Meeker Prep in Buffalo

There was so much more to our Buffalo visit.  The dogs and I had great experiences working sheep with good friends Linda Lulias and Wendy Auzqui!  Linda lives just 10 minutes outside of town, and we were able to do some arena work as well as some short outruns at her place. Here are a couple of shots of Linda working stock.

Linda's good dogs, Roxie and Jessi, have competed in a number of trials, and Linda and I enjoy comparing notes and giving each other feedback on our runs.  

Another good friend I always enjoy working with in the area is Wendy Auzqui.  I first met Wendy in August of 2015 when we were staying in nearby Sheridan.  I had been taking herding lessons with my border collie, Rue, prior to leaving Texas, but had not had a chance to work her while we were on the road.  I contacted the Wyoming Stock Dog Association, and they gave me Wendy’s name.  She and her husband, John, ranch east of Sheridan in Clearmont, Wyoming, and Wendy is well-known for her skill in training and working with border collies as well as being quite a cowgirl.  Before she began training herding dogs, she broke colts, but says that dogs are more fun.  She and her husband also we quite a team-roping partnership.

Wendy knows me and my dogs well.  She is insightful, and understands both border collies and people.  Wendy has been such a positive influence in my growth as a handler.  She has helped me with Rue and Bo, and was instrumental in bringing my good dog, Cody, into the Bagley Pack.  Since then, she has helped me with Dutch and Meg, who this trip on preparing for the upcoming Meeker Sheep Dog Trial in September.  Wendy and I, and hopefully Linda, will all be competing at Meeker this year, so we can cheer each other on.

Meeker is a long, difficult course, so Wendy and I challenged Dutch and Meg to rough terrain and crafty Wyoming range ewes.  Here are some photos from our sessions.  Thanks, Wendy, for the opportunity to work with you and for all the videos! 

We were working with about 40 Wyoming range ewes.  Dutch drove them across the flat and up behind a hill for Meg to find and fetch.  

The sheep are hiding behind the hill some 500-600 yards away

Meg is the small, black dot going over the top of the hill

And down came the sheep

Dutch showed no hesitation in crossing Clear Creek to find his sheep

He brought them across the creek and up the bank with no hesitation

Dutch had some challenging gathers along Clear Creek.  This one was particularly difficult because he couldn't see the sheep, and had to navigate the steep creek banks to find and fetch them.  But he did a great job and I was proud of him.

I also took the opportunity to have Wendy take a look at my two seven-month-old pups, Tess and Bit.  Each had a few minutes in Wendy's round pen with some Wyoming range ewes.  Both were quite "keen" and wasted no time getting acquainted with the sheep under Wendy's careful supervision.  

It was a great couple of weeks doing what I like best.

Ride ‘em Cowgirls!

All too soon, it was time to hook up and head west again.  One of our goals for this year’s trip was to return to Buffalo, Wyoming, one of our favorite places to visit.  We had been uninvited to stay at our previous camping spot at Deer Park RV because they said we had too many dogs.  Imagine that…. Instead, we camped for another ten days at the lovely Johnson County Fairgrounds.    Our beautiful, shady site had 50 amp service, and the water faucet was just a hose length away.  

The fairgrounds have plenty of space for dogs to run, and there was even a resident pronghorn.  The first time I took Bit out for a little off-leash run, she spotted him and was off in pursuit in a flash.  My heart almost stopped, and I began frantically calling her, using my recall whistle and shouting for her to lie down.  Nothing worked.  Bit and the pronghorn disappeared into the trees, and I had no way of knowing what lay on the other side.  The fairgrounds are fenced...well, except for the access roads.  I was terrified that they might find one of them and leave the grounds.  Thankfully, in about 5 minutes or so (though it felt much longer) Bit came trotting out of the trees, tongue lolling and a smile on her face.  

We didn't see the pronghorn for several days, but when we did, he started walking toward us as John and I quickly collected the dogs and headed back for our camp sight.  I don't know if the pronghorn was looking for a handout or revenge, but we weren't waiting around to find out.

An added benefit this year of Tuesday night performances of the Johnson County Cowgirl Rodeo.  We had no sooner settled in on the Tuesday we arrived than horse trailers…it seemed like a hundred of them…began arriving.  In no time at all, the rodeo arena and grounds were alive with cowgirls on their horses and the competition began.  As I said, we had the opportunity to attend two of the performances, and I took a bejillion images.  Here are some of my favorites, and I will try to post some on the Johnson County Cowgirl Facebook page as well.

The grandstands are covered, and after dark the arena was well-lit so we had a great opportunity to watch.  And, I had a good opportunity to try out some new camera equipment.  There were barrel races for cowgirls of all ages, and a few young cowboys as well.

And then, there was pole bending that happened almost at our feet, again with the young and the young at heart, sometimes with the help of Mom or Dad. 

The goat roping followed, and I laughed until I cried, but the young competitors were all business.

 There was also roping, but it was getting dark so I don't have many photos of those cowgirls.