BevLive: the excitement of nursery

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.