Kyon Ranch and Table Top Sheep Dog Trial

After settling in at Brian and Terri’s, we and th dogs began getting used to the altitude (almost 7300 feet), which is quite different than what we have at home (just over 1000 feet).   We did have a bit of a transition; the altitude at the Frio Dew Memorial Sheep Dog Trial was just over 4000 feet, so we were able to step up gradually.  

The weather here has been unseasonably wet and cold; the locals tell us they have had much more rain than usual.  And, we have been in heavy jackets most mornings until the last couple of days.  But, by mid-day it is usually beautiful, and the sunrises, sunsets and cloud formations are remarkable.

The weather didn't keep us from working dogs, or from outings like the one to South 40 for scrumptious burgers, beverages and desserts.

I was late submitting my entries for the Table Top Sheep Dog Trial which was held last weekend.  As a result, Dutch was only able to run once.  He had a beautiful outrun, lift and fetch on some very tough and wily range ewes.  He lost no points off his outrun, only 1 off his lift and 8 off his fetch.  Unfortunately, after taking his ewes through the drive-away panels, he had trouble keeping them on-line for the cross-drive.  The sheep were determined to return to their overnight pen, and kept splitting and going in different directions.  Several times, Dutch put them back together, but apparently couldn’t hear me very well because he kept trying to bring them back to me instead of continuing to the cross-drive panels.  Reluctantly, I retired.  Here are some images from the trials.  Thanks, Terri N for the video of Dutch's run.

Dutch and his sheep rounding the bucket

Terri N and other spectators on the Ranch course

Meg plotting her strategy 

The very challenging Open course

Meg was able to run both Ranch (we usually call them Open Ranch) courses.  The sheep were just as cantankerous, but the courses were shorter.  I made some mistakes in handling her on her first run.  That, combined with the fact that she was really revved up, made it pretty ugly, and we retired.  She had a nice go on her second run, placing 10th out of 25 dogs with a score of 68.  She hasn’t often seen sheep as tough as these, so I was very proud of her.  Here are a few pics pulled from videos of her runs. Thanks Jennifer Boznos and Terri Nicolau for videoing us.  

We will be here until the upcoming UhOh Ranch Trial next weekend.  In the meantime, I am having a great time working sheep here at Kyon Ranch and doing lessons and training with Terri Carver and Terry Murray just down the road.  

Stay tuned for more adventures and pics from next weekend's UhOh Ranch Sheepdog Trials.

Colorful Colorado

We had a bit of additional excitement at Friona.  We had no more than finished the Double Lift competition than Tommy came over to say that heavy rain was in the forecast, and if it came we might have trouble getting out of our pasture parking area.  The few of us who were left packed up our rigs and moved a few hundred yards to a more stable parking area.  You guessed it…we had a few sprinkles, but not the heavy rain predicted.

Early Monday, we again packed up and headed north, up through the Texas Panhandle, hoping to skirt the west side of a big storm system headed south and east.  The views were beautiful…sweeping vistas punctuated with yucca, sagebrush and wildflowers.

At one point, Meg called for a pit stop and posed briefly among the flowering thistles with the menacing clouds in the background.  Fortunately, we avoided most of the rain and stormy weather.

After an overnight stop at the Powers County Fairgrounds in Lamar, Colorado, we pulled into our home for the next couple of weeks, Terri and Brian Nicolau’s beautiful Kyon Ranch in Peyton, Colorado.  We have visited Terri and Brian several times before, and always enjoy their company as well as the beautiful accommodations.  Thank you, Guys, for putting up with us.  It feels like coming home.

When we pulled in, Angie Coker-Sells, Sharon Harris, Diane Cox and Jennifer Boznos were also enjoying Kyon Ranch hospitality, as was good friend, Terri Carver, who spends her summers here.  Angie, Sharon and Diane pulled out on Wednesday, headed for the Lise Anderson's nearby Table Top Sheep Dog Trial.  Terri N and I, as well as Jennifer, will be driving back and forth to the trial, which started on Thursday.  It's good to be back in colorful Colorado!

On The Road Again...Frio Draw Memorial Sheep Dog Trial

There wasn’t much time between dog trials, but there was still plenty going on at Goat Hill. We were excited to see Owlivia sitting in the door of her owl house on several occasions. That usually means that there are chiclets (our name for owlets) inside.

A couple of days later, she moved to a limb overlooking the box, and she stayed there for hours, in spite of a couple of hard showers, and tree work going on in the adjacent cedar elms and in the very Spanish oak where the owl house is located.  She seems to pay no attention to any of us, the dogs, or any other activities. 

We had hoped to see chiclets before time to leave, but no such luck.  We pray they will fledge successfully, and that we will see them when we return.

Just before leaving, we received some exciting news.  Our niece's son, Noah Carmody didn't just graduate from Alamogordo High School, he was named the "Golden A" of the Math Department.  We are so excited for him, and look forward to congratulating him in person later this summer!

We will be gone for several weeks this trip, God Willing, so we furiously packed the rig, closed up the house, and headed north…to Friona for this year’s Frio Draw Memorial Sheep Dog Trial.  The trial is held in memory of our dear friend, Jill Hefner, who lost her courageous battle with cancer in March of 2023; her son, Jake; and his friend Clayton, both of whom died in a plane crash several years ago.  It is a bittersweet occasion, but we wouldn’t miss it.

Our first overnight stop was at Western Texas College Coliseum in Snyder, TX.  After a short walk, the dogs posed for another Bagley Pack portrait .

We were then off again across North Texas .  It's really green this year, and the roadsides and medians were filled with flowers.

Weather for the trial was beautiful, with cool nights, and only a few hours of Texas heat at mid-day.  The sheep were challenging, and the trials were run on a big alfalfa field.  There was plenty of green, but some stiff winds and (perhaps) difficult hearing issues for the fogs due to the alfalfa field, there weren’t many high scores. Our very capable judge, Alison Holmes, did an outstanding job evaluating some tricky runs as our doge struggled to control the rambunctious sheep.  For Dutch and me, things didn't always go as planned.

But we did finally get our split!

Open 1 had 23 entries.  Dutch placed 12th with a score of 61, and I retired Bo.  Open 2 was a little better.  Dutch and Bo placed 9 and 10, respectively, with scores of 71 and 67.  Open 3 was very difficult; only 10 of the 23 dogs received scores.  Thee dogs had a great deal of trouble hearing commands; and I retired both Dutch and Bo.   The last trial for the open dogs was Sunday’s “double lift.”  Only 10 dogs entered this challenging event, which requires the dog to fetch one group of sheep, then leave them and go back for a second set.  The Double Lift is usually an event that must be qualified for, and is the grand finale of the trial.  However, we are sometimes fortunate to be given the opportunity to run in an unsanctioned Double Lift, and we always participate when it’s offered.  Dutch placed 8th, after a valiant attempt at the International Shed.  We managed to shed all but one of the uncollared sheep, but ran out of time in the shed ring.  I retired Bo after a wild and crazy attempt.  I will say that he finally managed to retrieve both sets of sheep, but just couldn’t get the entire group around the course.  It wasn’t for lack of trying, though!  I was proud of his effort.  

Meg fared better.  She placed second in Open Ranch 1, just one point behind the winner, and got a check and a prize for her good work.  In Open Ranch 2, she placed 4th.  It was a very difficult day, with only 5 of the 13 dogs getting scores.  I’m so pleased of the way she is working, and look forward to running her at Table Top.  Oh, and I have to brag on Dutch’s daughter, Bree.  Tina LePlatt paced 6th with her in Open Ranch 1 and 2nd in Open Ranch 2.!   

Here are a few photos of friends I took at the trial...more to come as I edit pics.

Charly and Cindy before and after their Double Lift run.

Les and Ike working on their International Shed

It was a great trial, and we look forward to the next one!