Sheepdog News

Each time I come to Klamath for a finals I am again overwhelmed by what a great job Geri and company do. Not only is the finals perfectly organized with people available instantly to deal with any small issue that might occur, but there are vendors and caterers and everything one could want or think of for a dog trial. Especially noteworthy this time is the hospitality tent, complete with fruit, eggs, and homemade cookies. A great Finals just as we have come to expect of Oregon.

Apparently they are burning stubble on some of the fields around here.So the ubiquitous dust was joined by a thick pall of smoke. This wasn't too serious at the open field but it sure obscured the second drive gate on the nursery field.

I spent most of my day watching the nursery as I ran Esther there today, next to last dog. It's generally the most exciting running to watch in any case, as anyone who follows nursery trials knows they are full of surprises. Today was no exception.

Amanda's Roz, who has been winning Open trials and running like a watch, was not good. A poor outrun led to a tight lift and the run never improved, taking one of the most serious contenders for this year's honors out of contention. We were all disappointed as we have seen Roz grow and mature all year and were expecting great things from her.

Esther on the other hand exceeded any of my reasonable expectations by having a very respectable run. I think I could have helped her more on the last leg of the drive when she got heading her sheep too much in an effort to prevent their going to the exhaust. Amanda chastised me for not helping. But all and all it was a credible performance by my little girl. She ended up 6th after the first go around. She is quite a few points behind the leaders and I don't know that we can make up so much ground but we will sure try our best.

Got unbearably hot here today. It started warming up earlier than on other days and I finally had to take to my camper and the air conditioner around 2:00. So I missed most of the afternoon. It's not just the heat. The dust is lying everywhere in a thick blanket which any movement sends skyward in great clouds. Traffic and ATVs can choke you in passing. The mosquitoes are more of a surprise. I guess they are a result of the irrigation, but in the heat and dry their great numbers are a continuing marvel.

The nursery started. It's proving very difficult for the young dogs.The outrun is around 375 yards with a low spot behind the sheep that hide the dog's final approach. The sheep seem resistant to starting, then persistent to the setout and, for the more determined youngsters who lift them, fast runners. The fast fetches have led to many confrontations at the turn. All in all a very testing Nursery.

Joni Swanke got off to a good start this morning with quite a clean run but no pen. Amanda and Monty did really well. He was a bit tight on his outrun which perhaps contributed to his sheep running on the fetch. But he treated them well and never lost his head. Alas, the sheep lost theirs and never stopped running. Amanda handled well, getting the first gate but just getting outrun on the second. They had a good pen and a respectable score.

Herbert and Juno had a really good Open run. A little trouble getting the group moving at the start but the rest was quite good with some hesitation at the pen. They scored 144 which should get through to the semis. The scores are high, still hard to tell what you will need, something in the 140s looks likely to make the cut.

I run tomorrow late in the nursery with Esther. Amanda also runs Roz in the afternoon.The heat wave is expected to continue. It's becoming very wearing.

Trial is off to a strong, dusty start. The sheep are tough to get off the top–quite a few dogs failed to lift or lost their sheep back to the set out.Once they get going they are pretty light and not too hard to get along with.

Amanda found her run with Clive "very disappointing." She got a 142, so Clive should have a chance to redeem himself in the semi-finals on Saturday. I too found my run very disappointing, but with a score of 135 there is much less chance of any redemption for Hemp at this trial.

The top scoring run of the day was a very tidy run by Candy Kennedy and Moss scoring 165.

We ran 38 dogs today getting done at at 4:00ish.

Canadian directors at the USBCHA directors meeting

I'm at the USBCHA Directors meeting now with Amanda and about 15 other people. Foods arriving, so that's the blog for today.

Make sure you check out Diane Pagel's blog–she has very detailed and excellent coverage of many of the runs.  It certainly makes me wish that i were in Oregon watching all this!

The main event at last. Worked my dogs very briefly this morning at Geri's. They were great. I'm as ready as I'm likely to be, so let's get this going.

We pulled out of Geri's at 8:00 and after the necessary camper stop for water and dumping arrived at the Final's field at 10:00. At noon I met with the rest of the Finals Committee and we spent some time agonizing about how to lay out the course for the double lift on Sunday. Since we didn't yet have enough information for any final decision on that front, we laid out the open and nursery courses and felt quite pleased with both of them.

The open field is a freshly cut alfafa field about 650 yards long and 400 yards wide. The whole thing tilts down hill from left to right slightly and has several pretty good hills on the left-handed side as the dog would run out. The set out pen is in the right hand corner at 650 yards, so a non-factor for the 425 yard preliminary runs. The course was set with the handler's post on a hill on the right side of the field. The shedding ring is off the hill on a flat piece of ground to the left, with the pen between the post and the ring. We will shed any two (running 4 sheep), then pen. A very straightforward course.

The sound appears to be okay. They ran somedemonstration runs at 4:00 this afternoon and the dogs seemed to have no trouble hearing.The big concerns at this point are that the sheep are on the fat side and we expect record heat tomorrow.

Scores will be posted every few runs on the handlers website www.usbcha.org

so check there. I run Hemp in the morning. I don't think Amanda runs until Wednesday.  (Editor's note: Not true–Amanda runs Clive on Tuesday.)

So far it looks as if this will be another of the well organized events we have come to expect from Geri and her crew. There seem to be about a hundred campers here and a thousand dogs.

Very pleasant relaxing day. Worked the dogs this morning on Geri's wool sheep. Everyone was fairly good. Neither boy is shedding as well as I would like, but I got to work them several times today. The last time, this evening, they both shed pretty well. So I guess that will have to do. I'll just need to remember to be careful on the sheds.

Esther worked great. The sheep were quite heavy to their home pen but she had no trouble moving them around. Best of all she was very matter-of-fact and relaxed about it. She is really maturing this trip.

It was a nice vacation day sitting around watching folks work their dogs and talking.

There is no parking at the Final's site yet, so there are quite a few folks here we will all be moving into Klamath tomorrow.

I have been remiss in not mentioning the stars on this trip. The night sky in these high desert areas of the west is pretty breathtaking to an easterner such as myself. It's much easier to understand the fascination of the ancients with the heavens when the night sky is as dominant a feature as it is out here.

But enough of the heavenly stars. The Star youngsters did themselves proud today. It was with considerable trepidation that I sent Esther out for the sheep this morning. Two days of open running had not improved these difficult sheep at all. If anything, they were today more determined than ever to get to either the set out pen or the exhaust. Wilda Barr had a pretty good run first up, but the next two runners failed to shift the sheep off the hay pile they were spotted on. I need not have feared, however. Esther did a great outrun and after a few moments of communing with the sheep brought them down the field in good order. We had a great drive going until her dyslexia kicked in at the second drive gate and she circled the sheep and drove them half way back to the first gate. Our second run went much better. I slowed the action at the second gate and she remembered the flanks to come second after Amanda and Monty.

Esther penning

Amanda and Monty did great coming second on his first run and first in the second trial. He had great authority on the sheep and looked all grown up. Pretty great running by both these offspring of Star. Amanda and I were both very proud of our youngsters.

The view from Geri's–Mt Shasta is in the background

I left the trial around 3:00 and had a very scenic back roads drive to Klamath Falls where I met Herbert and Alison Holmes. We had dinner in town and I am now parked at Geri Byrne's ranch outside Klamath with Herbert and Alison for new neighbors. We are up in the foothills above the valley with a great view all the way to Mt Shasta and as I mentioned plenty of stars.

THURSDAY

We are sitting in Amanda's camper accentuating the positive. Let's see–Roz ran well. Did a really good job at the pen. Actually, we can't really complain about any of them. The sheep just beat us.

Hemp ran first and took quite a bit of disrespect from the sheep, but finally had to assert himself and we were disqualified.Mirk did great keeping a mentally unstable ewe in company with her associates.

But it took too long and cost too much score. He ended up 5th. Amanda had a poor fetch with Ethel in the morning and no pen to come 6th.

Clive's sheep ran hard and he did a great job, just didn't get it done.

Trial field is the yellow stubble. 450-yard outrun.

So we all went down to the river for a swim and came home without Ethel. Since she was shortly reunited with us by a local rancher the day ended well.

We have all vowed to do better tomorrow. Bill Orr and Dennis Gellings tied for first. I think Bill won, not sure. It's a really good trial.

Straightforward course and very difficult sheep.

FRIDAY

Another very hot day. It was in the 30s last night and around 90 by 5:00pm. The sun is really hot here. but at least if you can find some shade the lack of humidity always makes the heat bearable. Alas, there was no shade on the trial field and some of the dogs felt the heat. I know I sure did.

I ran Mirk fairly early in the morning, when we were all still wearing winter coats. He was terrible on his fetch. He never took a hold of his sheep as he should have. The rest of his work was pretty good, but I sure didn't like his fetch. Amanda ran Ethel shortly after me and had a good go but no pen. I believe the sheep were harder to pen today for some reason. Had either Ethel or Mirk penned they would have been in the prizes but in spite of some great work there no go.Of course I suspect this would have been true of a number of teams. The what-if game is endless.

Camper parking in the pine woods

I must confess I took the dogs for a long walk in the cool and then when the heat came in retired to the shade of my camper and missed most of the da'ys running. Although I did read a really good book.

Hemp ran three from the end so I saw the last seven or eight runs.

Really hot and very unforgiving sheep with tremendous pressure to the exhaust from all over the large field. Hemp was a good boy. I let him get a good hold on the sheep at the beginning of his fetch to avoid them running away from him totally out of control, a not uncommon-occurrence, and he hung on to them all the way around getting the obstacles with reasonable lines. Three minutes of penning did us no good there but the rest of his work was good enough to win. Candy Kennedy and Noelle Williams tied for second and Bill Orr put in another good run for fourth. Amanda didn't get in the prizes but her nursery dog, Roz, really stepped up with a good performance bettering yesterday's work.

Tomorrow we do the young dogs. I will run Esther and Amanda has Monty in.