BevLive: Bluecrass Classic, Day 1

First day of running was another gorgeous day, bright and sunny, got a bit warm in the eighties but very nice. The open began at 6:30 which was a bit foggy and not great light. The first three runs were particularly tough as a result.

Carla King and Alasdair MacRae both had early draws though and handled them well. I also ran early with Hemp and had a reasonable go that would have been helped tremendously by a pen.

We ran three very fit Texas lambs in the open and they were never less than a demanding test of dog and handler. They were tough to get started down the field and very hard to navigate through the fetch gates. Once the turn was negotiated, a difficult process for not just Hemp and I, the drove fairly well. The single was last one on the head and doable but tricky as the lambs are fast, anxious and ignorant. Most folks who got there seemed to pen.

We ran half the open finishing around 7-7:30 I think. The Open Ranch was run on the novice field also on the fresh Texas lambs, each dog getting four, a much nicer number. The running there was very rough. Lyle Lad won with a 63 and the only score in the sixties. My Meg managed to get fifth on a rough run.

The Nursery followed the open with more triumphant sheep and over whelmed youngsters. Joe ran late in the class and with hard work on my part cooling his youthful exuberance we managed a good win and my only pen of the day. Yeah Joe!

So tomorrow we run another sixty plus open dogs to finish the first open and run the ranch and nursery again. It’s a lovely night, clear skies and the smell of gasoline in the air and the sound of generators all around.