Bluegrass '10 Day Two

Sorry I didn't update last night. We went out to dinner and there was alot going on here at the trial so it got late.
Yesterday was a weird weather day. It was cool in the morning for quite a while but then got hot, very hot. Then a HUGE storm came in and poured crazy hard rain but cleared out about 20 minutes later and then it got humid and hot. If you look at the scores on the bluegrass website you will see the trend because the sheep reflected the weather.
Maid ran when it was still cool but the sheep are crazy in the morning (don't know which is worse, the crazy sheep in the morning or the heavy ones in the afternoon). Her lines weren't very good and the judges called a missed attempt as a shed. If you are not familiar with scoring, a missed attempt is usually 5 off your 10 point shed. If you then shed a good one on your next try, you will get away with a 5 point shed -as opposed to getting your missed attempt called as an actual shed and pointed as a bad one. Then you get only 1 point because it was so bad, even though it was actually a missed attempt. So that was what happened to Maid. Her shed got one point and they timed out on the pen. Their score was a 49 so they won't make it to the double lift on Sunday but their next run today could still give them a chance for day money.
Hemp ran after the storm in the heat. The sheep did not want to move. The 4 runs before us (with the exception of one older dog who got them off the top but didn't finish the drive) couldn't move them and the 3 runs behind me couldn't move them either. It was not a good time to run. Hemp had a good outrun and lift and then started to fly about behind his sheep so I gave him a steady and he laid down. (note to self and note to anyone else - DO NOT try to fix problems by training the day before a big trial - Hemp was running through his "there" at the last trial so I tried to fix it and ended up making him stop instead of "steady") This was a big mistake because once you have them moving you want to keep them moving. I was afraid he'd tire himself out before he got down the fetch so I thought I'd just settle him behind them but when he laid down the sheep started to graze and they didn't want to move again. I started out by whistling him up. After a few minutes, when that didn't work, I tried voice, asking him up. That didn't work so I finally started getting grumpy with him. I stressed that if he didn't get up he was going to get in alot of trouble. I thought about walking off but I've never made the walk of shame and I didn't plan on doing it on my strongest dog. We were losing ALOT of time trying to get the sheep re-lifted. One scribe told me that the Welsh judge, Hefin Jones, thought about calling me off, but when Hemp finally got them moving, he was impressed. As soon as I saw him shift them a little bit I started telling him what a good boy he was and kept him coming. I could NEVER do this with Hemp usually - he would lose his mind and race the sheep or attack them if I talked to him that much. It was dangerous but I couldn't let him lay down again. Just before the fetch panels I went back into regular mode with him and slowed him up and made the panels. The sheep like to jump over the fence to the handler's right and join the crowd for some reason so the first drive leg is dangerous. I chose to start the drive leg a little high so we could drift down onto the line and not get too close to the fence. It worked and Hemp had a great drive. He lost only 4 points from one judge and 3 points from the other. It was a very different Hemp though. He was a little fried mentally by that difficult fetch and he was actually very smooth and quiet through the drive. It allowed me to make tight turns and have good lines. When I got to the shedding ring, I knew I was about out of dog and didn't want to risk him in the heat. I decided to lay him down and see if I could maneuver a shed without having to move him much but I wasn't going to try to hard and if it didn't happen then so be it. We timed out in the shed. I was very happy with his try. It took alot of heart to move those sheep after he had stopped. (I wish he hadn't stopped in the first place but most dogs weren't moving them at that time of day anyway) He got a 64.
Kuro was the star of the day - he won the nursery class with an 84! He is now qualified for the national finals. He made all of his panels and his only problem was being a little low on the crossdrive but he did very well. We are proud of him! He definitely gets the "Most Improved" title from our kennel. I can't say enough about how good he was.
Jr. needed some help on his outrun and didn't do that well. He got a 50.
Rock, in the Pro-Novice class, retired on the drive but did fine leading up to it. We found out that the day before he had gotten a 7th place! Not bad for a dog who wasn't planning on going to the post at the start of this trip.
Lad ran early today. The sheep are very jumpy this morning and have been very difficult. I didn't think it would be too bad for us but we had a bad fetch line and although our drive lines were very good, the sheep were running and just when we thought we had the panel, they would jump around it. We missed both our drive panels and then in the shedding ring, they wouldn't let me or Lad near them. I had a big hole and called Lad in but he didn't come in fast enough and we had a missed attempt. I decided to call the run and retire. The score wasn't competitive anymore and the judges have 134 runs plus a double lift (plus they have been judging on the nursery field for 2 days) - I didn't want to waste any one's time. He had given his best shed in his last run and the judges didn't like it well enough to call it so I figured this wasn't getting any better. We are very sad as he likely doesn't have enough points to make it to the nationals this year either.
Maid runs later today, and Hemp has about a 10:30 draw tomorrow which is a good time to run. The sheep will be a little more settled than first thing in the morning and it should still be coolish. I will try to refocus and shake off the doldrums so that Hemp will have his best shot.

Plumb Lucky '10 - Day Four

Yesterday, the last day of Plumb Lucky, was another beautiful day. Such a nice farm and wonderful people put this trial on that it was good to see them have mild weather to go along with the great trial. The wind came up again in the afternoon but it's not that there was no hearing, the dogs just had to be more careful and listen. Hemp tried very hard to listen and was working well but sometimes he'd have great short flanks and then I'd ask for a big flank and he'd over run it a little. I don't think he was being disobedient because he was trying really hard to be good. I'm happy with him. We again missed the crossdrive gate but had a great pen and I was so proud of his shed. We had a good cut and there is no hesitation in him about coming in and holding and it boosts my confidence to know he'll always come in. We ended up with an 87 AND got his first 6 USBCHA points of the year! I'm really happy with him.
Maid definitely had some difficulty with the hearing but stuck with it and Scott used it as a training opportunity to square out her flanks on the shed.
Scott had a great run with Donnie.

Don on the fetch

Really nice around the course but when he missed the crossdrive gates he knew he wouldn't win so he trained on him at the pen and shed instead.

Scott and Don at the pen

He finished with an 83 and was in 14th place.
Nursery was rough again. Scott said he was again happy with Kuro and Sweep but the sheep running for the barn was just too difficult at this point in their training. They worked hard and learned alot and should be ready for the next trial.

Sweep catching running sheep

Sava and Scott did well in the Open Ranch. She had a big improvement over the day before. She had a reasonable outrun but the sheep ran for the barn again and the fetch gates were missed. Other than that she had a 73 and was fifth. Scott really liked my Megan in this class. He still retired her early but he said the she didn't get pushed around on the fetch which he liked. She had some trouble on the drive away so he retired before she learned any bad habits.
Scott was very pleased with the Ranch dogs, Badger and Kyzer. Badger really shined and took first place!!! Kyzer wasn't far behind and was third!
Many thanks again to the Fleming family, Thad, Kelly Whitney and Wyatt. Additional thanks to Deb and John Cleveland who do all the paperwork and help keep the trial running smoothly.
We are off to Michigan for a week of training on our own dogs and Scott has a clinic. We will get to Shaker Village at the end of next week.

Open 3
1. Alasdair MacRae and Star 95
2. Alasdair MacRae and Nap 94
3. Stephanie Goaracke and Liz 94
4. Kathy Knox and Sal 94
5. Vergil Holland and Dally 93
6. Mariana and Penny 93 (a daughter of Scott's Pleat!)
7. Tricia MacRae and Cap 91
8. Chuck Dimit and Luke 88
9. Jennifer Glen and Hemp 87
10. Nancy Duley and Ben 86

Nursery 4
1. Alasdair MacRae and Nick 86
2. Stephanie Goaracke and Gwynn 85
3. Vicki Kidd and Macy 85
4. Vergil Holland and Scott 81
5. Don Russell and Molly 81
6. Tricia MacRae and Tess 80
7. Paul Tucker and Tyne 77
8. Alasdair MacRae and Hoss 77
9. Chuck Dimit and Cole 76
10. Ron Enzeroth and Jake 74

Open Ranch 2
1. Alasdair MacRae and Hoss 82
2. Linda Meyer and Faith 82
3. Don Russell and Molly 82
4. Catherine Laria and Rae 79
5. Scott Glen and Sava 73
6. Mike Schragel and Jake 73
7. Orville Maxwell and Elva 70
8. Steve Kunkle and Dollar 70
9. Robin Reasoner and Hawke 69
10. Lise Anderson and Mack 58

Ranch 2
1. Scott Glen and Badger 71
2. Vergil Holland and Trim 70
3. Scott Glen and Kyzer 68
4. Lyle Lad and Billy 68
5. Alasdair MacRae and Nick 67
6. Chuck Dimit and Cole 65
7. Nancy Duley and Jock 59
8. Susan Abrams and Kacee 58
9. Caryn Miller and Tess 57
10. Marianna Schreeder and Soot 54

Novice 2
1. Sam Smith and Pip 57
2. Terry Wright and Witt 43
3. Whitney Fleming and TJ 37

Hepnner St. Patrick's Day Trial - third report

Donnie's run held up yesterday so he has won his first open trial on his first time to the post! The last 4 runs of the first trial didn't upset any of the other scores so what I reported yesterday stayed the same.
Scott said the weather today was beautiful. Sunny but not too hot to run dogs. He was pleased with both of his dogs today but he didn't score as well as yesterday. Donnie got a 79 and Scott said he looked his age (barely 3) and needed some more seasoning. They missed the drive gates and had a wide last leg but what hurt him the most was no pen which apparently was a handler error
Maid was much better today and scored an 84 with no pen so she was able to redeem herself from yesterday.
Scott has a long haul tonight to get to Washington for a clinic so he was unable to stay until the end but said that Karen Child and Rock had a 96 and were leading. With their 86 from the day before, it looks like she will have the overall wrapped up too since the other contenders didn't have as good of runs today as they did yesterday.

Heppner St. Patricks Day Trial 2010 - first report

Scott's trial season has started! But I'm afraid the first run of the year hasn't been so hot -hopefully it's not a sign of things to come!
The weather at Heppner started a little cold and rainy and the wind is in your face but Scott said the dogs are hearing so it's ok, and the sun has started to peak out.
His run with Maid didn't go anywhere. The sheep were getting grumpier as the day progressed and maybe that has to do with the wind. Scott thought he had a plan to keep her off the sheep on the lift. It seemed to work well for others but it didn't go that way for Maid. She lifted them off the hay and had them moving when Scott stopped her to give them some room to move. It was the wrong thing to do and the sheep tried to go back to the hay by pushing on Maid. Long story short, Maid ate one and Scott retired.
Hopefully Don's run will go better this evening.
As of 2PM Pacific time the leader was Lavon Calzacorta (with Tess I believe) with an 89. Lynn Johson (with Jessie I think) and Elizabeth Baker with Rye were tied for second and third with an 87. Diane Deal (and Zorro maybe?) and Patricia Peterson with Jen were both tied with an 81 and Joe Haines and Rain had an 80. He also said that Ken Johnson with our old Drift had a great run but gripped out at the pen. (better luck tomorrow, Ken!) While he was giving me his report, he said that Pearse Ward and Riell had just had a nice one but he didn't have a score on him yet.
His next report will probably not be until tonight but I will post what I hear.

Canadian Open Second Round- First Update

Scott and Maid ran their second course around 6PM last night. It was starting to be cool and the sheep were getting better but Maid didn't luck out with her set. She got a high headed running Suffolk that just wouldn't slow down. The run got crazy and she missed all of her panels with the exception of two ewes who went through the drive panels. She actually did get the pen (which is now a different pen - it's more solid to make the sheep more comfortable, but smaller which won't, so time will tell if it is an improvement - so far it's not) but on her shed she gripped off.
Hemp and I ran our second round at about 8PM. It was nice and cool and the shadows were gone so I could see real well. They set our sheep high on the hill. Higher than they have been setting them and they did lose them twice on his outrun but he took his redirect and had a nice lift. He was pretty straight down the fetch line with a little bobble at the panels. Our drive was nice and we made all our panels. Hemp is really trying to work with me and although his stop was off, he was still controllable and even made the crossdrive panels by using a little "intelligent disobedience" taking a different flank than I asked. Turned out he was right. The same thing happened at the pen. We lost the sheep around and around and I asked him to go one way which wasn't working and he took it upon himself to go the other way and he got them stopped in the mouth. I had to get down low to keep those sheep from busting through the rope - many a handler is sporting a rope burn because the sheep ran through the rope. (can I say how proud I am of him getting the idea how to pen when 2 weeks ago we had never penned in our entire trialing career?!) We got them in and then ran to the shedding ring with about a minute left. I couldn't take as fast a shed as last time and probably lost a point or two setting it up but Hemp came in beautifully and had an eye to eye stop on one ewe before the judge called it. I was thrilled with that because he's never had one look at him like that before and I know that this past winter, he would have let that girl go. Wish I had a picture! Anyway, his score was a 74 which is much improved from his last one but it won't be enough to get us in the double lift on Sunday. Hopefully, we'll have Scott and Drift to root on. They run late today along with Lad and I.
THIS JUST IN...
Grant Musgrove (Hemp and Maid's breeder) just laid down a 90 this morning with his 11 year old Sam!

EID Double Lift

We started the double lift at 8AM this morning. Fortunately, the day stayed cool until the last 4 runs. Hemp and I were first up. He's never turned back away from home and is only about 1/2 way trained with his turn back. He has NO idea how to do an international shed. I know I said I'd be more ready for this if I got in again, and Hemp is better than Lad was at the Bluegrass, but Lad is much further along with his international shed since then. No matter. Hemp was the dog in the double lift so we had to give it ago. He found his first sheep easily to my left but argued with me about bringing them at an angle. At one point, I thought I was letting them drift and holding him in a down and in the early morning light I was fooled and they were actually going back up the hill! I figured it out and we were on our way but not exactly at a great diagonal. However, we made the panels and I stopped him to let the sheep drift to the turn back post. I had hoped to break the the pull on them but when I flanked Hemp over on a come bye, he didn't open the flank enough and just flanked onto the sheep. I tried a turn back but it didn't work and he took an away on his sheep. I stopped him (already a cross over) and flanked him back over, this time with an open flank. I knew that if he got too far away from the turn back post he wasn't going to be able to see the sheep so I told him "Look!" again, and back he went. I gave him one away whistle and he took it, deep into the dip and out and around the second set. He brought them through the panels (a little off line) and joined his first set up.

Hemp joining his two sets of sheep

He was hard to hold on the drive and loved pushing on the 16 sheep.

Hemp and I starting the drive

We made all our panels and got to the shed. Then we came to a complete stop. We had only 16 sheep and 5 collared ones. It felt like I could never group more than 2 sheep without a collared one getting in there and the only time I had a semblance of a cut, Hemp didn't understand and messed it up. I'm embarrassed to say we got no cuts but when I ran out of time and walked off, the other handlers said they would be surprised if any sheds got done. This didn't come to pass, but there were only 4 sheds the whole day and only 3 pens.
Scott and Lucy's run didn't go as well. Lucy found her first set but struggled with the idea of a dog leg fetch. Her line was very off and when it came time for her turn back she didn't want to go blind. There was no way for her to see the sheep and she just isn't confident enough yet with her turn back to just go. Scott tried for a little while but he didn't want to ruin her so he retired.
Scott and Drift were up fifth. Drift had a good first outrun, but struggled a little on the turn back. He flanked around into the dip a couple times, but always came back to his first set. Finally, Scott convinced him to go back and he found his second set. He was good around the course and handled well. He actually got most of his shed and was left with one ewe and no pull to the sloughed sheep because they had wandered off. Scott was almost out of time when they finally got the last ewe off. There was nothing else to do but just hold her off and show that he had control of the shed to keep all his points when the time was called.
Then Maid was up. Once again, the first set of sheep were no problem. She had a decent line to the fetch panels but lost a couple around them (a lot of dogs had this happen) She needed two whistles on her turn back but crossed when she went back. Scott made her go out on the side she started on and she finally committed.

Maid picking up her second set of sheep

Once she found them, things went well from that point on. She was definitely feeling her oats and I always feared she was going to grip off but she never did.

Maid and her sheep turning the drive away panel

The difficult shed was made to look easy because Scott and Maid teamed up and did it picture perfect. The sheep just slipped between them. The first sloughed sheep again took off and Scott was left with only two uncollared ewes to shed off. He got them off but they didn't go far.

Scott and Maid shedding off the last two sheep

He kept a wary eye on them as he and Maid moved the collared sheep to the pen. The sloughed two stayed nearby and bleated to their companions who were being penned. It looked like they were all going in when one ewe slipped around the side. It was tense for a minute but then Maid brought her back and in she went!

Maid catching a run away ewe at the pen while the two sloughed sheep look on behind Scott

It was a very good run but with the cross over, it didn't beat Beverly Lambert and her good Hemp who won the whole thing. Maid ended up second and Drift 4th. Scott and Maid also won the best shed award (a new hat) and came home with a beautiful Border Fine Arts trophy for the first two day's wins. For reserve champion he won a classy new jacket.

Double Lift Results (13 dogs):
1. Bev Lambert and Hemp
2. Scott Glen and Maid
3. Ian Zoerb and Peg
4. Scott Glen and Drift
5. George Stambulic and Kate
6. Bev Lambert and Mirk
7. Jennifer Glen and Hemp
8. Stormy Winters and Roy
9. Jennifer L' Arrivee and Spot
Corey Perry and Jill RT
Scott Glen and Lucy RT
Lee Lumb and Nan DQ
Peter Gonnet and Jill DQ

Best Outwork: Bev Lambert and Hemp
Best Drive: Bev Lambert and Hemp
Best Shed: Scott Glen and Maid
Best Pen: Ian Zoerb and Peg

EID Classic Day Two

Today started out nice and cool - just right in fact, but got very hot in the afternoon with no breeze. Our first class was the Pro-Novice. Scott and Donnie started the day and it was another great run. Donnie didn't miss a step and finished with an 84. Let me end your suspense now and let you know that Don won the class again and got the overall award for the pro-novice. Unfortunately, Tuque didn't get out to her sheep today. She understands how to go up a hill to get her sheep, she just can't comprehend how to go back down a dip and then back up another hill. Scott has some ideas for her and we have a little while before the finals. However, I think the finals will be a flat field and she'll get out there just fine. Shortly after, Sleat and Scott ran.

Sleat with a great turn around the crossdrive panels

She needed one redirect and a little chastisement but after that she ran so nice she got a 74 and a second place!

Sleat in her 2nd place run

She was also 3rd for the overall Pro Novice.
River and I ran next.

River starting out on his fetch

I was again proud of him. He needed two redirects on his outrun but even tho he doesn't like the horse setting out, he got over it and took the flank I asked of him.

River and I turning the post

He made all his panels and had a nice pace. Sometimes it's hard to hold him on the line but he is trying.

River on his drive

We had a nice pen and got a 66 for a score today which put him in 6th place!

Pro-Novice Day Two : 22 dogs (unofficial)
1. Scott Glen and Don
2. Scott Glen and Sleat
3. George Stambulic and Bill
4. Chris Jobe and Fly
5. Bev Lambert and Esther
6. Jennifer Glen and River
7. Peter Gonnet and Meg
8. Lee Lumb and Rex
9. Ian Zoerb and Lexi
10. 11. Gayle Cochlan and Leah
Louane Twa and Rob (tie not broken

We had a wonderful "half time" entertainment in the form of the only handler running in the 4-H class. Wendy and Chris Schmaltz's six year old nephew, Joey and his dog Joy ran a course.

Joey and Joy spotting sheep at the post

Joy is 8 years old and has only lived with Joey for a few months but watching Joy follow her young master around the trial you would swear they had been together for years. With Aunt Wendy coaching from the sidelines this pair stayed calm and had an enjoyable run.

Joey and Joy heading towards the pen

The Open class started in the afternoon. Hemp and I were third to the post and we did our best. We made all our panels and even made the pen! He was a little pushy but working well and after a nice single we got an 81. Scott and Drift ran a little later and had a smooth run without incident and they finished with an 86. Scott then ran Lucy who had a really nice run that was similar to the day before. Her final score was an 83. Maid and Scott then ran another great run. Other than a bobble on the fetch she was really smooth and listening well. She again won the class with an 89 and won the overall for the open too. I ran Lad at the end of the day and even tho it was hot, the sheep were really running, even when you kept the dog off. It made for wide turns and when the sheep passed the pen, I realized there was no chance of him getting into the double lift and I retired before he got too hot chasing sheep around the pen.

Open Day Two: 42 dogs (unofficial)
1. Scott Glen and Maid
2. Lee Lumb and Nan
3. Jennifer L'Arrivee and Spot
4. Scott Glen and Drift
5. Ian Zoerb and Peg
6. 7. Peter Gonnet and Jill
Wendy Schmaltz and Gin (tie not broken)
8. 9. George Stambulic and Kate
Scott Glen and Lucy (tie not broken
10. Bev Lambert and Hemp

They were going to take 12 handlers to the double lift but ended up taking 13 because the last 4 dogs were tied with a 156. The good news is I made it in with Hemp! The bad news is that he drew up first and he is not finished with his turn back training. This is a hard outrun and I was hoping to let him see one of the lifts so I don't expect much but at least it will be over early. Scott made it in with all 3 of his open dogs! He drew up 3rd with Lucy, 5th with Drift, and 8th with Maid.
Double lift competitors: (not in running order)
1. Scott Glen and Maid
2. Ian Zoerb and Peg
3. Bev Lambert and Hemp
4. Peter Gonnet and Jill
5. Jennifer L'Arrivee and Spot
6. Scott Glen and Lucy
7. Lee Lumb and Nan
8. Scott Glen and Drift
9. Bev Lambert and Mirk
10. Stormy Winters and Roy
11. George Stambulic and Kate
12. Corey Perry and Jill
13. Jennifer Glen and Hemp

EID Classic Day One

August 21, 22, &23, 2009 Brooks Alberta: Jo Anne and Ian Zoerb's EID Classic Sheepdog Trial is always a quality trial worth attending, but this year, it is also a great warm up for the Canadian Championship held next week and of course the up coming Soldier Hollow, Meeker and National finals. The angle of the outrun has changed a little bit from the past years but it's still difficult terrain. The dogs can see the sheep, set on horseback, when they leave the post, but go down in some dips and up some hills that can confuse them. The sheep are the same as we had in the One Tree trials - also put on by Jo Anne and Ian but they are much better behaved at this one. I thought they would go round and round the pen as they did in the last trial, but other than sneaking their nose around the corner, they penned pretty easy. Thad Buckler was our judge.
We started the day complaining that it was too cold and ended the day complaining that it was too hot. The wind stayed pretty steady all day blowing from our left on some runs and in our faces on others. There was maybe a little hearing compromised at the drive panel but it seemed that the dogs that wanted to listen, heard just fine.
The open class was first and Stormy Winters and Roy had a very good run, making all his panels and pen. Perhaps the only criticism was when he called his dog in on the shed and it turned first on the wrong sheep but then turned around to the right ones.
Scott and Maid ran 11th and showed us how to do it.

Maid pacing her sheep around the course

She needed one redirect on her outrun and after that, Scott concentrated on keeping her pace instead of having to stop her. She had a good pen and shed and ended up with a 90 point run which remained unbeaten for the rest of the day.

Maid on her winning run

Lad and I ran 17th and had a beautiful run up to the shed. He got a little lost on the outrun but fixed it himself without me having to whistle. His fetch and drive were really nice but he wouldn't come in on the shed. I think we had 3 missed attempts before we finally got it and had one circle around the pen before they went in. He ended up with a 71.
Hemp was clean on his outrun but overran at the top. After that, he was not as precise as I would like but we got through the course, making our panels and getting the shed. He had one turn around the pen and then they went in. His final score was a 75.
Scott ran Drift 35th and had a decent run but some difficulty with one ewe. He got his shed on the first try which was becoming a problem for many people who were expecting their dogs to come in but were surprised when they didn't . Most likely, it caused by the sheep curling around the handler.
The last of our dogs to run was Dian Pagel's Lucy, who was run by Scott at this trial. It was hoped that I would run Lucy at the Nationals, but it doesn't look like she is going to have enough points to go so Scott ran her here since he knows her better than me. Lucy only needed one redirect on her outrun and then got out there and had a nice fetch. She had to grip a challenging ewe on the drive but once that was taken care of, the sheep realized they couldn't push this little red dog around. She had a nice shed and pen and got a 76.

Open Round One: 43 dogs (unofficial)
1. Scott Glen and Maid
2. Correy Perry and Jill
3. Bev Lambert and Hemp
4. George Stambulic and Gyp
5. Stormy Winters and Roy
6. Ian Zoerb and Peg
7.8.9. Bev Lambert and Mirk
Wendy Schmaltz and Fly
Dale Montgomery (ties not broken)
10. Peter Gonnet and Jill

On to the Pro Novice class. Gayle Cochlan and her Leah were up first and no runs got any better after she laid down her 75 point run. The second highest run went to Scott and Don who missed their fetch gate and other than that had a really good run. Tuque and I ran 15th and were running with a handicap. Tuque had tore up the pads of her feet during our practice runs this week and had to wear bandages to the post. She felt good enough when the bandages were put on that I had no hesitation in running her. We have been working on teaching her a "get out" so that when she is confused on her outrun I can help her. She understands how to go up a hill but not down the other side and up the next one so she tried to crossover again. She didn't get much for her outrun, but I got her out there and maybe tomorrow she will remember where she found them. After that she settle down and had a nice controlled fetch and a decent drive but we lost so much time getting her out on the outrun that we ran out of time on the third leg and got no points for the drive. He outrun lift and fetch were a 23. Next to last was Scott and Sleat. Unfortunately, Sleat tried to crossover but Scott stopped her on the line and got her back around the way she came. The judge took 14 for that but other than that, she was still looking pretty good around the course and ended with a 68. River and I ran last and he did a pretty nice job. He needed a few redirects on his outrun but on the whole, he was easier to get out than Tuque. It was our first course completed and I was proud of him. He made all his panels and had a nice pen but his lines were a little off and we ended up with a 58.

Pro-Novice Day One: (22 dogs) unofficial

1. Gayle Cochlan and Leah
2. Scott Glen and Don
3. Chris Jobe and Fly
4. Bev Lambert and Esther
5. Scott Glen and Sleat
6. Lee Lumb and Rex
7.8. Correy Perry and Jill
Peter Gonnet and Meg (tie not broken)
9. Louanne Twa and Rob
10. 11. Abe Marshall and Maid
Jennifer Glen and River (tie not broken)

Madden Summer Classic - Day Two

We awoke on Sunday to the welcome sight of a tractor and swather cutting down some of the tall grass on the trial field. It was much easier to see your dog at the top now and it was predicted that some of the scores would be in the 90s. I was second up to the post with Lad in the Open. He needed one redirect on his outrun but I could see him at the top and had a better lift. He brought them down the fetch line a little hard but I let it go for a little bit to get them away from the trailers. It is rare that sheep find Lad too imposing but it caught up with us. I had just decided weneeded to smooth out just past the fetch panels and one of the ewes declared she wasn't going any further. She dropped her head and came at Lad who responded with a quick hit on her nose that made her jump up and turn around to continue along. I made extra sure that we took our time after that since she was still considering quitting but we managed to persuade her to finish the course. I still missed the cross drive panels but every thing else looked good and we ended up with an 84. Lucy and I were next. Unfortunately, Lucy didn't get to see any of the runs go before her on that day because my runs were too close together. I thought she might be ok anyway because she had been up there the day before, but it didn't work that way. She got more lost the second day than the first one and was pretty crazy when she finally found them. The run was very rough and we missed our fetch panels. We managed to turn the post but the sheep took off for the exhaust and Lucy had no room to give ground against the fence and ended up gripping off. I was determined to get ahold of Hemp this time. He had a great outrun and his usual good lift but he was pushing hard. I fought him around the course and managed to settle him down. We had a good drive and crossdrive and I almost made those crossdrive panels but not quite. We had another good shed but once again, no pen which is getting pretty frustrating. Our final score was a 72. Scott ran Drift again and had a very nice run making his panels and getting his shed.

Drift and Scott at the start of the drive

His pen was rough so he only ended up with an 83 which was a tie for 6th place.

Scott calling Drift in on the shed

The last Open dog to run was Maid who finished her course but it was not clean. I never did get a score for Maid. It wasn't posted and even though I asked several times I couldn't find it out. Scott said it wasn't competitive but he was happy enough with her.
Grant Musgrove with Sam, a son of Scott's old Dan showed us how some age and experience in a dog can make it look easy. Eleven year old, one eyed Sam just coasted around the course and won with a 93!

Not Sam, but Grant Musgrove watches with his next generation of winners, Alta-Pete Willow

There was a three way tie for the overall trophy in the Open class. The USBCHA national champions, Ian Zoerb and Peg, challenged Milton Scott and Ben and Laddie and I in a run off course. Milton ran first and had a great outrun and lift but his drive was off and he missed the panels. He finished with a good shed and pen. Laddie gave me everything he had. We had nice lines and FINALLY made that crossdrive panel (it was time to go for broke). The shed and pen were not clean but we only lost a few points on them. Ian had good fetch but missed a panel on his drive so he walked off before the shed. The judge's final decision was that Lad and I had won it with a 91! I was very proud to have won against such difficult competitors.

Lad and his overall Open trophy

Open Day Two -28 dogs (unofficial)
1. Grant Musgrove and Sam
2. Thad Buckler and Cora
3. Corey Perry and Jill
4. Ian Zoerb and Gyp
5. 6. Jennifer Glen and Lad
Milton Scott and Ben (tie not broken)
7. 8. Scott Glen and Drift
Ian Zoerb and Peg (tie not broken)
9. Randy Dye and Sweep
10. Penny Ohanjanian Quill

Overall Open:
1. Jennifer Glen and Lad
2. Milton Scott and Ben
3. Ian Zoerb and Peg

The Pro Novice class ran in the afternoon and was almost a copy of the day before. Scott and Sleat started the day and although the run was not as clean as the day before, they pulled off a 79 which was good enough for the win and the overall! River looked as if he had seen the sheep this time and went out with confidence but once he dropped into the first dip he was confused and never did get all the way out. Tarn surprisingly had difficulties on her outrun but only because she was trying to be good. She took Scott's redirect and continued way past the set out trailers with the sheep and into the back field. Fortunately, even though no one could see her, she could still hear Scott's recalls and came back after a long wait. Don had 3 sheep that were working together and one that just wanted to graze in the afternoon sun. He worked very hard and got her around the course but only got a 52 for his effort. I could have sworn that Tuque was going to make it to the sheep that day but once again the dip in the field fooled her and she wouldn't bend enough to look around for the hiding sheep so we retired again. Chase gave it a good effort and had a nice outrun

Andrea Anderson's XE Chase

but being slow on the fetch she missed the panels and then lost the sheep to the exhaust like many other dogs that day.

Pro Novice Day Two -23 dogs:
1. Scott Glen and Sleat
2. Thad Buckler and Nick
3. Judy Finseth and Maud
4. Chris Jobe and Fly
5. Thad Buckler and Cora
6. Scott Glen and Don

Overall Pro Novice:
1. Scott Glen and Sleat

Madden Summer Classic - Day One

August 15-16, 2009 Madden, Alberta : Denis Nagel , DVM and the Madden Ag Society put on this classy trial for the second year. The whole town of Madden gets behind the show and it gets quite a few spectators. At Saturday night's dinner, every open dog was bought in the calcutta and most of them by locals. The sheep are crossbred woolies and are the same ones that will be used in the upcoming Canadian Championships. There were a few unfit ones but most of them were good as long as you treated them well. If you chased them, the judge, Denis Nagel, didn't need to mark it, the sheep would penalize you for your bad stockwork. The weather was blissfully cool all weekend and allowed everyone to lay down their best runs. The field; Well, the field was very difficult. It had dips that tricked the dogs into coming in early on their outruns and the grass was so high in places, especially on the lift, that you couldn't see your dog. It certainly gave you practice in learning to watch your sheep instead of your dog because you had no choice.
We started with the Pro-Novice class. Scott and Don were second to the post and got a difficult draw. It was a learning experience for Don who is figuring out how to handle all types of sheep. His run earned him a 69. Susan Gilbert's Tuque and I were next to the post. She seemed to see the sheep when she left my side. She ran out with confidence but at about 150 yards out she started to come in early. I stopped her and redirected her but she didn't take it. I stopped her again and tried to bend her by chewing her out but that didn't work either. In the end, I tried to get her to bend all the way across the field but once she had crossed over and I could see she wasn't going to bend and get her sheep, I figured nothing could be gained and walked off. She clearly had no idea what I was talking about so brow beating her was not going to fix it - something to work on at home.
Scott's next run was with Andrea Anderson's Chase from Alberta. Chase is a 6 year old red bitch out of the same Meg as Maid and Hemp and is in for some brush up training work. She is incredibly honest but had pups a few months ago and hasn't gotten her vigor back yet. She did a nice but slow outrun and took her sheep politely around the course. Unfortunately she only earned a 32. Scott then ran Diane Pagel's Sleat who was definitely on her game. Apparently she has decided to peak at a good time and we are hoping this continues through the nationals. She acted as if the high grass and touchy sheep were no problem and marched them around and made all her gates. When the pen gate closed, she had earned an 82! This was enough to win the class! Shortly after Sleat, David Titcomb's River and I went to the post. I had a feeling this outrun was going to be beyond him and he just didn't have any idea where those sheep were. I gave him several redirects but he didn't understand so we retired. Next, Scott ran Tarn. Tarn is a 4yr old bitch owned by Chris Soderstrom of Fido's Farm in Olympia, Washington.

Chris Soderstom's Tarn in the high grass on the fetch

Tarn is another bitch out of Grant Musgrove's Megan and is a littermate to my Hemp but is very different from him. Tarn is very courteous to her sheep. Scott did her early training a couple of years ago but she and Chris have put alot of miles on at their working ranch since then and that has really molded her into a dog that understands sheep. She has recently come back in for shedding and turn back training and even though she had never run in a trial before, Scott thought she could handle this one and she certainly did.

Tarn having no trouble with her sheep

Because of her practical work, Tarn was able to do the outrun when many other dogs couldn't. She only needed one redirect and then took her sheep around nicely and made all her panels and pen.

Tarn at the pen

She tied for second with an 81 but her redirect on the outrun bumped her to 3rd. Not bad for her first trial!

Pro Novice Day One - 24 dogs (unofficial):
1. Scott Glen and Sleat
2.Thad Buckler and Cora
3. Scott Glen and Tarn
4. Corey Perry and Jill
5. Scott Glen and Don
6. 7. Judy Finseth and Maude
Penny Ohanjanian and Moss (Tie not broken
8. Judy Finseth and Kate
9. Thad Buckler and Scott
10. Ian Zoerb and Lexi

The Open class started in the afternoon and Scott and Drift were the first to the post. Drift took his redirect and found the sheep but his fetch was a little rough. It wasn't a bad run but wasn't great either and earned him a 65. A little later, Scott ran Maid who had one redirect on her outrun and a good lift. The sheep were coming along nicely on the fetch but shortly into it, they split in half and two ran back up to the set out. Because of the high grass, it was impossible to tell what caused it but Scott knows his dog well and has his suspicions. It looked like it couldn't be fixed but Maid went back and got them and slowly and carefully worked them back together and continued on her run. It hurt her score and she ended up with only a 78. Next, I was up to the post with Lad. He didn't need any redirects on his outrun but I couldn't see him at the top and had no idea where he was. I blew some walk up whistles and got nothing. I was getting a little worried that he was lost somewhere but since he always comes up short, I tried a comebye whistle and then a walk up. That worked. He must have been waiting for the redirect and didn't want to walk up in the wrong place. Why he didn't just move over I'll never know. After that, he had a good run but I had a hard time getting the crossdrive panels. Other than that, it was nice enough to get us an 83 which put us in a 3 way tie for second (one point behind the leaders, Ian Zoerb and Peg) but dropped us to 4th because of the slow lift. Shortly after, Diane Pagel's Lucy and I went to the post. Scott put some training on Lucy this winter but then she went home to Diane for a couple of months. She came back last week and I only had a couple of days to work her before we went to the post at this trial.

Lucy and I at the start of the outrun

She needed a couple of redirects on the outrun and I think it threw her off when she finally got there because she was a little rough on the sheep and that is very unlike her. We missed the fetch panels but got back on line and made our drive panels. I again missed the cross drive panels but we had a nice shed and pen and earned a 65 in our first trial together. Last, I ran Hemp. It was not a good run. He needed one redirect but once he got to his sheep he was wild and didn't settle. I didn't allow him to abuse the them but it was never a straight line. His one good thing was his shed but after the pen continued to be it's customary round and round, I retired.

Open Day One - 29 dogs (unofficial)
1.Ian Zoerb and Peg
2. Milton Scott and Ben
3. Ian Zoerb and Freckles
4. Jennifer Glen and Lad
5. Scott Glen and Maid
6. Milton Scott and Moss
7. George Stambulic and Gyp
8. 9. Scott Glen and Drift
Jennifer Glen and Lucy (tie not broken)
10. Grant Musgrove and Sam

One Tree Stockdog Trial

July 1 & 2, 2009 Brooks, Alberta: Ian and Jo Ann Zoerb hosted this trial to help with the complaints that, "There aren't enough trials in Alberta for us to qualify for the finals". Many thanks to them for doing it. It was a no frills trial with cheap entries, but still a little payback. It was well attended thanks to the dates - right in front of the Hilltop Trial and the Calgary Stampede and had 44 dogs in open each day. It was a tricky field with a dip parallel and just high of the crossdrive line that caused the fetch to be out of sight for a good 10 seconds plus. Randy Dye did the judging honors on the first day and Ian took over on the second. Once again, I'm sorry for the lack of photos (I took some, really I did but they were erased) but I will be back at this trial at the end of July and I will get some photos of the course then.
It's been so long since the trial, you will have to forgive my memory and I just have notes. I am working on a way to use my lap top in Canada - right now it is only set up to use in the US and when I am in Canada, I have to wait until I get back to my home computer to do updates - I know, excuses and no pictures, what's next?
On day one, Lad was 9th up. Scott had told me to give him a redirect on his outrun if he entered the coolie too straight. He ignored my whistle and when he came out of the dip, he was in danger of crossing over. Fortunately, he took my stop whistle immediately and bent out on the redirect to get behind the sheep correctly. He had a nice fetch and had no problems with the out of sight time. He did have a bad leader sheep and it gave us trouble on the crossdrive which was just on the edge of the dip. He worked his butt off keeping her in line but she was one of those that will keep you from winning. Lad himself helped us not win by not coming in on the shed when I first called him (the sheep wrapped around me and he's not one to save you). We timed out on the pen and ended up with a horrible 56.
Scott ran Drift next and had a really nice run with a final score of 83. I can't remember exact details but my notes say "Good run" He ended up 5th overall.
I know I'm awful but my notes on Maid say the same thing. Her score was a 91 and she finished in third place.
Roo was back to his old tricks and crossed over at the top so Scott used the opportunity to remind him that he wasn't tied to the post and ran down the field to emphasise the fact.
Hemp's outrun and lift were his usual success but the trouble I'd been having on the down was still plaguing us. He had no trouble being out of sight on the fetch, and he did manage to get a 75 which was good for 9th place and a half of a USBCHA point.
There were 19 dogs in the nursery class and they had 3 days of nursery.
Scott and Sleat battled on the outrun all three days but she was driving with alot more power. Don looked good every time he went to the post and took home a 3rd, and two firsts.
The second day of Open Maid had the difficult sheep. (we all have to take our turns) She actually handled them really well but took out her frustration when she goosed them on the third leg of the drive and was pointed for it. Her shed looked really nice and her final score was a 72.
Hemp was better the second day and although he scored only a little higher at a 78 - it helped him land a 6th place which gave him a few more points. He's up to 9 points now and I don't think it will be enough yet to get him into the national finals. He has two more times to the post at the end of July - so hopefully that will give him the remaining points he needs. He has, however, now qualified for the Canadian and Western Canadian Championships.
Roo's second run was considerably better. He needed some redirects on the outrun but then showed how good he could be around the course and how sheep really like him if he'd just settle down. His final score was a 76 which was good enough for 8th place.
Lad didn't need any help on his second outrun but did pull up a little short. Since I had sent him to the left (the right had a big pile of dirt that I decided would be better to avoid) and the sheep were pulling to the right it caused his lift to be off and he continued off line into the coolie and out of it. We fixed the line after that and he had a decent drive and a good shed. The sheep went once around the pen but then we got them in. His final score was a 79 and he pulled off a 5th place.
Drift had a good run around the course, perhaps even the winning run despite missing the drive panel just short on the turn but when he came in on the shed, he held the sheep but faded back. The judge didn't call it and when Scott went to reshed, he gripped and was called off.

Open Day One: (44 dogs)
1. Ian Zoerb and Peg
2. George Stambulic and Kate
3. Scott Glen and Maid
4. Bob Stephens and RMS Pat
5. Scott Glen and Drift
6. George Stambulic and Gyp
7., 8. Danae Frew and Pace
Pam Boring and Mirk (tie not broken)
9. Jennifer Glen and Hemp
10. Ian Zoerb and Sam

Open Day Two: (43 dogs)
1. Jo Ann Zoerb and Bryn
2. Norm Sommer and Jed
3. George Stambulic and Kate
4. Wendy Schmaltz and Fly
5. Jennifer Glen and Lad
6. Jennifer Glen and Hemp
7. Carol Nelson and Jess
8. Scott Glen and Roo
9. Randy Dye and Sweep
10. Thad Buckler and Cora

Nursery Day One: (19 dogs)
1. Danae Frew and Ross
2. Pam Boring and Ben
3. Scott Glen and Don
4. Jo Ann Zoerb and Soot

Nursery Day Two:
1. Scott Glen and Don
2. Ian Zoerb and Lexi
3. Norm Sommer and Tic
4. Jo Ann Zoerb and Soot

Nursery Day Three:
1. Scott Glen and Don
2. Ian Zoerb and Lexi
3. Norm Sommer and Tic
4. Ken Price and Bud

Chinquapinwood Trial - Day Two Open

The running was incredible today! The open runs just kept getting better. Today we had a shed, pen, and single so the points were out of 110.We could take any two on the shed and any single. The running was delayed an hour this morning by a heavy fog but by 8 AM the first dog was on the course and the day stayed sunny and in the high 60s. Scott was third up with Roo. His run was much better today and his outrun was perfect. The only bad thing that happened was on the crossdrive. The drive was reversed today and the crossdrive was harder to hit than yesterday. Roo made it through, but then brought them back through again. It hurt his points and he ended up in the mid 90s (I didn't write down his exact score)
Laddie ran mid morning. It was starting to warm up so I made sure to wet him down before I ran him. His outrun and lift were good again and his fetch started out right but the sheep were heavy to the left and I had Lad bump them to try and get them back on line. I tried this a few times and before I knew it I was missing the fetch panel. They needed only one hard flank and I just misjudged how much they had changed from yesterday where only small flanks were needed. They had become much heavier. We had a nice drive line but our crossdrive was too high. Almost everyone had to banana the line to make the panel but you could only do that if you were low and I was high so we missed that one. I made very large holes for Lad to come through on both his sheds and we did lose a couple of points on each for them but I wanted to make sure he'd come through. His final score was an 89.
Drift's runs started really nice but he had some difficulties on the drive. He had a really nice line going to the first panel but he flanked too quickly on his own and shot them past the gates. His crossdrive line was too high so he also missed those panels. Both of his sheds were pretty good and his pen was nice. Even with the missed panels he got a 96.
Hemp came to the post loaded for bear. He was full of it and I knew it would be hard to hold him. He had a wobbly fetch and he ran wide around the post which allowed the sheep to start towards the exhaust but he came in and prevented a disaster and had a nice drive. We made both our panels and had a nice shed, pen and single. He ended up with a 97 which unfortunately was one point out of the placings.
In the mean time, both Alasdair MacRae with Nap and Vergil Holland with Dally had laid down some serious runs. They were tied for first with a 107!
Marianna Schreeder had also stepped up with Penny (a Pleat daughter) and had a 106. Scott and Maid were almost last to go and tried for a 107.

Maid

It was a beautiful run but he was one point short of Alasdair and Vergil's runs and ended up tying Marianna instead. The good news was that 3 of the top 4 dogs (Penny, Dally and Maid) were all started in their early training by Scott so we were proud of all of them.

Maid at the crossdrive panels - Yes, those are crossdrive panels

Alasdair and Vergil had a run off for first place. There was not much wrong with either run but Vergil missed the crossdrive panels low when he attempted to make a tight turn and Alasdair made all his panels so he took first place. Well done Alasdair!
It is also worth mentioning that Christine Henry has been running very hot these last two weekends and is often getting more than one dog in the top 10.
They didn't get to the Stockdog/ nursery class today so I will post those scores when they finish tomorrow.

Open Two: (62 dogs to the post) - ties broken
1. Alasdair MacRae and Nap 107
2. Vergil Holland and Dally 107
3. Scott Glen and Maid 106
4. Marianna Schreeder and Penny 106
5. Christine Henry and Tweed 102
6. Alasdair MacRae and Star 101
7. Chris Chambers and Tag 100
8. Mary Thompson and Coal 100
9. Tricia MacRae and Cap 100
10. Christine Henry and Rook 99

Chinquapinwood Trial - Day One Open

Lexington, Kentucky. The first day of Laura and Mike Hanley's Chinquapinwood trial started with the open class. The day was overcast and rainy most of the time but at about 4PM the sun came out. Fortunately, by then the wind had picked up enough to keep it from being too hot. There was alot more humidity this morning but it was starting to dry out by the evening. 62 dogs went to the post for Bob Washer to judge. Vergil Holland's sheep were very cooperative and there were only a few rogues to give the dogs trouble.
Hemp and I were the fifth team to the post and I'm happy to say we are starting to get with each other. He had a good outrun but a wobbly fetch although he did make his panels. His drive away was similar and we got the panel but we were still wobbly. The crossdrive at this trial is very difficult and when you look at the panels you can't tell if they are your drive away panels or your crossdrive panels by the way they are angled. Hemp and I had a little argument on the crossdrive but things started to click right about then and we came to an agreement that angled the sheep through the panels at just about a perfect position. He had one of the few full point pens and when I pulled him through on the shed it looked like he wasn't going to hold it but I gave him a flank as he was coming through and he got in the right position to hold it. His final score was a 92.
Maid ran a little later in the day and looked good the whole way around. She pulled up a little short on her outrun and when Scott blew her over she went hard and fast and caused her lift to be off. She settled after that and walked her sheep nicely around the course, made her pen and got her shed. She finished with a 93.
Roo ran next and had a little trouble with his outrun and came in too early. Scott blew him out and we were afraid the crashing at the top might resurface because of the bad outrun but it didn't! He went deep enough and picked up his sheep well but took a wrong flank on the fetch that caused him to miss his fetch panels.

Roo turning the post

After that he settled down and took the sheep nicely around the driving part of the course. His sheep lapped the pen once before going in but he had a nice shed. His final score was an 85.

Diane Pagel's Delta Bluez Roo

While Lad was waiting to run the sun came out so I quickly wet him down to help him deal with the unfamiliar heat. Amazingly enough, he managed the outrun and lift with no help from me and with full points. He had a slight wobble at the top but settled his sheep and came right on down the fetch line. A nice turn and a little wobble going through the drive gates. His crossdrive was a little low and we had to banana the sheep through the drive gates but then got back on line for the third leg. At the pen, we had the sheep jump out of the mouth but we caught them before they could do too much damage and got them penned. I was a little afraid of the shed since Lad wouldn't come in the second day of the Shaker Village trial so I made sure we had a large gap with plenty of time to come in before I called him in and it worked. Lad tied with Hemp with a 92 but beat him on the outwork. (I know. That's ironic.)
Drift ran almost last and the sheep were getting just a little aware of the exhaust.

Drift on the fetch

He had a nice outrun lift and fetch but things slowed down around the post and he had sheep that were trying to dash around him to escape. After a few minutes of struggling, Drift took a dive at one but didn't grip. Unfortunately, it cost him some points but then he marched the sheep around the course with one of the prettiest drives of the day.

Drift on the third leg of the drive

He got his pen but timed out in the shed and ended up with an 83.
It is a beautiful evening and they are going to run the first 15 dogs of the Stockdog/nursery class tonight before stopping for dinner. Tomorrow they will start again with day two of the open and then finish the first Stockdog/nursery class. I will give the placings of the Stockdog class tomorrow when it is finished. Monday they will do the second Stockdog/nursery class which has 36 dogs in it. Tonight we dine! Laura is known for hospitality and the handlers dinner is always extraordinary for a mere $5.00. Emil Ludeke is making brisket and I hear there will be fresh potato salad and baked beans and a bunch of side dishes with Laura's mother's pies for desert. I must be sure to not be late!

Notice how high the scores were!

Open Day One: (62 dogs) - ties have been broken
1. Alasdair MacRae and Star 96
2. Dee Alleyne and Rook 95
3. Lorna Savage and Zoe 95
4. Alasdair MacRae and Nap 95
5. Scott Glen and Maid 93
6. Dave Murray and Moe 92
7. Vergil Holland and Brooke 92
8. Jennifer Glen and Lad 92
9. Jennifer Glen and Hemp 92
10. Vergil Holland and Dally 91

Heppner Final Day Placings

Open Second run: (unofficial)

1. Francis Chai and Belle (beautiful run)
2. Lana Rowley and Blue
3. Karen Stanley and Meg
4. Bob Dias and McCloud
5. Scott Glen and Lucy
6. Patrick Shannahan and Riggs
7. Scott Glen and Roo
8. Francis Chai and Chime
9. Sue Wessles and Lexie
10. Scott Glen and Maid

Overall open:
1. Scott Glen and Maid
2. Patrick Shannahan and Riggs
3. Scott Glen and Roo

Nursery Day Three: (9 dogs)
1. Scott Glen and Don
2. Karen Child and Chance

Heppner Day Three

Well, Maid gets to keep her shotgun position. Although her run didn't score as well today, Scott was over the moon with how she worked. She had it won until the crossdrive when she had some running and lagging sheep and ended up with a messed up line and a panel missed. She had sheep facing her more than once and she walked into them every time with no gripping, which, if you know Maid at all, is a big step for her. Unfortunately, with the second round time shortened by 2 minutes, she ran out of time at the pen and ended up in 10th place for the day. However, she won the overall so we are very proud of her.
Lucy looked good today too. She had a missed attempt on the shed that confused Scott but after he got the sheep penned he found that she had a blind one that explained it. She was tied with Roo with a 78. Scott will be giving me the final placings this evening but he did say that 3 of the dogs ended up in the top 10.
Tuque looked better today and although the run still wasn't competitive, he was glad he chose to run her. He said she's learning alot with these sheep and smoothing out. Her last run was so much better than her first. She was still having a little trouble with her drive, but a valid excuse was that the crossdrive was the same distance as the open.
The best news was that Donnie looked stellar today and handled the sheep well, winning the nursery .
I will have the top 10 open and top 3 nursery orders up tonight.

Heppner Day Two

Unofficial placings from the first round of Open:
(ties have not been broken)
1. Scott Glen and Maid
2. Patrick Shannahan and Riggs
3. Scott Glen and Roo
4./5. Donna Eliasen and Zach
Scott Glen and Drift
6. Noel Williams and Gael
7./8. Karen Child and CBK Rock
Lana Rowley and Blue
9./10. Noel Williams and Nap
Francis Chai and Belle

Nursery first round:
1. Diane Deal and Annie
2. Patrick Shannahan and Andy
3. Patrick Shannahan running Bobbie Anderson's Tater

Scott said the wind and rain were in your face today on and off. He swore it seemed to come in every time he went to the post but then relaxed when he was done running. Drift did well in his first run today but the second run for the second round of open was not as good. The sheep are pulling hard to the exhaust and at the crossdrive gate the sheep fooled Scott. He thought they would go through but just squirted to the side at the last minute. He did finish his course but with a wide turn around the post and a bad start to the drive, he didn't think they were going to place as high in the second round. Roo was sitting second at the end of the day with a 78 but Scott didn't think it was going to hold that place. He missed a fetch gate today. Maid and Lucy will run tomorrow but currently Lana Rowley and Blue are in the lead.
In today's nursery, Scott felt that Tuque definitely handled the sheep better. The sheep kept trying her on the drive and continuing to stop and stare at her but today she walked into them. Scott said that it took too much time to get around and at the end the sheep whipped by the crossdrive gates just short of them. Scott saw that they were running out of time and the sheep ran by the pen to the exhaust. They gave him a retire which is not what he actually did but the score wasn't going to be competitive so it didn't matter. He said if the sheep are as difficult tomorrow he might not run the nursery again.
Happily, I can report that Don won today! However, Scott said this nursery was a little too hard for his young dogs but he did say that Patrick Shannahan's dogs were handling them well.
Day 2 nursery placings:
1. Scott Glen and Don
2. Patrick Shannahan and Andy
3. Karen Stanley and Clare

Tomorrow should be a shorter day with the last runs of open to go and the final run of nursery

Heppner Day One

The first day of Heppner started at 7Am and ran until dark. It was a little windy and cold today with no sun but Scott called it "a nice day for dog trialing." They did not finish all the open runs today so none of my information is final but it is current for the first day. At this point, Maid is in first place with an 89. Scott said she was a little high on her crossdrive but other than that it was a good run. There were very few pens today and Maid's was the first.
Lucy was the next to run. He was also happy with her. She is known to be extremely biddable and it's good to know that she carries that into a trial. Her youth was the only thing that got in her way with a wide turn around the post and a missed flank which caused her to miss a drive panel. She also had a rough shed. She came in nicely but Scott said it took a little time to set it up.
As of this evening, Patrick Shannahan was in second place but I didn't find out if it was with Riggs or another dog.
Roo, I am proud to say, is in third with a 79. Scott said he had a good outrun but got hung up on the trailers. If you ask me, this is because all last year he would cut in on his outruns and make a mess of the lift so he's never seen trailers on the outrun! It's a good lesson for him tho and Scott said that once he was past that he was very very good and alot of people liked the way he was working.
Scott said that after 3rd there was a crowd of people in the high 60's and that was where Lucy scored so he didn't know what place she was in.
Drift hasn't had the chance to run yet and will go tomorrow.
The nursery was a little disappointing but Scott says he has confidence that the dogs will improve on their second go tomorrow. He said Donnie was very good and perhaps he shouldn't have tried as hard to hit his fetch panels as he did. By that time the sheep had been rerun and were pulling hard to the exhaust. Don got stuck into them and didn't have as nice of flanks as he usually does. They did get their first drive leg done but Scott felt the sheep were just too much and he walked off so Don didn't loose confidence.
Tuque's run went much the same. She had a very good outrun, despite the fact that because it was dark he was sure she didn't see the sheep when she left his feet. Her fetch was also very good but on the first leg of the drive the sheep started facing her and she'd never experienced that before. She was hesitating so Scott left the post to help her out so she'd learn from it. He said he was happy with both the nursery dogs but this is just a very difficult trial for a first time out.
Actually, he was happy with all the dogs. If can get him to call in tomorrow at the end of the first trial I will post in the afternoon but otherwise, I'll get another update tomorrow night.

Off to Heppner

Yea! The first trial of the year! Boo-hoo! I don't get to go!
Scott left today for Heppner, Oregon for the St. Patrick's day trial.

Lucy and Roo waiting in their crates in the truck to leave this morning.

We still have some customer dogs here at our farm that are finishing up training and Scott likes to do a clinic at the end of this trip at Fido's Farm in Washington State, so I always stay home and mind the fort and dogs. He'll be home in 10 days to finish up training the customer dogs and then we will have 2 weeks left to finish up our trial dogs. Scott will have a jump on the season by going to Heppner where he can get a feel for how his dogs are working. It's a flat field with lambs to work so it tends to be a very difficult trial. It's not ideal for the first outing of the year but it will let him know what still needs to be worked on and how the young dogs are going to react at their first trial.
He'll be running 4 open dogs, Maid, Drift, Roo and Lucy and 2 nursery dogs. We decided to make a change for this trial with the nursery dogs. He'll still be running Don, but he's going to wait to debut Sleat until the Plum Lucky trial in April. These lambs are difficult, sometimes running and sometimes not moving so it didn't seem right to run Sleat on them when she has just started to show some confidence in driving. Tuque on the other hand, has a little bit more experience at this time of the year and is a confident driver. It seemed prudent to run her instead. (be sure to read Tuque's bio in the entry below this one)
Last year Scott thought it would be a good idea to sleep in the truck at the trial with only my Hudson's Bay blanket for warmth. After all, Admiral Byrd took one on his expeditions to the Antarctic. But Admiral Byrd must have taken several to the Antarctic because Scott found out he was not near warm enough and picked up a horrible flu. This year he is much more prepared, leaving early this morning and staying in a hotel during the trial. It should make for a much more enjoyable trip.
Maid had shotgun as they left because she won this trial last year but shotgun for the rest of the trip will be based on the dog's performances.

Maid keeping Scott company on the trip.

Scott has promised to give me updates tomorrow night. I will drag what information I can out of him but in the future, when I am at the trials, I promise pictures and scores from the top 10. I can tell you now that at Heppner there will be 53 open dogs and 15 nursery dogs. They are going to run 2 open runs over 3 days and 3 separate nurseries. The judge is Don Helsely from Idaho.