UC Hopland Sheepdog Trial, 2010

My last post was titled, "Winter is Here", but now that is far from the truth. My subtitle should be, "Summer is Back"! Or perhaps "The Summer that Never Was, is Here". We've had 80-degree and sunny weather the past few days...in mid-November!

Regardless of the weather, which was glorious and almost too warm for the dogs and sheep, we had a wonderful time at the UC Hopland sheepdog trial this past weekend. Held at the University of California research farm in Mendocino County, the trial ran Friday through Sunday with Pro-Novice and Nursery on Friday. Saturday and Sunday there were two one-day Open USBCHA trials. Fresh sheep from the university's flock were used for each and every run; how often does that happen? Not too often. I figure they must have used close to 500 sheep. Just the thought of that is mind-boggling.

The trial field is a huge grassy bowl surrounded by beautiful vistas of hills, vineyards (in their various fall colors), trees, water, and wonderful country side. The trial itself runs like clock work due to intrepid organizers, tons of savvy volunteers, and help from the university staff. The Hopland trial is one of the really special treats for sheepdog triallers in this part of the country.

Coal and I ran in the Open both Saturday and Sunday. We are very much the rookies in the field of Open dogs in our area, but I felt good about our runs. The outrun was long and foiled a lot of even the experienced dogs. The draws for the sheep back to setout and later in the day, up to the exhaust, were very strong, even though none of the sheep were re-run. These draws made the fetches, drives, sheds and pens, sometimes very difficult. But everyone loves the challenge at this site. Our Sunday run was better than our Saturday run and I walked off the field smiling at my little dog who tries so hard for me. We have lots of things to clean up but overall I am very proud of Coal and just happy to be out there livin' the dream.

So without getting too sentimental, I'm going to tell another story about livin' the dream. Twenty years ago, after I got my first border collie Alix, I started wanting to do this sheepdog thing but at the time there were just no resources close to me to pursue it. Fifteen and more years ago, with my second border collie, Augie, I finally got to do a little bit of sheepdog work but without much direction, no mentor, and no guidance, it was almost an impossible task. I had a couple of books. I had been to a clinic or two, one clinic with a very bad experience and one or two with good experiences. But Augie and I both wanted it so badly that I kept at it, no matter what improbable situation we found ourselves in. We were both green as grass. At the time I had made friends with the shepherd at the University of Illinois. He asked me to do a little demo on the sheepdog for one of his Animal Science classes. He selected some sheep for me to work with there on the farm, to prepare for the demo, with Augie. So there I was, knowing almost nothing, out in a pasture trying to practice with some blackface cull ewes who had never been worked by a dog. My dog was young, fast, tight, grippy and terribly keen. Impossible? Yes. Did I keep at it? Yes. We did that demo. It was Augie and that shepherd and those blackface ewes that I was thinking about on my drive up to UC Hopland on Sunday, and it was also Augie who was on my mind, along with my good boy Coal (who had just worked so hard with me), as we walked off that big open field with a score even though it wasn't one of the high scores. We were an improbable team but sometimes life is just too short to wait for the most probable team.

Winter is Here

The clocks have "fallen back", and the rainy season is upon us -- winter is here. After a nice sunny day yesterday, it's raining off and on "cats and dogs" here today.

Another of our winter rituals is complete. We moved some of our sheep today to the winter place that we have been offered so graciously, now for the fourth year. It is hard to believe we've done this so many times now. The three bred ewes and two young wether lambs that we trailered across town were so happy to be turned out on lush pasture. They joined the three new Scottish Blackface ewe lambs that we got this past week, along with their very own guardian dog who seemed to accept the newcomers within minutes as part of his flock. Our sheep have never had a guardian dog but they also seemed to accept the dog almost immediately.

Yesterday we had lessons in Zamora for the first time since August. As I kind of expected, each dog had his ups and downs. There is much to work on with the dogs, and with me. I am thankful that winter is training time in Northern California and I am hopeful that we will get in more lesson sessions over the coming months.

It's time to get ready for Thanksgiving...but Hopland is next on the calendar. I know it's not just me who is saying this, but the year has certainly seemed to fly by!

Point Pleasant Fall Sheepdog Trial 2010

Last Friday and Saturday Coal and I ran in the Open at the Pt. Pleasant Sheepdog trial near Elk Grove, CA. We lucked out with good weather both days even though rain had been predicted. It was only our second outing in competitive Open and the first time in Open since last April, so I was viewing the whole thing more as a practice/warmup rather than anything else. We had a really good time; the sheep were fit, the courses challenging (including a Maltese Cross instead of a pen), the company oustanding, and the dog work, of course, excellent.

Both days Coal's outrun was lacking since he has not been trained to run out through a gate in a fence, and/or do what I am calling for better or worse, a "keyhole" outrun. On Friday we ran late in the afternoon, and his lift and fetch were off line but the drive was pretty good. A split of sheep in the shedding ring was not pretty but performed well enough to move on. We timed out trying to complete the Maltese Cross but I was happy overall with Coal's purposeful, forward attitude throughout the run.

On Saturday we were up second in the early morning. The first run ended in RT because the sheep were beating up on the working dog, which was not something to give me confidence! Our sheep packet worked OK although clearly the sheep were behaving differently for everyone on Saturday versus Friday. Coal's outrun was not great but the lift and fetch were much better  than Friday's. Our drive, though, was very poor and we deservedly lost almost all of the drive points. We ended on a good note; completing the Maltese Cross assignment, but then we timed out before getting to attempt the single.

Thanks to the Spencers for putting on the trial and to everyone else who helped make the event happen.

NCWSA Fun Trial at Willowside Ranch

We had a great, if somewhat wet, weekend just past, at the Willowside Ranch just outside the tiny town of Pescadero, CA. The ranch is one of our favorite places and it was a real treat to be able to go back and trial there. NCWSA put on a fun trial including Open Ranch, Pro-Novice, and Novice-Novice classes for handlers and sheepdogs on the Willowside farm flock. The sheep were great, moving well off the dogs, but not running too much, providing a good challenge for all. The weather smiled on Saturday which was our longer day with all three classes, plus fun runs added in the afternoon. Sunday's storm made things a bit more difficult (we couldn't post scores and a few handlers did not show up for their runs) but we managed to do all the trial runs, and got things cleaned up by mid-day.

I ran Coal in Open Ranch, non-compete, as this class was for Open handlers but not Open dogs. I just wanted a chance to get out there and practice on an ISDS-style course which we have not done in a trial since April! I was really pleased as Coal was in fine form, and ran like a little top. On Saturday we missed our second drive panels (operator error) but had a nice pen and shed. On Sunday our drive was much better, had a good pen, and had just started setting up the shed when time was called. Overall they were two nice runs and Coal did everything that was asked of him in fine style. It was a real confidence builder for both of us!

Rime ran non-compete in Nov-Nov as that was the outrun length and class that suited his current training level. His outrun the first day was shaky as he didn't know what to make of the settling-vee. He has taken sheep off of a stock handler many times in practice but has never seen a funnel-chute such as was used to keep sheep contained until they were lifted. But I urged him on and after some hesitation he went 'round and picked up his sheep just fine. I was really pleased with the degree that he listened to me and while we weren't able to drive and I had to fetch the drive and cross drive, overall Rime was in good control with only a few bobbles here and there. I retired at the pen on Saturday as he was getting a bit hyped up with the close at hand work. On Sunday Rime's outrun was great, and with no hesitation. However once the sheep were out of the vee, he decided it was a tail-in-the-air moment, but soon he calmed back down and we finished the course including the pen. By this time the ground was quite muddy around the pen from the storm, so part of the challenge was staying on one's feet!

Once again I was fortunate that our friend Teri took some wonderful photos of Rime's Saturday work. A few of them are shown below but the rest are in a Picasa album, here.  I am extremely grateful to have all these fabulous photos!

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Thanks to the NCWSA and everyone who worked so hard to put on this fun trial. It seemed like everyone had a good time and found the experience very useful, whether it was to step to the post for the very first time, or to season a new dog for an experienced handler. I know I was thrilled to be able to get my boys out somewhere different, challenging, and fun for all of us. The cream of artichoke soup at Duarte's doesn't suck either!

Photos from RESDA 2010 Fall Trial

Our friend Teri was kind enough to take a series of photos of the dogs at last weekend's RESDA Fall Trial. Here is a sample each of Coal's and Rime's photos. Click on the photo to see the whole album in Picasa.



Coal





Rime

 

RESDA Fall Trial 2010

Yesterday was the final RESDA trial of the 2010 season, the traditional-course Fall Trial. Held at the Johnson Ranch in Mendocino County, and run on the ranch ewes, the Fall Trial is always a test of the best dog and handler teams in the RESDA style.

I got some pictures of some, but not all, of the dog and handler teams. They are in a Picasa album, here. The winner was Patti Sowell with her experienced Del, followed closely in second place (I believe only one point difference) by Darrell Duncan and Nell (a team which has won this trial before). Both had beautiful runs. The rest of the placings, which I won't try to quote from memory, will be posted on the RESDA website.

Creekbed behind the trial field

The day turned out to be sunny and beautiful, but was quite hot even by mid-morning, which was the undoing of Coal's Open run. He handled the ranch ewes well, which was a plus, but he got too hot so we retired at the pen. I decided it was best to save him for another day.

By afternoon while it was still hot, a bit of a breeze came up when we went to run the Pro-Novice dogs, making things a bit more tolerable. Rime was up first. We got five ewes instead of the Open three. I moved up quite a ways, leaving Rime behind the pen. He cast out nicely but when he got close to the sheep, was in for a huge surprise in that these big ewes did not just move neatly off of sight of a dog like he is used to with our dog-broke sheep. He looked at me and I urged him on around and he finally lifted them correctly and thoughtfully. This made my day! Those ewes taught him so much just in that one moment. The rest of his run was quiet and composed and we even penned. Needless to say I was quite pleased with the baby dog. Rime will turn two years old in early December and we still have a long way to go, but this was a very good experience for him. I am thankful that RESDA has a program for upcoming dogs as well as upcoming handlers.

Chiefie Birthday and Carmel

Chiefie on the beach in Carmel

Today is Chiefie's birthday; he is nine years old. We have had a wonderful vacation in the past week that included a couple of nights spent in Carmel, CA with our dear friend, Lisa. The dogs and we greatly enjoyed our trip that included a day at the lovely Carmel beach, and staying in a quaint cottage near the Carmel River and Mission. Chiefie has also had multiple back rubs and massages from Lisa who is a fabulous healer of both (wo)man and dog! We are so very fortunate! I have uploaded more Carmel photos into a Picasa album, here.

The dogs loved the beach. Coal and Chief had been there before, a couple of times, so they knew what they were in for and fairly dragged me down to the sand. Rime was a beach newbie and I was a bit concerned as to how he would handle it. But my worries were for nothing as Rime enjoyed his day as much as the others and we didn't have any problems. Well, the only problem was getting the dogs to take a rest from running, chasing waves, and otherwise playing. When we returned to our cottage that night, all three dogs were "lights-out" for several hours. Ahhhh!