Sheepdog News

Sitting in Amanda's camper now after another spectacular Amanda feast. She even made peach crisp from her fresh peaches. A lovely end to a difficult day.

Ran Nel at about 10:30 this morning. Didn't go too well. Wind was blowing, but that was all that was moving. Sheep got really heavy and Nel had to resort to violence to move them. It was a hard day for a lot of us. Dennis and Jan had a really good run and a rare pen for the high score of 75. There were only a couple of other scores in the sixties and a few 50s. Really rough running.

I run Mirk tomorrow morning. I'm going to need some luck because they are not very nice and seem to be getting worse.

Amanda is still waiting for parts to repair her trailer. We hope they will be tomorrow. She says as soon as she can get online again she's going to tell you all what's really going on!

Travel day. All good news of a sort. I got a flat on the way through the mountains and desert but it kept enough air to get me to Meeker and a repair. Amanda got her tire replaced in Herber but still needs more camper repairs. We are both thinking of ditching the campers and going to horse trailers. More rugged we hear and better able to take our stupid life styles.
Amanda trying to get level.

Anyway we are all here. There are sure a lot of us. Tomorrow the games begin.

Riders bring the sheep down the field in groups of 50 or so to get them used to the horses and dogs. This way they have at least a fighting chance of getting them spotted for the trial. These guys have been spotting the sheep here for years and they are real pros.

Double lift days are always long. The anticipation and the half hour of really keen concentration combined with all that sun and fresh air wear me out. Today was no exception.

The first few morning runs were pretty disastrous. with Suzy's young dog running first and failing to find her second group of sheep and retiring. Dennis was next with his veteran and my favorite, Jan, who got lost on the first outrun and retired. At this point we all realized that for some reason the outruns were going to be much harder this year than last. I don't know why, there were spots of unmown grass that may have confused the dogs, but over the day several veterans got lost on the first outrun, ran too big and ended at the setout. Wilda was up third and DQed with the first bad grip of the day and a warning to us all that while Jennifer would allow some grips not everything would pass her.   Then Suzy ran Buzz and had a really hard time with both outruns, but also had a nice finish for the first score of the day.

Linda and her young Suede had a great first gather and then an awful fight with his second group. Linda finally retired and went and helped him, which brought Tom and Sly to the post. Sly had trouble with her turnback and a not-perfect first outrun, unusually for her. When Tom was at the pen his shed-off sheep came and rejoined the collars, leaving him with no pen or shed but the highest score thus far. Faansie soon put an end to that with a reasonable run with two troubled gathers a good shed and bad pen for what turned out to be the second place run.

Haley followed the lunch break with troubled gathers and a good finish for 4th place. Bill Berhow had a bad first outrun using too much time getting his dog to the first group of sheep, which didn't leave him time to finish. I followed Bill with Nel. She needed one more redirect on the first outrun then I gave and crossed under her sheep. On the positive side she didn't run too wide and took all my redirects, except the emergency stop when I realized, too late, that we were in trouble. Like many but not all the dogs she had trouble with the sheep, but got the first fetch. She went back fairly well, needing two commands, and had a good second fetch. As has been the case for her the drive was the problem. The sheep were very heavy and she hocked them multiple times and more than one time had to deal with a ewe coming out at her. It was a very poor drive with two gates gotten and a good last leg. We got our shed immediately but couldn't hold it. We then got it three more times and finally managed to have it when the buzzer went off for 6th place. I'm sure I could have managed that better. Poor Nell was physically and mentally very tired by the shed and while she did her best I think it was too much, what I asked. All and all I was very pleased with her. Several times she misunderstood what I wanted on the course but she never stopped trying and never backed down from the sheep. I think we may have a beautiful future together. We certainly need to improve our communication.

I was followed by Dennis and Jake who didn't get along as well as they usually do and ended up 5th. Jean Gellings and Star were indeed the day's stars, having a very reputable, workmanlike run amidst general chaos to win the day. Lavon and Tess kept things moving as well to come third.

Lyle and Shep handled the sheep as well as any dogs all day, keeping them moving and handling recalcitrant sheep with cool authority. Unfortunately she was called for a grip at the shed when a sheep broke over Shep, ending what might have been a placing run. The final runner was Patrick and Riggs, but after waiting all day Riggs lost his first group of sheep, ending the trial.

The final event of the day was the medals ceremony based upon the awarding of the medals at the olympics. It's really kind of nice to stand on the podium while your national anthem plays. Certainly as close to Olympic glory as any of us are getting. They had the largest crowd today to ever attend a dog trial. Was nice to share my sport with so many people

Had a really enjoyable dinner out with Michele, Amanda, Haley, and Joni during which we all cut each other (and everyone else) down to size. Friends who keep you well based in reality are a gift.

Off to Meeker in the morning to try and do better.

10:00 which as those who know me know is past my bedtime. Just got back from the handler's dinner. Very nice as always.

Was a very tense day for many of us who had not qualified for the final. Only five spots left and about 40 dogs trying for them. Morning got off to a rocky start for me as Mirk had drawn up 6th which I thought would be a good time before the wind and heat. No luck though as his sheep were stubborn and very heavy and he gripped off at the first drive. He had a lot of good company through the day. The sheep were very heavy all day with a few notable exceptions and quite a few good dogs lost patience and DQed.

Amanda and Clive had a good go with a misjudged fetch panel for a 78 which alas just missed being in. Dennis Gellingsand Jake had a good morning run with an 86 that stood until quite late in the day when Haley Howard and Ross had a near perfect run to win the day with a 89. I missed Wilda Barr's 85 but she was third.

Nel and I ran late in the day when it had gotten fairly warm though not as cooking as Friday. The wind was not consistently strong but intermittently very blustery. Nel was a very good girl. She had a much better outrun then yesterday but stopped short. Her sheep were really heavy on the drive. She is pretty brave and good about walking into them when they are facing her but doesn't really know how to keep them going when the are facing away and just won't walk which was the problem for much of the long cross drive. She gave a jump at them after the first panel that got them going for a while and then she dove into them again just before the second gate causing two of them to miss it but motivating all of them to get a move on. She got them around and into the shedding area where she wasn't much help. She loves coming through the gap but sure isn't much help creating it as she's constantly heading the sheep. But we finally managed and got the pen gate closed on them with seconds to spare. It was a real cliff hanger for me but our 82 managed to hang on for 4th just ahead of a great run by Lavon Calzacorta and Tess an 81.

So we made the double lift. I drew up tenth but as the weather is supposed to be cool tomorrow the only danger of the afternoon runs is wind. Still I'm delighted to be in especially with Nel as she is my hope for future success.

Amanda and Roz had a late run and no luck. Roz got off to a rough start on the fetch when her sheep broke hardand while they had a good drive they just couldn't make up enough points.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Making the cut for these double lift finals is very tense but they are a great deal of fun if you are lucky enough to make it. Nel is still very young and as a team we don't have the experience I think to win this, not that we won't try, but it will be a great learning opportunity for us.

Day got off to another cool start with the sheep again looking promising. Suzy had a fairly good go with Buzz that made us think there were going to be a lot of big scores. Again the sheep proved tougher than they looked.

In the late morning we had three good runs in a row. Dennis and his dependable Jan did a great job finishing a good run cleanly and scoring 81. He was followed by Bill Berhow and Mike with a more troubled but steady run scoring 79. The stars of the day were Tommy and Sly who made  92 look easy and inevitable. The sheep walked easily around the course. They looked at her once after the shed but then gave it up and went into the pen with relative ease.

Nel and I followed all this success but didn't shine quite as brightly. Nel was a bit shook by the crowd and started to cross her outrun. Since she is normally too big on her run out I was surprised by this. She handled the sheep well but not with anything like Sly's ease. We had a fairly good go and managed to finish but at 71 not nearly good enough. I was very pleased with her work though and I think she will only continue to improve. So if not this year maybe next. She is still quite sore footed. I'm experimenting with boots and vet wrap trying to help her out.

Amanda and Roz ran third this morning and also didn't get along as well as we had hoped. Their fetch was fast and a bit wild. Roz settled for the drive but the sheep never really got to liking her and they failed to pen, scoring in the 60s.

Tomorrow Amanda and I each run both our dogs, our last chances to qualify. It's supposed to be cooler so maybe one of us can put something together.

I managed to get my oil changed in the truck. The repair guys found a lovely little mouse nest next to my battery consisting of fur, nut shells and chewed wires. No doubt this will cost another $1,000 when I get home. Since the truck was running fine I told them to leave well enough alone.

Awful to measure the quality of a 24 hour period by what occurs in about five minutes. But that's the nature of dog trialing.

It started out pretty cool, light jacket weather. The course was the same as other year's, but this season's sheep are from a different flock, Doug Livingston's. They are beautiful yearlings and I think are smaller and a little less confrontational then the previous years' flocks. Only a little smaller and a little less aggressive though, don't think kind and gentle here.

The first runner, Lavon, had a tough gather but a great pen and shed. So we were ready for a lot of finished runs. While there were certainly more than the norm for the first day there weren't ten pens all day I think.

Jean Gellings had a great run with Star around lunch and scored 79 for the win. Linda Tesdahl and Suede had a good run and excellent finish to tie Patrick and Riggs for second. Faasnsie and Suzy Applegate got the last two spots with 74s. Suzy and Linda both with their young dogs.

There was plenty of failures, including Mirk who along with several others just couldn't get anything going and ended with no score. Amanda and Clive had a difficult go but very reasonable end with a 70 and no pen.

Each day the top five dogs qualify for the double-lift final on Monday. Clive and Mirk will have another kick at it on Sunday. Tomorrow I run Nel and Amanda is up with Roz.  It's a really hard course for young dogs. The outrun is tricky with the steep hill hiding the sheep from the dogs for much of it. Also the sheep are really hard, running and then facing and challenging the dog. Still we both have confidence in our youngsters and I'm sure one of us will do well.

Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter then today, which got very hot. This is a really hot place when the sun shines as it sure did today. The sheep get pretty surly toward the hottest part of the day. Happily Nel has an earlier draw than Mirk had today so I'm hoping for a bit more luck.

Tonight our host, Mark Peterson, had pizza for us all under the pavilion near the camper parking. Since the sun had finally set it was cooler and pleasant. Even on an unsuccessful day it's fun dog trialing with friends.

It's cooling off nicely now and as my dogs are all fed and walked I'm off for a shower and bed.

Amanda and I worked our dogs again this morning. It went a bit better. I think the sheep had resigned themselves to the routine. After our work I left for Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Took about five hours to get here. A lot of desert and mountains interspersed with these deep green/blue lakes. I don't know where the water comes from, snow melt?

Soldier Hollow's most famous view

Nel's lame. Wore through her pad. The western ground is very tough on the eastern dogs. The ground here is so much harder, drier and abrasive that our soft footed dogs are often troubled by sore feet. She runs on Saturday. I sure hope she is sound by then.

In case anyone wonders what happened to us, I'm at Ellen's with Amanda and her brother Bill who drove out with her. We all got here yesterday.

We did a little sheep work today. Not too great. All my digs looked a bit mediocre to me. I suppose it's having Amanda here putting on the pressure.  I worked Meg a little up close and she was contrite after I got after her, but I don't think reformed.

A happy Hemp chews his deer bone, courtesy of Amanda's brother Bill.

We had a great supper with Ellen and her family tonight. Tomorrow Bill is going fly fishing and we're having another go with our dogs, then pack up and head further west.

I always read a book about the places I go when I travel. On this trip I read Guthrie's The Way West. Since one big scene takes place at Independence Rock it's kind of nice I'm getting to spend the night there. On the other hand I had hoped to get to Colorado today and since the rock is in central Wyoming it's not quite so good.

I got my camper fixed. As I had hoped it was no big deal. But it took all day so I didn't leave Rapid City (in southwester SD for you eastern types) until 4:30. Still it's nice to have my camper looking whole again.

My camper just isn't designed for the American plains I guess. Neither is my Garmin. I drove from Laura's ranch this morning with my Garmin trying to send me down every path and trail it could find as a shortcut to Rapid. I'm sending a photo of one of it's suggested routes. Following Garmin's directions would have my camper looking even worse then it currently does, which is pretty bad. The front is covered in the dead mosquitoes of Canada and the dead grasshoppers of the American west. It needs a washing. I'll need to find a truck wash tomorrow.

One of the Garmin's suggested ways west

I talked to Amanda. She is driving out with her brother and they are making great time. They were well into Nebraska by lunch. So we will both descend upon poor Ellen tomorrow in Colorado.

Sorry to have been so incommunicado. Insane–been riding hard, reaching Battle Creek Michigan the Sunday after the Canadian championships. My brother, Bill, is a great help with the driving.

We pressed on the next morning to North Platte Nebraska and now await a new tire for our blow out a couple of hours east of Denver. If it was easier to type, I would even be writing Bev's blogs.  But this little key board……good god!!! I had some wireless last night and uploaded some pictures of the Nursery. More to follow when I get online. I am on my way to Meeker for some badly needed rest time. Driving is severely harsh.