Bow River Classic - Day 2

We were awakened bright and early by the judge's arrival in a bush plane. Grant Armstrong, the pilot and our host was giving him and a Schmaltz nephew, who was working in set out, a tour of the prairie before another long day of judging.
We started with the nursery class and Reba was first to the post. Scott switched it up on her and sent her the opposite direction from the day before. It was good schooling for her since the outruns were difficult. She pulled up a little short this time but then got going. The first set out of the gate were pretty hopped up (and were standing out when the plane buzzed by and got stirred up) and Reba had her work cut out for her corralling them. She made a bad turn on the third leg of the drive because she didn't want to give up the pressure and ended up needing a rather large flank. It hurt her enough to put her in 4th and end up 2nd overall.
Nan got to the pen today but couldn't get them in and ended up with a 60. Tam almost made it to the top, in fact it looked like he was going to do it but he might have been worried about the horse because he turned around and came back the way he went.
June didn't have as nice a run as yesterday with the sheep feeling so frisky but she still managed to win the class and win the overall!
Open started shortly after with Hemp running early. He was a baaaad boy today! He overan on his outrun and then didn't listen to a word I said about flanking, stopping or steadying. We missed the fetch panels but made both drive panels and got a decent shed and I kept him well out of the pen and got them in. He ended up with a 78.
Donnie was his usual unflappable self. He ran a very nice run, not quite as nice as yesterday and got a 93.
Maid was awesome today and won it!!! She tied with Thad Buckler and Nic for a 95 but beat him on the outwork, thereby insuring herself a place in the double lift along with Donnie.
Laddie was the worst today!!! I`m very angry with him. I decided to send him to the right today since he got lost on the left. I set him a little ahead of me to hopefully keep him tight and I put my hand on his collar and got him all jazzed up and ready to go before I sent him. It worked and he did a nice outrun but disappeared at the top. I called, I yelled, I pleaded but I saw no sign of him so I had to call the run, borrow a quad and make the ride of shame. Turned out, he was up there, next to the horse in position to bring the sheep but since he couldn't hear me for the wind, he wouldn`t make a move on his own. I was very unhappy to say the least and he`s lucky he got dinner tonight!
SO - I don`t have the double lift list - it`s supposed to be top 4 from yesterday and top 4 today plus 4 combined runs. Some of the dogs from yesterday qualified again today so we weren`t exactly sure how they were going to deal with that. I will put the list up tomorrow as soon as I get it.

Grant Armstrong flies our judge onto the trial field to start the morning.

Judge, Warren Mick, poses by his morning transportation.

June works to catch running sheep

Nan turns the post

Future winning trial dog, Jamie Van Ryan`s Glen.

Reba

Donnie

NURSERY 2 (15 dogs)
1. Scott Glen and June 79
2. Ian Zoerb and Zen 69
3. Wendy Schmaltz and Floss 65

OPEN 2 (54 dogs) - Scores were not finished on the board! Sorry!
1. Scott Glen and Maid 95
2. Thad Buckler and Nic 95
3. Scott Glen and Don 93
4. Peter Gonnet 92
5. Ian Zoerb and Sam 90

Bow River Classic Day One

The EID Classic in Alberta has moved locations and therefore changed names. It shall heretofore be known as the Bow River Classic. Still put on by Ian and Joanne Zoerb, it is now located on the land of Grant Armstrong, a hard working host if I ever met one. The new location is as challenging as the last one with the lift being at the top of a bowl. Both outruns have their pitfalls and dogs got lost on both sides. The honorable judge is Warren Mick, who, although staying just down the road, will be flown in to the trial tomorrow in a little passenger plane (Grant is a pilot). I'm not sure Warren is looking forward to this but as we told him, it will make a good story.
The sheep are Suffolk-y crosses and are quite nice until the end of the day when they get pretty punchy. They somehow know where the exhaust is and you have to guard against it.
Maid was a brat today, or so Scott says. She ended up with a score of 86 which wasn't all that bad but it was challenging to make her stop and that is what he was referring to.
Laddie got lost on his outrun (surprise) and needed alot of recalls to get him to the sheep. After that he was really very good. He paced nicely and handled well. Scott is trying to have me settle the dogs down more and I did what he had asked me to today. The sheep fooled me on the shed by squirting past me when I called Laddie in but we got it on the next try and couldn't get a pen because I had one girl going one way around and another going the other way. He ended up with a 72.
Donnie laid one down to win and got a 94, tying with Lee Lumb and Nan but beating her on the outwork. It wasn't easy but he just keeps it moving and brooks no opposition from the sheep.
Hemp didn't feel good to me today. Even though he was pacing nicely, he wouldn't stop or steady. Still, he nailed the outrun, made all his panels and penned (although I could have used a little more room from him at the pen). I was surprised when people told me it was a good run and he ended up with an 88 which was good enough for 6th place. Could have knocked me over with a feather.
The double lift on monday will come from the 4 top scores today, 4 tomorrow and 4 combined scores.
The nursery ran at a difficult time of day. The sun was in our face and the sheep were sure it was quittin' time. Tam almost found his sheep but got lost at the end and had to retire. Nan did ok for her lack of training time but struggled with confidence and walking directly into these belligerent sheep. June did a good job. Like her dad she walked right into them and ended up with an 82 - which gave her 2nd place. Reba was a star once again! The sheep were the worst they had been all day and she didn't care. She didn't rush them but they didn't get any ideas about trying to run her over. She won the class with an 86!

Wendy Schmaltz (Shmaltzy) shows off the latest in equestrian fashion - shorts and spurs.

Scott and June save the pen

Nan

Scott and Reba spot sheep

Reba

Set out master Chris Schmaltz trails sheep to the top

Open 1 (54 dogs)
1. Scott Glen and Don 94
2. Lee Lumb and Nan 94
3. Thad Buckler and Nic 92
4. Joanne Zoerb and Brynn 90
5. Penny Ohanjanian and Qill 89
6. Jennifer Glen and Hemp 88
7. Chris Jobe and Fly 87
8. Ian Zoerb and Freckles 87
9.Lisa Wright and Kate 86
10. Scott Glen and Maid 86

Nursery 1 (15 dogs)
1. Scott Glen and Reba 86
2. Scott Glen and June 82
3. Lee Lumb and Cass 70

Soldier Hollow

I love the last line in this video!

This Could Be Fun

With the film festival success of movies like Sweetgrass and Buck it's not surprising that the documentary world would take a look at our sheepdog trials and realize that there may be a story there too. A new film is being produced about that very subject. It follows some of the top handlers on their road to The Soldier Hollow Classic. Haley Howard, Amanda Milliken and Faansie Basson are a few of the names they profile. It's not finished yet and it is hoped that it will be ready in the spring of 2012. So, if you run into the filmmakers around the trials this year, show your support (ultimately it promotes all of us), act natural, don't look at the camera and remember to wear vertical stripes. (the camera adds 10 pounds).

LINK

Bracken And The Ewe

I thought I'd post these great pictures of Bracken from her and Scott's second run at the Wild Rose Classic. Thanks to Kristi Oikawa for taking them and letting me post them on my blog.

Stampede Pictures and Wild Rose Corrections

Thank goodness someone thought to bring a camera to the Stampede 'cause it wasn't me! Sarah Novak to the rescue. She snapped some of Laddie's second run. I wish I had made it possible for her to photograph a closed pen picture but oh well!

Lad and I walk to the post (handler's circle)

Holding Lad and signaling for sheep (the dog is disqualified if they leave the ring before you send them)

Lad turning barrels while I whistle him on

Everything looks better on the Jumbo-tron

Turning the post

Attempting the pen

So close but not enough time

Good job anyway, Laddie!

I also forgot to mention how Bracken did at the Wild Rose Classic. She didn't place either day but her runs were worth mentioning because it showed how very direct and brave she is. There are some photos floating out there on the internet of her holding off an attacking ewe that illustrate my point and I will have to try to track them down.

I also messed up on the first day placings of the Wild Rose. I mentioned Wendy Schmaltz and Fly and that would have been a feat indeed since Fly is now retired but Gin has taken her place and the Fly I mentioned was actually Chris Jobe's.
Our next trial is in a few weeks - the Bow River Classic. It is actually the old EID trial put on by Joanne and Ian Zoerb but is now in a new and improved location and so therefore deserved a new and improved title.

Stampede Day Two

Hemp didn't get a pen tonight and missed out on the finals by 0.12 of a second. Closer than I ever dreamed he would get so not so bad. Laddie was much better and although he drew an awful ewe who kept challenging him, he kept his patience and gave her her space and got her to the pen. Unfortunately, that didn't give us alot of time to get that pen so we timed out.
The good news is that Louanne Twa got both her dogs in, and Lisa got Hope in. Louanne got one of the few pens with Meg but it wasn't enough to win. In the end, Dale Montgomery won it again, and last year's champion and past reserve champion, Dave Claypool was reserve.