Strang Ranch Finals Benefit Trial - Day Two

Today's weather was nicer (no wind) and the sheep became much more agreeable. The nursery dogs ran first this time and Reba really did a good job today. Scott gave her one redirect for insurance on the outrun and she had a good lift. She was a little pushy but took every flank and stop that Scott gave her. She made all her panels and did some nice work at the pen with sheep that didn't want to go in. She slowed it down and kept the pressure on them but also gave correct flanks so that she didn't slice and upset them. She was rewarded with a completed pen and a score of 69 which put her in 3rd place and it got her her first nursery leg!
June put out equally as good an effort as Reba but she didn't have a very good set of sheep so she had some difficulty lining them out on the drive away. In the end she didn't get her pen but she still had a score of 62 and a 5th place.
The open started in the afternoon and everyone agreed that the sheep were better but there was still 15 DQs or RTs out of 31 dogs. Laddie led off the class and a reversed drive helped him out today but he had one ewe that wanted to run and run, taking one buddy with her but leaving the other two to graze. On his cross drive he had to work pretty hard stopping the first ewe and keeping her from running up the hill but then going back to goose the last two to keep them moving. We lost them out of the ring once on the shed because of our fast footed friend but then Laddie came in nice on a shed where the sheep were running and did a nice hold (yea! that means our winter work paid off) We wouldn't have had a full point pen because Lad was slicing a little but he did get them in. However, they were very jumpy with people and when I started to close the gate they jumped a little - having been burned by sheep running back out, I opened it up a little bit and time ran out. Laddie got a score of 70.
Donnie shined today. His lift was a little rough but he settled into his usual walk and took the sheep around with great command. He had a good shed and finished with a pen. His final score was and 87, which won the class!
Hemp was next. I was shaking in my boots when I went to the post because I was afraid he would grip again. It was very important for both of us to get around without a grip. I decided to keep his cool, I was going to have to give up panels and good lines. He had a great outrun and lift with no points off. His fetch was a little out to my left but I settled him down and made him flank out to straighten it. When he turned the post, I made sure I had ahold of him. Instead of lying him down, I made him "take time". He actually didn't have too messy of a drive but when we made the first drive panels, he over flanked a little bit and I decided that instead of making him do a tight flank to correct it, I let the sheep drift back through the panels. We had a decent crossdrive but he was over flanking a little to hold the top end so I had to flank him back behind them a few times. We missed the crossdrive panels just a little short and I left it to save the run since turning on the third leg has been our albatross that seems to be when he has started to explode. I made sure he gave ground on the next flank and lifted them nice again to bring them to the shedding ring. We had a shed set up but one sheep backed out of it so we lossed three points to a missed attempt but when I finally called him in he did a nice hold. He was very good at the pen which has been a problem in the past and we would have had a good pen but, like Laddie, I just didn't get the gate shut in time, despite the fact that the sheep were in. His score was a horrible 58 but he and I both feel better about ourselves.
Maid started her run a little crazy. The wind had come up and unsettled her and the sheep. Her fetch was rough but by the time she was at the post it settled down. She took a wrong flank on the crossdrive which is very unlike her but several people had been having trouble in the same place and it's believed that the hearing was off. She was a little pushy in the shed but got it done and had a nice pen. She got a 78 and ended up in 3rd.

Open 2 (31 dogs)
1. Scott Glen and Don 87
2. Walt and Sonia Craig 81
3. Scott Glen and Maid 78
4. Dan Keeton and Newby 76
5. Dan Keeton and York 75
6. Lise Anderson and Mack 71
7. Jennifer Glen and Lad 70
8. Ron Enzeroth and Jake 69
9. Rene LaBree and Jaz 69
10. Ron Enzeroth and Dusty 63

Nursery 2 (15 dogs)
1. Bill Orr and Roy 80
2. Joni Swanke and Sage 71
3. Scott Glen and Reba 69
4. Sonia Craig and Jen 65
5. Scott Glen and June 62
6. Bill Orr and Sly 61
7. Bridgett Strang and Treat 58