Catching Up

O.K.  I know it's almost April, and this post should have been up late last year.  I apologize, and will be playing catch-up for a bit here to try to get back on schedule.

It was a busy fall.  We have enjoyed photos of pups from Dutch’s two litters as they grew up and went to new homes.  As these youngsters develop, we hope that they will be as successful on the trial field as his first litter.  

Kay Stephens' Drifter

T.J. Bleeker's Duke

T.J. Bleeker's Belle

Cousin Jan Moore and friend Melody arrived for a whirlwind visit with service dog, Clarence.  It’s always good to see Jan, but hope the next time she will be able to spend a couple of days with us.  Clarence demonstrated his ability to "protect his handler's 'six'" as well as other skills. 

He also got a chance to see sheep up close and maintain his focus.  Good Boy!

October 17  found us loaded up and headed for the Sand Rock Classic Sheepdog Trial outside Tecumseh, Oklahoma.  Bo and Dutch got numbers, but not good ones, and Dutch got a DQ on his second run.  Meg got an undeserved DQ on my first-ever run with her, but got numbers on her second.  

Bo beginning his open run

Charly & Cindy

We enjoyed the competition, and visiting with friends as we watched the runs.

All in all, it was a great weekend, and perhaps the best part was the two-day clinic I attended after the trial with Angie Coker-Sells.  

I met a lot of new friends, and both Dutch and Meg did well.  Meg was patient but focused as she waited for her turn.

The sheep were great, but this one was a little sassy.  

Here are a few more images of friends working with Angie at the clinic.

We also celebrated Sharon's birthday

We were back home…briefly…then headed down to Fredericksburg for John and Kathy Lewis’ Armadillo Sheep Dog Trial.  Dutch and Bo didn’t do especially well.  Dutch scored a 60 on one of his runs, but their other “scores” were RT and DQ.  Meg got numbers for both her runs, and outdid herself and got a check for her 6th place finish in Open Ranch 1.

No sooner had we finished the Armadillo trial, than the 2024 Texas State Sheepdog Finals were upon us.  Held November 6-9 in nearby Gatesville at the Swindall Ranch, the trial was close enough for me to drive back and forth instead of taking the RV.  Judges for the Finals were Lyle Lad and George Stambulic, who did an outstanding job.  Dutch got scores of 51 on both his runs…not great, but at least numbers.  Bo had a DQ on his first run and a 45 on his second.  Needless to say, we did not qualify for the Double Lift.  Meg got scores of 43 and 55 in her Open Ranch class and placed 11th overall out of 41 dogs.  In her Nursery class, she scored 27 and 48 and placed 10th overall out of 19 dogs. 

 

I was glad to meet one of Dutch's pups, Kay Stephens' Drifter, shown below with Kay and Lauren Galia, the pup's breeder.  

One of the highlights of the trial was the announcement of the Texas Sheep Dog Hall of Fame inaugural class.  I was thrilled that good friend and mentor, Allen Mills was one of the inductees, along with Francis and (posthumously) E.B. Raley.  The first dog inducted was Emil Luedecke's Ben, Meg's great-great grandfather on her mother's side.  

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...the landscape was changing.  The drought of the previous three years has taken a toll.  We have lost over 90% of our pecan trees, especially the big, old ones.  The post oaks have been hit hard, too.  Allan was able to find someone in the Waco area who has a sawmill.  In exchange for 75% of the lumber, he and his crew have cut and stacked over 100 trees over 16" in diameter.  They have hauled out a number of them, and will be back for the rest as they have time and space.  We will receive 25% of the lumber, which will be cut into 2" thick planks and dried. 

 We held our collective breath as the driver maneuvered this load out our front gate.

Only a week after the Texas Finals, my friend Charly Kronberger and I put our heads together and decided to celebrate our birthdays (November 16 and 20) attending lessons in Oklahoma with Angie Coker-Sells.  On Friday, we loaded up and drove Charly's LQ to Tecumseh, where on Saturday each of our four dogs had two lessons with Angie.  The dogs worked well, and my take-away was that both Dutch and Meg were doing great, but that their handler needed to improve on her timing and on watching the sheep!  Great advice from an outstanding trainer/handler. 

Below are some photos from the lessons. 

 

Charly & Floyd

I’m enjoying all my dogs, and look forward to improving our performance with the new set of panels that John made for me!