on is the one appointed by the HA (USBCHA) to run the actual trial as opposed to the event. It’s a little murky but the host committee provides the venue and makes it all possible and the HA makes sure that the course is set up right and that everything on the actual trial field runs smoothly. A lot of cooperation is the main thing but since the local committee and the HA want a great trial it usually works pretty smoothly and this year looks like being no exception.

Cooler day today and overcast so we could do a lot more dog work.Bud Boudreau arrived last night.

Dennis, Bud and Jean and I worked our dogs for about three hours in the morning with Tom spotting sheep for us. Mostly we concentrated on our youngsters. So much more interesting to watch and they gained more from the experience than the Open dogs would.

I got to see the three litter mates to my Joe off Dennis's Jan. Dennis and Jean sure have got a lot more on theirs then I have on mine. But I think my Joe is the prettiest.

Bud showed off his two nursery dogs and young Gyp. They all looked very nice. I tried showing off Meg and occasionally she cooperated.

This evening we had a puppy show and got to see all the pups off Tom's Sly and old Roy. They are all very keen. Tom is going to have a hard time picking one they all look very promising.

Bruce Fogt and Dee Pentzer just arrived. I'm sorry to have to leave tomorrow. I need to be at Belle Grove at 1:00 to help set up the nursery course. I feel like I could give the whole trial a pass and just stay here and train my youngster.

Looked at Florence's horse trailer with living quarters. It's really nice. I think it might be the right size, especially with a slide. Now I just need to sell mine. Anyone want a slightly used camper? 

Was an easy day after three hard days of driving. Tom spotted sheep for
each of my dogs in the morning and we gave them each an outrun. That
was all they got as it turns out not one of them could remember how to
shed. A bit discouraging that. I hope it comes back to them soon.

Edgeworth: dried out but still beautiful

Mostly I worked on poor Meg. She started the trip quite good after our
schooling at Stormy’s ranch. But by the last SD trial the wheels had
come off her completely. That was followed by two weeks with no work at
all. A long time at eighteen months. I’m trying to retrain her in these
two days. She started off pretty wild this morning but seems to be
calming down a little. Alas, she seems to have forgotten all that work
we did on nice flanks. She is very tight and even a bit directionally
challenged just now.

Dennis and Jean Gellings pulled in around 6:00 this evening from
Meeker. So we all showed off our young dogs. Some nice youngsters on
the wings.

It's so nice to get where your going. I arrived at Wilson's at 6:30 this evening. As many times as I have made this trip it never gets any shorter or seem any less stupid to be driving so far to play with my dog. I think I need a new more sensible hobby.

It is drier in the east then the west for once. Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia are all brown and dead. The trees are still alive but certainly in KY had a distinctly wilted appearance. The drought has dried out Edgeworth horribly. Even dry and yellow it's beautiful but sad not to see all the great green fields I'm accustomed to.

They shipped Amanda the wrong axels. I don't understand how any business gets done in the face of such incompetence. She sure is lucky the GMC dealer in Meeker has been so helpful.  They are now supposed to send the right ones on Thursday. Her brother, Bill, is flying out to help her with the drive to the Finals. They now hope to be able to leave Thursday afternoon.

A good day spent driving seems an oxymoron to me just now. But I'm parked, the dogs are walked and fed, truck is full of gas and I'm showered and in bed all in Kentucky. So I guess it was a good day since I think it began in western Kansas. It sure wasn't memorable.

Hope Amanda got the trailer fixed and is on the road. Her phone isn't working, some sort of Canada vs USA phone company thing.

Would have been a good day to be pulling a horse trailer with a cool place in the back full of dog crates. Was so hot I couldn't leave the dogs in the truck without the engine running for the AC. I can't fit enough crates in my camper for all four dogs so we just keep driving. Passes the time and miles.

Short one. I'm in western Kansas. Been a long drive. Day didn't go too well for me. Boy unexpectedly Mirk had some trouble. He got his first group going, went back perfectly and ended up in a face-off. When he finally got his sheep going, after much urging and pleading from me he was DQed for a grip.

Approaching Vail Pass, CO

Since I was already packed and had 2,000 miles to drive, I left. Dennis had an adequate run before I left and a very good shed. Bill Berhow had the best score after his early morning run which was good but for a missed fetch panel and no shed or pen.

I see that Suzy and Buzz won right after I left. Go Girl!!

9,000 feet Colorado Rockies

Fun watching all the top hands. The morning running was rough, with low scores until Lyle ran Shep who again had beautiful control on his sheep. He had a clean run except for a poor pen. He scored 90 from 110. The semi-final here is a full National style course with a marked shed, pen, single with two sheep collared (shed off two uncollared, pen, then single a collar) just like the USBCHA Finals.

Dennis Gellings and Jan had a hopeless sheep and got a rerun at the end of the fetch which they took after the lunch break, scoring 76. Mirk and I were up after them. Mirk again provided less impulsion on the fetch then I would have liked but he kept them traveling in generally the correct direction. We missed three at the first drive gate when I resolved a face off by letting three sheep slip the panel. The rest of his drive was good. The finish went quite well as Mirk is really nice to finish with.We scored 75, just behind Emil and Dennis to end up 9th.

Tom and Sly had another very nice go. A little trouble on his fetch left him a point behind Lyle tied for second with Suzy Applegate and her young Buzz. Bob Stevens and Faansie both had nice runs to score in thehigh 80s.

Amanda and Roz didn't get on well, with Roz getting outrun on the top by five very motivated sheep.  Clive made up for any disappointment by having a very good go. He popped a sheep on the fetch after some persistent facing and had no more trouble with them. They had a great pen when Clive gave a little jump and the sheep ran in the pen. They scored 81.

Bill Berhow had a very good go with Pete, marred only by a bad shed, to get in along with Karen Child and Mike Hanley.

There were some very sad runs as always. Dave Murray and Moe had a great go up to the second drive when a grip put them off. Nancy Stevens and Joann Zoerb both had good trips without finishes that would have made the grade had they finished well.

Tomorrow we start late (8:45) and again take a noon break until 1:00. I'm up first after the break. Amanda drew up last. Bill Berhow drew first a dangerous draw for us all as the first run here has traditionally had the best chance of shedding and we know Pete can do all the out work well. The shed here is usually what sorts the top dogs. There will be several who fail to get the double gathers but the top six or seven runs will no doubt get sorted by whoever is able to sort the five collared sheep from the fifteen uncollared and pen them.

Noon break from Bev's camper

Double lift finals are the hardest kind of courses and naturally qualifying for one is what we all want. Meeker is certainly one of the very hardest both to qualify for and to do well at. I'm really proud of Mirk. These sheep are very tough. They are still turning on all the dogs and putting their heads down and refusing to go. A lot of good dogs went to the post today and Mirk held his own. Because of that tomorrow we get to play in the big time. I hope we manage to have a good time.

Canadian Finals

The Canadian Nursery Championships began on Thursday, a bright, sunny cool day—ideal for dog running.  Each of the judges took a round.  Jim Diamond, an Irish pal of one more known to Canadians, Harford Logan, took the early round of seventeen.  Virgil Holland, now of Kentucky, but formerly from New York State, so well known to north eastern handlers, who have been in it long enough, took the next. 

The course was large and tricky, with some undulations to the field that would cause the outruns to be blind.  One side of the field had a high tensil fence taken down for the trial but the posts and evidence of the fence remained.  With the fencing looking like a fence, it was a fence from the standpoint of the dogs.  So left was only for those with the stomach for it and some incredible reason that the hand could not send their dog right.

The sheep were on their home turf, with all the snags that go with home turf.   Their yard with all the grain was to the north of and behind the post.  Quite a draw.  Their determination to get there varied somewhat from group to group, inthat some made a dash for it from the top and some respected a little decorum until they got by the fetch panels.  After the panels, the gloves were off.  The depth of the resolve was dictated by the type of sheep in the draw.  That varied.  The bulk of the ewes were Arcotts (a heavily managed, multiple birthing, Canadian developed breed) but there were many Texels, who were a bit like adding small hippopotami to the group.

The managers tried to lessen to the impact of the barn and set up an exhaust on the opposite side of the field.  Late for the nursery but better for the Open.  Sheep that appeared unworkable in the Nursery were marked and excluded from the Open running, which helped to tidy up problems for the next two days alright, but the problem sheep left their mark on the outcome of the nursery.

Lorna Savage and Kaylee shined through the running with two great runs.  That was no surprise, seeing that Kaylee had been running well all season in open trials.  Lori Cunningham and Matt, a lovely cool headed dog, with a good way with his sheep took reserve.

Soldier Hollow

Other hands envy a ride west excessively.  Really it is not for the feint of heart.  I apologise for the scantiness of my blogging but events overtook me.  My brother B ill, was a great road asset.  I had a blow out a couple of hours east of Denver and replaced two tires,  WE really poured on the driving, one day going form Battle Creek, Michigan to North Platte, Nebraska.  A terrible long drive.  WE shoped around and stocked up in Denver, arriving in Meeker, Tuesday night after the Canadian Championships.  When we got to Ellen and Joe Nieslanik’s,k my landing gear would not work so i could not unhook and go, for instance, to the library and use internet.  Bev and I worked dogs, but I have to say my heart was not really in it, I was so tired from the drive.  We stayed until Thursday—Bill is a fly fisherman and we cast about on some of the best fly fishing in the USA, on the White River, at Meeker.  Bill caught a big rainbow.   I hope the picture makes it to you.  (ed. note: it didn't)

Thursday afternoon, we made the five-hour drive onto Soldier Hollow, over windy two lane highways.  And on Wednesday morning, the running began.  Soldier Hollow structures their trial differently.  They only get 250 sheep.  They rerun them each day and take the top five each day back to the Monday final.  That is an interesting cost saving on sheep, where we pay ten dollars a head and the trucking for the 620 we get for Kingston.  Do the math.

My runs were just not good enough, although I mostly liked the things my dogs did.  The great thrill of the trial was Jean Gellings win on the final day.  Dennis is the well known runner between them.  But she did tidy gathering and a great shed to sweep the title away from any that would have bets upon them to win.

Ate another nice dinner. This is the handler's dinner put on for us by the Meeker committee. Everyone seems to be having a nice time. I sure am.

Mirk had a fairly amazing run. As per my fears he had a really hard time with the sheep. On an eleven minute course it took him 8 1/2 minutes to get them to my feet. An eternity when you're fighting the clock. We made our turn fairly quickly, then did the drive in two minutes, leaving us less then forty seconds to shed. But like the pro he is he nailed the shed. 54. Not much of a score but since it took a 44 to make the thirty dog cut it was good enough.

Nancy Stephens shedding. Last preliminary run scored a 62 making the cut with a rare pen.

Amanda and Roz had a great run earlier in the morning. Roz took no foolishness from the sheep and muscled them around the course in great time. They scored a 63, easily making the cut.

The best run of the day and of the trial was again Tom Wilson and Sly. She had no trouble moving the sheep and except for missing the second drive gate it was pretty flawless. He scored a 74, tying Dennis Gellings and Jan for first place in the trial.

There was plenty of heartbreak. Our favorite Don Whittington would have made the cut with his run except for a crossover. Dennis and Jake had a good run until a grip on the way to the pen (which he didn't need to qualify).

I drew up the first after the lunch break. Amanda is 24 and 27.

So we are fairly happy.  Unfortunately Amanda's camper troubles are more serious then we first thought. So we aren't sure how that's going to turn out. Or how we are going to get her to Virginia on time for the nursery finals.