One of the important items on my sheepdog trialing bucket list has been to run my dogs at the Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trial held each year in Meeker, Colorado. After entering and being waitlisted for several years, my dogs were finally accepted to run this year. Meeker did not disappoint. The course was challenging, the sheep were tough Merino range ewes that tested our dogs, and our judge, Angie Coker-Sells, applied focus and high standards in evaluating our runs.
After an enjoyable several days in Larkspur and Peyton, Colorado, doing Meeker prep with Terry Murray, Lise Anderson, and Barbara Ray, we loaded up and headed west. The trip was uneventful, except for a few white knuckle slopes and a lot of road construction. Glenwood Canyon was beautiful, as always, and the aspen were beginning to turn the slopes a brilliant gold.
Through the tunnels we went, then stopped for a rest and were entertained by this handsome (or maybe beautiful) raven.
As we approached Meeker, we marveled at these rock formations that are called hogbacks.
The town of Meeker really goes all out to make handlers and guests feel welcome. This statuary on the courthouse square lets everyone know the border collies, sheep and handlers are an important part of the local culture.
And when we reached the trial field, we were greeted by this life-sized statue of legendary Texas handler Emil Luedecke and is dog, Zac, which was dedicated in 2021. The statue was created by metal artist, Tyler Penley, son of handler Nancy Penley and is known as the Shepherd's Memorial. It was taken from a well-known photo of Emil and his dog waiting for their run at the Texas Sheepdog Finals.
We parked in Meeker Riverbend RV park, because parking at the trial site would be difficult for a rig our size. We have a lovely, shady, grassy site beside the White River, only a mile from the trial site. The riverside trail was made for dog adventures.
The first round of preliminary competition was Wednesday, September 9. My dogs did not run, so I had a good opportunity to visit with friends and watch the handlers and dogs try to manage the difficult Meeker trial field, and range ewes. The trial is limited to 135 dogs, and 45 run in each of the three days of preliminary competition.
Dutch drew number 52 on the run order, so he ran early Thursday morning. Mindy Bower was kind enough to get some shots of Dutch and me on the course. We were the seventh dog to run, and prior to our run no one had completed the course.
I had planned to send him to the right, or the away side.
However, Dutch kept lookin left, and I was afraid he would cross over if I forced him to go right. So, I let him outrun on the come bye side. That may have been a bad decision. He did not see the sheep, and did not take my redirect, so he crossed the course before finally looking back and spotting his sheep.
Our five ewes were rested and frisky. One in particular kept trying to break away, and Dutch had to regather her several times.
We lost most of our outrun and fetch points, but the ewe finally gave in and we had a decent rounding at the post.
The sheep continued to be difficult through the drive. I didn’t flank Dutch soon enough to make the drive-away panels, but he put them back on line and we made our cross-drive panels.
Dutch did very good work to get them around the course and into the shed ring.
With only seconds to go, we completed our shed and headed for the pen.
Unfortunately, time ran out before we could get the sheep penned. But I was very pleased with Dutch’s work. Most of our problems were due to my tardiness in giving him commands, not his failure to execute them. He scored a 31, the second score of the day and the first shed. Such a good boy!
Unfortunately, Dutch’s score wasn’t high enough to put us into the semi-finals on Saturday, but I was really proud of him.
Here are some photos I took of friends and fellow competitors, and of course the dogs, on the first two days of competition.
Meg and I took the field on Friday morning. She was the 10th dog to run, and the weather was beautiful and cool. However, the sheep were not cool. Meg made a very nice outrun, but didn’t come in strongly on the lift. The sheep took note and it went downhill from there. She did get them lifted and started down the field, but they adopted the "divide and conquer" strategy and split. She worked hard and got them back together, only to have them split again. Part of the time, Meg and the sheep were beyond a small rise and I could not see to direct her, so she had to work on her own.
Finally, the sheep bolted for the corner and she could not get them out. We were disqualified for lack of progress, but I now have something to work on… building her confidence. The ability is all there, she just needs to believe in herself.
Here are more pictures from Friday, from Saturday’s semifinals, and from the double lift finals. I was really happy for friends and fellow competitors, Terry Murray, Brent Phelps, Lise Anderson, and Thad Fleming. They all qualified for Saturday semifinals, and Terry and Brent went on to the double lift finals.
Thad finished as reserve champion for the trial! Unfortunately, Terry and Pickle P (a daughter of Dutch from his litter with Tommy Hefner's Nan) drew a couple of high headed, independent ewes. Pickle struggled to move both sets in the double lift, and finally as the combined packets approached the shed ring, she had had enough. She bit one of the ewes, and was DQd.
Bit and Tess enjoyed the competition as well, and spent time on the sidelines watching. They posed at the sheep wagon, and hope to have official after-their-runs photos taken there in a couple of years.
Thanks to Jean Sherman for the pic of Meg and me at the sheep wagon after our run on Friday, and thanks to one of the professional photographers for the shot of Dutch and me after our run on Thursday.
As we pulled out on Monday morning, the trial field and grounds were strangely empty. They will be full again next year, and I really hope we are fortunate to be chosen to compete.
Our rig seems strangely empty as well. Yesterday afternoon when Terry Murray and Mindy Bower headed back home, our beautiful Bit went with them. She will spend a month in training with Terry, and we will pick her up next month when we go to Thad Fleming’s trial in Leeton Missouri. That little dog has been special since I first dried her off and handed her to her mother on Thanksgiving Eve last year. I can’t wait to see how she will grow and learn in the next month.
We are taking a different route home. One of the brakes on the truck was acting a little funny after we came over the passes on interstate 70, and we don’t want to go back that way. Instead, we will go back down to Rifle and turn right. That will take us through Grand Junction, then south and east, avoiding the high mountain passes.
It’s beautiful along the way. Lots of majestic rock formations. The road sides are lined with yellow flowers. They are beautiful, but very invasive and a real nuisance I am told.
I don’t ever remember being on the road between Rifle and Grand Junction. Interstate 70 runs right along the Colorado river, with magnificent Bluffs on either side.
Heading east from Grand Junction, we went through Gunnison and alongside beautiful blue Mesa Reservoir. We were sad to see it so very low. There appears to be around 90 feet of exposed shoreline, which was once covered by this magnificent reservoir. The views are still amazing, though.
We passed the entrance to Black Canyon national Park, and wish we had had time to visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I remember it from years ago as defying all the adjectives.
Our overnight stop was at Pleasant Valley RV Park in Howard, Colorado. The park sits right alongside the Arkansas river, with shady parking sites. They were a little tight and not very level, but it was a pleasant overnight stop.
Tuesday morning we pulled out around 9 o’clock and headed west on Highway 50 toward Canon city. Mr. Rogers told us to turn right on Colorado Highway 69 at Cotopaxi, so off we went. The morning drive has been beautiful. We did have a bit of a scare just after we pulled out of camp when smoke came out of the truck's AC vents. We quickly pulled over,popped the hood on the truck and looked for a fire, but we saw nothing. We are proceeding with fire extinguishers at the ready, but so far all appears well.
The first part of our travels on Colorado Highway 69 were pleasant, but the latter part has been really bumpy. We did get nice views of a big herd of bison after we passed Westcliffe, though. For a moment, I thought we were in Custer State Park or Yellowstone.
We arrived home after a couple of long days, and were glad to be back. The only problem is that while we were gone the local coyotes developed a taste for Angora goat, and dined on several of ours. But that's a topic for another post! Stay tuned.
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