The Trials and Triumphs of Sheepdog Trialing!

West Texas, especially Friona, Texas, is a long, long way from Jonesboro, but the trip is one we won’t soon forget.  We left on Wednesday, April 6, RV in tow and dogs settled comfortably behind us in the cab of the Volvo.  Our destination was Friona, TX, for the Jake & Clayton Memorial Trial on the Frio Draw at beautiful Frio Draw Ranch.  

Hosted by Jill and Tommy Hefner, the trial honors the memory of their son and his best friend, who were killed in a plane crash in April of 2018.  

We took two days to make the trip.  The views weren't always scenic, but they were interesting.  

On Thursday afternoon parked the rig among a number of our friends’ coaches and trailers and got down to the serious business of watching and participating in sheep dog trials.  

Our parking space was close to pastures for some of Frio Draw’s sheep, and the dogs had a wonderful time watching them.  Rue ran to the fence whenever she could so she could be as close as possible.

They also had plenty of room for “ready-go” races.

Kota didn't participate in the ready-go races, but she did keep an eye on things in the RV, at least when she wasn't napping.  

On Friday, the last runs of the Open class were completed, and the Open Ranch competition began.  The weather continued to be a challenge, with a strong wind blowing in our faces and the dust swirling around the dogs and sheep. 

Cody and I drew what I consider the worst position in the trial…the first dog on the line in our class.  Forty-one dogs were entered, but scratches and no-shows brought the class size down to 31.  That’s still a lot of competitors.  However, of that number, I think only 13 teams received “numbers instead of letters.”  Thirteen dogs retired because they either couldn’t find the sheep or couldn’t move them around the course, and 9 were disqualified for “gripping” or for allowing their sheep to move off the trial field.  I was so proud of Cody.  He found his sheep, hung in there and finished 10th in his class with a score of 36 out of a possible 90 points.  

The sheep were beautiful dorper lambs, fat and sassy from the feed lot, and a real challenge for the dogs. 

Unfortunately, the lambs weren’t a factor in Bo’s first run.  He made a lightening-fast outrun, but never saw the sheep and received a DQ.  We had a day off on Saturday when the Open class had their second trial.  The wind was still strong and gusty, and if someone wasn’t sitting in a chair, it was overturned and had to be retrieved.  

We did have time to watch our friends run their dogs, to play with Jill's new litter of Dutch x Nan pups, 

and to enjoy a great dinner of Frio Draw lamb chops with all the trimmings, courtesy of our hosts.  

The second Open Ranch class didn’t start until Sunday morning.  Thankfully, my dogs were slated to run 12th and 40th, so I had some time to prepare and evaluate the course.  The trial field had been reoriented for our second run, so the outrun was with, instead of into, the wind (which was still steady in the 20s with gusts to 40 mph).  At least on Sunday the dogs had a better chance of hearing our commands.

Again, out of 41 dogs entered, 11 scratched, 7 were DQs and 6 were RTs.  Of the remaining dogs, I was thrilled with our performance.  Bo found his sheep and placed 13th with a score of 48.  His run was something of a cliff-hanger, though.  On his outrun, after allowing his sheep to go off line, far to the right of the fetch panels, 

he made a miraculous recovery and brought them through the gate.  You can clearly hear John's "Well, I'll be damned!" on the video he shot.  

Things went better after that, and Bo brought his sheep to the post, around the course and finally to a successful pen.  

Bo is an incredibly fast dog, and a challenge to run.  Almost before I can give him a command, he has covered another 20-30 yards.  I'll have to slow him down or be a better anticipator (or maybe both) if we're to be successful. 

Cody's second run was much better than his first.  He tied for third place in his class with a score of 61.  (We technically finished 4th because of tie-breaker rules, but I was, and am, ecstatic.)  Here are a couple of images pulled off the video John shot of our run.  

For our efforts, we received our very first check in an open ranch trial, and hope it is the first of many!  

As I said before, the wind and blowing dust were a challenge.  I love the sequence below of my friend Sandy Kieft and here dog, Elfa Fly.  During parts of their run, Sandy could hardly see Fly or the sheep for the swirling dust, but they finished the course, and beat out Cody and me for third place in our tie-breaker.  Good Job!

The Open and Nursery dogs were challenged as well.  Of the 48 dogs in Run 1, only 18 Open dogs finished the course.  In Run 21 of 47 received scores.  The Nursery dogs ran last, and fared somewhat better.  About half of that class finished the course.  We all learned a lot, though, and we and our dogs gained experience trialing in adverse conditions!  It will serve us well the next time.  

Here are some other photos of our friends and their dogs.  Because of the wind, I didn't take as many photos this trip as I usually do...and I'm still getting Texas Panhandle grit out of my camera. 😢

It was a long trip, 400.2 miles from the farm, but well worth it.  As I told Jill Hefner, the weather and the sheep were a challenge, but the competition and the camaraderie were second to none!  We can't wait to do it again.