Dog Trial Marathon Week #6 -- Spring Ranch Sheep Dog Trial

I was so excited that this year we were able to go to Jamie Spring’s Spring Ranch Sheepdog Trial.  It marked the final stop on our whirlwind Dog Trial Marathon.  All my friends have told me time and again what a great trial it is, and what great hosts Jamie and her husband are.  They did not exaggerate!  As you can see from the photos, it’s a beautiful, if challenging, venue that brought out the best…and worst…in dogs and handlers.  Our open judge was Norm Close, and he must have been squinting to see the dogs as they lifted the sheep up that long slope.  The following are photos of our hostess and her dog Monster.  They will represent the United States on the team of handlers and dogs at the World Sheepdog Trials in Scotland in September.  We are grateful that she shared her beautiful ranch with us and wish her good luck at the Worlds.

My dogs didn’t have much success at Spring Ranch, but we had a great time and got lots of good experience.  But, a couple of strange things happened on the trial field.  Both my dogs tumbled head-over-teakettle on their come-bye outruns in almost the same spot.  On her first outrun, Meg took a tumble, but continued on the course and got behind her sheep.  She wasn’t responding well, and from where I stood at the post, seemed confused.  I was afraid she might be hurt, so in an abundance of caution I retired her.  She suffered no ill effects from her tumble, thank goodness.  The video wasn’t very clear because she was a long way off, but she turned a somersault!  If you look close, you can see her white belly as she rolled.

Charly got a video of Meg's lift at the top from the set-out pens where she was working.  I think Meg was just a little shaken up, and was also anxious because the set-out on horseback was pretty close to the sheep.  I'm glad I called her run.  

The very next day, Dutch ran 23rd in Open 2, and the same thing happened to him.  Someone said there was a ranch road that cut across the field where we couldn’t see it, so perhaps that is what caused them to stumble.  At any rate, I was very surprised since they run on very uneven, rocky ground every day here at the farm.  

Dutch hardly paused, so I let him continue to pick up his sheep.  His run wasn’t pretty, but we did get our shed and pen. 

 

That was better than his first run when he gripped and was disqualified 😬.

On Dutch’s third run, we unfortunately drew a sheep that was clearly a bottle baby.  She didn’t stay with the other four, and on the drive kept breaking away and running toward the exhaust pens.  Dutch dutifully brought her back each time, but was clearly worried that she would escape and ran very wide on his flanks, wasting a lot of time.  

When we finally got to the shed ring, the ewe kept coming to me and wouldn't go back to the other sheep.  That made it almost impossible to shed them.  In addition, Dutch was tired, and didn’t come in quickly when I called.  We ran out of time before getting our shed or the pen.  

But our time off the trial field was perfect, in spite of high winds several days that kept us seeking shelter on the lee side of the RVs.  We parked next to Charly Kronberger and her brother, Wayne, and had a good time, as you can tell.  Chilled beverages and nutter-butters kept us cool and energized.

We also got to get better acquainted with Charly’s pup, Jane, one of Tess and Bit’s littermates.  She is a lovely, split-face girl, and she certainly has her father’s beautiful prick ears.  With a little effort, we kept the sister-fights under control and managed to get a family portrait.  That is Tess on the left and Bit on the right.  The girls are now six months old and feeling quite grown-up.

It was a great weekend for reconnecting with fellow handlers, visiting with old friends and making new ones.  Linda Lulias from Buffalo, WY, was there, as well as Dennis and Marlene Edwards from Sundance, WY, Barb Biller, Leslie Scruggs, Thad Fleming, Brent Phelps (from very close to home), Mike Neary, and many others.  We really enjoyed our other next-door neighbor, Merry Klimek, who was camping in a tent.  One person I don’t see much of is the legendary handler, Bud Boudreau.  He and his good dog, Dot, are always an inspiration.  Here are some photos from his and other runs.

Bud Boudreau and Dot

Brent Phelps and Rhys

Mike Neary

Shauna Gourly

We look forward to a return to Union Center next year.

Dog Trial Marathon Week #5 -- Table Top Sheep Dog Trial

Table Top Sheep Dog Trial has turned into a multi-day event, with all classes running on a beautiful grassy field, bordered on one side by a small stream and on the other by steep Hill.  It’s a great venue, with a fenced parking area and a separate field where dogs can stretch their legs and keep in shape.

Dutch at the pen

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday, May 26 and 27, on the road from Friona, and were glad to be back in the rolling hills east of Colorado Springs.

Our judge for Tabletop was Peter Morgan from Ireland. We had met Peter and his wife, Braunah, last year at one of Charly Kronberger‘s San Saba trials. Peter is a great judge, and we so enjoyed reconnecting with him and Braunah.  Here, they watch as Dutch gets his pen in Open 3.

The sheep were tough, crafty, range ewes, and the dogs struggled with them, especially on the first day. Dutch finished with the score of 55, and Meg retired. Open 2 was a much better day for Dutch. He scored an 81 and placed 11th out of some 57 or so dogs. Meg again had trouble with the sheep and I retired her.  Both dogs got numbers in Open 3, with Dutch scoring a 69 and Meg a 62.  Here are a few images from their runs.

Meg penning her sheep

Meg shedding

Dutch getting his shed

Jennifer videoing Dutch's BIG outrun

The last open run was the double lift. Unfortunately, I had begun feeling terrible the day before, with what we think was a case of altitude sickness. John had a touch of it and didn’t feel feel well either. In dog trialing there are no excuses, but I don’t think I did a very good job of handling Dutch. His look-back is usually very good, and he reliably releases his first set of sheep and goes for the second packet.

However, he did not run true to form.  Because of the layout of the course, the sheep were not between him and me; he was at 90 degrees to me instead of 180.  He was confused as to which way he should look back and which way he should run. He did manage to find his second packet and bring them to join with the first, though. We made our way around the course with the 20 sheep, but ran out of time in the shed ring. I was proud of his work, though.

There were several very nice runs, though.  I didn't get many photos, but I did capture a couple of Robin French and her beautiful Becca.

We had a very good time at the trial, and especially enjoyed our time with Jennifer Boznos and her pack.  Below is a shot from one of the "puppy runs" with the pups having a wonderful time.  Tess is in the center front, and her littermate, Del, is on the far left.  I think that is third sister, Bit, between them.  Jennifer was kind enough to video several of my runs, and I so appreciate having those to study.  I can't wait to see how Del looks the next time we are together.  She is a beautiful pup.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Table Top and look forward to our next Colorado visit.  

We were soon packed up and off to Union Center, South Dakota, for Jamie Spring's Spring Ranch Trial.  John no longer wonders how the pups got his glasses off the dashboard of the truck!  Tess doesn't look at all guilty.  

Dog Trial Marathon Week #4 Frio Draw Memorial Sheep Dog Trial

We made our way south and east from Simla, Colorado, with an overnight stop at Wild Bill’s RV Park in Boise City, Oklahoma.  

Thursday, May 21, found us back at Frio Draw Farms outside Friona, Texas, for the Frio Draw Memorial Sheep Dog Trial.  The trial is held each year in memory of Jake Hefner and his friend, Clayton, who died in a plane crash several years ago, as well as my dear friend, Jill Hefner.  (You may remember that my good dog, Llanfarian Dutch, was imported by Jill as a puppy.  Shortly before her death, she offered me the opportunity to buy Dutch, and he has been my steadfast partner ever since.

The Frio Draw Memorial sheepdog trial was an amazing, well--run small trial. The sheep were challenging. Competition was fierce, but friendly, and everyone pitched in to make it an amazing experience for all of us.  Thank you so much Tommy and Raffa Hefner for bringing us all together and putting on such a good trial.  We enjoyed our time with you, and had fun meeting the adorable Clancy, Tommy and Raffa's granddaughter, shown here with her mom and Raffa.

Judge Katy Deardorff did a fine job of judging all the runs over four days. She is quite a trooper, and we really enjoyed meeting her and her husband, Craig.  An added, extra bonus was the several gallons of beautiful California avacados they shared with us.  I believe Craig said they had over 20 different avacado varieties, plus many fruit trees in their orchard.  Katy is in the center of the photo below holding the basket of collars used to mark sheep for the shed and pen in the double lift competition.

Dutch, Meg, Bo and I spent our first afternoon here “grazing” the 200 head of dorper ewe lambs that will be used for the weekend’s trials.  That means that the sheep tender has to keep the flock grazing close to their night pen when they would much prefer to go exploring over the hills and far away.  Our grazing assignment went well, and we kept our sheep contained until an approaching thunderstorm made it advisable to put them away for the evening.  There were about 200 head of sheep, and Meg learned a lot from moving the flock and preventing escapes.

I was generally pleased with the way Dutch and Meg ran, but there were some rough spots. When we arrived everyone was so happy that Tommy had laid out the field with the wind at our backs so that even over such long outrun, our dogs would be able to hear us. Not! Friday morning the wind had shifted 180° and was blowing straight down the field into our faces. The dogs that ran earlier didn’t have as much wind, and they generally were able to score better because they could hear commands.  Dutch ran in the middle of the 28 dog field and finished ninth with the score of 69.

Meg’s run was another matter. Unfortunately, by the time she ran at the very end, the wind had built in strength, with gusts over 40 mph.  The wind was blowing straight in my face, taking away my cap, my words and my whistles.  For the second time in a row, she came up short on her outrun and crossed over, losing 19 of the 20 points she could have kept.  The rest of her run was dismal.  We did manage to get around the course and into the shed ring, but ran out of time.  She posted a personal worst score of 11, but I was surprised her total wasn’t in the single digits.  I don’t think she could hear any of my commands until she got right to my feet.  

On Saturday, our dogs did not run, so we helped with scribing course directing, etc. Then on Sunday, both Dutch and Meg gave me very nice runs. They scored a 79 and an 80, respectively, and finished eighth and ninth.   Below are some pics from Meg's run.

I had entered Dutch in Monday’s, double lift, but he did not fare as well as he had the day before. The sheep were tough, and he tired in the heat, and nipped a nose in the shed ring so we were disqualified.  It was a fun trial, though.  We’re so glad we came back to Texas to participate.  

Here are some photos of friends and fellow competitors from the trial.

Dog Trial Marathon Week #3-- Prairie Grass Sheep Dog Trial

Mid-May we made the short hop from Kristi and Cole’s to nearby Simla, Colorado, for the Prairie Grass Sheep Dog Trial.  (On the other side of the country, some of our friends were competing in the Bluegrass Sheep Dog Trial, but I think we had more fun, and we certainly had more interesting weather. )  The trial is held at beautiful UhOl Ranch, where hosts Mindy Bower and Kevin Hall made everyone feel welcome.  John and I came in a day early to help direct RV’s to the appropriate parking spaces and be available to help as needed.  Good friend Joanne Hardy was the judge, and did an outstanding job.  

Shortly after we arrived, so did the sheep, some 200 beautiful yearling range ewes.  They unloaded down the “ship elevator” and were moved along to their night pasture by Mindy and one one of her border collies. 

The sheep elevator is an interesting contraption; it can be raised and lowered to move sheep from different levels in the truck.  It takes some convincing to get the first ones to take the ramp, but eventually they all exited.  I’m told that some transporters have a goat that is trained to lead the sheep down the ramp, simplifying the process.  

Meg and Dutch supervised, along with one of Mindy’s guardian dogs.

The weather varied from shirt-sleeve to rain, a bit of hail, and everyone in parkas and rain gear.  The dogs and sheep loved it, though, even if we didn’t.  

On her first go, Meg was disqualified for letting her sheep run off-course and take refuge on the manure pile.  Her second run was much better, and she placed 4th with a score of 81.

Dutch had a decent trial.  His first run wasn’t spectacular; he didn’t pen his sheep, and finished with only a score of 57.  His second was better, and he scored a 72.

I was thrilled when both of my dogs qualified for the end-of-trial Double Lift.  Dutch had enough points with his two scores combined, and Meg qualified because of her fourth-place finish in Open 2.  However, each handler could only run one dog, and I chose Meg because this was her first qualifying Double Lift.  

We had a tough go.  She usually has a lovely, wide, come-bye outrun, but this day she just couldn’t believe her first packet of sheep were to the left.  She ran very short, and was nowhere near her sheep.  I recalled her several times, and finally resorted to whistling her look-back command and she finally went in the right direction.  She brought her first packet down, narrowly missing the fetch gates, and dropped them at the designated spot.  She looked back and, after going the wrong way, picked up her second packet and joined them with the first, again missing her fetch gates.

Her fetch around the post was orderly, and she had nice lines through her drive-away and cross-drive panels.  we worked hard at our international shed, but timed out in the shed ring.  We have lots to practice on when we get home, but she gave me a good effort, and after her two initial fetches, handled her sheep well.  

We also enjoyed watching good friends and competitors as they tried to complete the Double Lift course.  Brent Phelps and Rhys gave it a good try but timed out in the shed ring.

And Terry Murray and Dutch's daughter Pickle P. completed their international shed, but timed out before completing their pen.

Congratulations to Double Lift winner Bridget Strang and Bill, and good luck, Bridget, when you compete in the World Trial this fall.  Thanks again to Mindy and Kevin, and Terry Murray and Mike Lupow for a great trial!