BevLive: a hot day

Man it felt like a hot day. The thermometer said low 80s; it felt much hotter as we seem to be very near the sun here (we are at 6200 feet).

I ran first this morning and made a right mess of it. I couldn't see worth squat as the sun was just rising over the second drive gate and had not illuminated the field as fully as it might have. But all excuses aside, I handled very poorly and scored accordingly.

Bill Berhow had a really good run with no pen in the morning. Karen Child and Larry Burch later put together nice runs to end the day with the two best scores.

The sheep were very tough coming off the top. They tested the dogs on the liftand had to be pushed pretty hard to hold any sort of middle of the field fetch line. But if the dogs got too much in their faces trying to hold the line they would turn and run back or fight. It took a very deft touch to do it well.

While Don Helsley was fairly compassionate about grips many dogs were off for excessive force or retired for failing to get the sheep shifted.

The 500+ yard outrun also proved a problem for some dogs. The field is as nicely mowed as I have ever seen it and looks great. But it still provides plenty of blind spots for the unwary and a number of dogs got lost and crossed.

So it was a tough day even for those lucky and skillful few who did well. The sheep were really great, staying very strong and testing all day. The spotting was done by two riders and was consistently near perfect. It's a great trial. Just really, really hard. I believe the sheep are tougher this year than last.

Amanda and I visited a friend here in Meeker and worked our young dogs. It's really hard to keep the youngsters up to speed on this long trip since they don't get to compete. Esther had never worked rambouillets before and was awful on her first outrun but I felt she got a better handle on them by the time we finished. Amanda and I are going to exhaust sheep with Roz and Esther tomorrow. Give them a little taste of Meeker. We'll see how that goes.

Amanda did not run today–she is up tomorrow. Tom ran second after me this morning with Ben. He got on well for such a young dog but not well enough.

Went to the Meeker Library and replenished my book supply off their free paperback rack. Got to love libraries.