Monday, March 29, 2010

Fun Weekend in Pescadero

It's been a long time since we spent some time in Pescadero but this past weekend we enjoyed another fun AHBA trial at Willowside Ranch with all the fixin's...good runs, great friends, glorious weather, and dinner at Duarte's Tavern to top it all off.

Coal had five runs over two days on goats, geese, and sheep. He got three first places and two second places. His awards included HIT on hooved stock (goats/sheep) on Sunday and the high score over the whole weekend which was his 96 point HRD-III Sunday score on goats. The overall weekend award was special in honor of remembering Duffy so it was really nice that Coal was able to win it since he grew up with Duffy helping him get started in working stock.

The Willowside Wranglers never cease to amaze with their energy and creativity. A special surprise awaited the Level III handlers on the goats and sheep ranch course as they crossed with their stock over the footbridge on the far end of the long course. What lives under a bridge, you ask? A troll!

Rime made his debut in Level I but the long course and flighty sheep were just a bit over our heads at this point. He is only 15 months old and while we made it through the first part of the course, we got in trouble when the sheep got into a corner on our way "home" so after a couple of attempts to fix it, I decided to retire rather than risk a problem. He doesn't have the skill set yet to handle all the issues that can crop up on a ranch course. We have plenty of time to work all those things out as he matures.

It's hard to come back to reality after such a nice weekend but I would like to send out a big thank you to all of the trial organizers and helpers. The Willowide group is always the best!

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