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 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

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 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.

DeltaBluez Lucy

Lucy is owned by Diane Pagel.

DeltaBluez Lucy

Scott is only going to run Lucy one time, in the Heppner trial next weekend but I thought I'd better mention her so people will know who she is. Diane bred and trained her and qualified her for the nursery nationals. She also did a little trialing on cattle. Lucy came to Scott this winter to finish her training and get her ready to compete in open with Diane.

Lucy working near the Alta-Pete Barn

Lucy's mother is a daughter of Scott's Pleat and Diane's Tess and her father was a son of Diane's Libbi. Lucy is a very nice and biddable dog. She will return home to Delta Bluez kennels after the Heppner trial to run in open with Diane.