The long (and narrow) road to trialling

We've decided that it is easier to tow a huge trailer in Chicago traffic during an Oprah Winfrey event than drive on the left hand side of a ridiculously narrow road that has a 100 km speed limit and a stone wall within inches of the side-view mirror. We've now had a few up close and personals with the brush on the "verge" (edge of the road), I hope the rental car isn't scratched. I think one road we were on through the Wicklow mountains was actually a sheep trod in disguise. The trial we were heading to was an hour and a half away which, when it feels like you are about to have a head-on collision at any moment, seems like a four hour drive. No wonder 30 minutes is more the norm.

There were about 35 runners in this local trial. Handlers with multiple dogs went first, and then when everyone is down to a single dog, they do a draw so that all the single dogs run on rerun sheep. The sheep were a mixed flock, and touchy only begins to describe them. It wasn't unusual for there to be a completely unworkable sheep in the group of four. But since most people had multiple dogs, had driven less than 30 minutes, paid five Euros to enter and the money went to charity, no one really got too fussed. The sheep were tricky to shed, and even tougher to pen as the handler and dog often had to manage an independent thinker.

Denis had a good go with his wonderful dog Bill, and even though his sheep were flying, his timing for the turns at the panels was incredible. Mary Lou had a very good run with Dyna while managing an uncooperative sheep, prompting "the boys" to ask about her breeding, who had trained her, and mutter to each other "that's a brilliant little bitch". I, on the other hand, managed to miss both drive panels with flying colours, trying to hang on to a little hogget (a one year old sheep) that wanted nothing to do with the apparently foreign ewes. I tried to do a high speed "point and shoot" at the cross drive panel, but where every other group of sheep pulled high, my little hogget decided not to play by the rules. Even so, a few asked me about Craig's breeding.

I had run fairly early, while Mary Lou and Denis had drawn up near the end of the running order, so it was fairly late when we got back to the farm.

Denis has an absolutely amazing family that works together like no family I've ever seen, and dinner was waiting when we arrived. His two daughters have been looking out for us, rescuing us when we were lost, and making the meals for everyone. This night, the evening meal was salmon with lemon and dill, and a decadent dessert with fresh strawberries, blueberries, cream, chocolate and meringue. We are wondering if they are willing to adopt two more. They have certainly made us feel like family.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Rat Salad

I can't believe how much we are learning... About sheep, about dogs, and about handling. Our dogs are flanking better, shedding better, going back better. Denis is truly brilliant with the dogs. It is incredible to watch how fast he can train a dog. The way he gets into their mind is amazing.

We decided to give our dogs a day off and go explore Dublin. After a bit of shopping, we went (where else?) to the Guinness Storehouse. Arthur Guinness was a visionary who signed a 9000 year lease for the land and water source for the famous beer. There is a lesson to be learned in his faith and belief in making Guinness beer the success it is today.

We managed to turn the wrong way out of the tourist attraction and ended up in a bad part of Dublin. Upon asking for directions, we were warned to watch our purses while walking back towards the public transit. I guess our shopping bags were a bit of a giveaway that we were tourists. After a stressful but uneventful walk to the transit, we safely boarded the light rail and headed out of the city.

When we got back, we decided to take the dogs for a walk before dinner, as they hadn't come with us on our Dublin excursion. Since we hadn't yet explored Dun Lavin, the nearby village, we decided to walk the dogs there. As we got into town to walk the dogs, we ended up talking to a woman (who spoke very fast and with a strong accent) on the street who suggested we go see Rat Salad. What? Rat Salad. We couldn't quite make out what exactly it was she was saying, but she said it was only a couple of miles up the road and it was beautiful. We thought it was probably the name of a town, so we hopped in the car again and off we went. Beyond every curve or cluster of homes that came into view, we expected to come upon a village, but none appeared. Suddenly, we passed a golf course with the name Rathsallagh. Perhaps the golf course was named after the town? No village came into sight, but a sign for the club house appeared soon after and Mary Lou, who was driving decided to chance it.

We drove up a spectacular driveway and came to a rather private looking members' clubhouse. I drew the short straw to ask for directions. Since many high end golf courses don't allow jeans and street shoes (especially shoes that may be sporting some sheep substance), I was a bit concerned about being tossed out on my duff. I walked in trying to look like I belonged there, at least hoping to get past the door. I had on a vest that looked equestrian so maybe I could pass for a rich Canadian horse person? Not likely. I ran into an Irish gentleman and told him I was looking for Rat Salad (I tried to slur it a bit as I was pretty sure that wasn't the actual name and didn't want to offend anyone). He said, with a bit of admiration, "Are you staying at the house then?" I made a non-committal kind of a noise, not really sure what "the house" was. He pointed to a nearby lane way..."Just follow that lane, it will take you there".

Back at the car, we decided to to attempt the lane, signed Rathsallagh House. It ended up being a service road that took us straight through the middle of a gorgeous golf course, with spectacular views as the light started to fade. We waved as we passed the last golfers of the day, getting a view of the course I'm sure few people get to enjoy (or are allowed to). We couldn't turn around without driving on the turf, which we knew would be a BIG faux pas so on we went. We ended up in the staff parking lot. Obviously, the fellow back at the club house decided I wasn't cut out to be a guest. We got out of the car, praying the dogs wouldn't start barking and cause us to be arrested for trespassing. We didn't know how to get back without cutting through the course again and didn't want to press our luck.

There was a very luxurious house that appeared to be housing a number of guests, so we went over to the [Reception]. There were guests eating at tables surrounded by beautiful equine memorabilia. It turned out that Rathsallagh had been converted from Queen Anne stables in 1798 into a fabulous golf course, luxurious guest house and restaurant. A very classy looking lady met us as we came in and asked if we were staying with them. I said no, but that they had been recommended to us. She led Mary Lou and me to a table near the bar. We soon met Joe O'Flynn (owner of Rathsallagh, along with his wife Kay, who had greeted us earlier) who was a huge dog lover and sporting man and over a glass of wine he told us many colourful stories that had us laughing heartily. It is amazing how dogs bring people together.

After a pleasant visit by the fire, Mary Lou decided to run to the very posh washroom (known as the "toilet" in the UK and Ireland, but we still can't bring ourselves to say it). After some time had passed, she finally reappeared. She was looking a bit sheepish (pardon the pun) and trying not to laugh at the same time...I knew something was up. As we walked out, Mary Lou whispered to me that she was so embarrassed. She had gone to pull a piece of toilet paper out of the holder before she had a seat, and the entire unit had come off the wall and landed in the toilet! She had been trying to dry everything off and so had left it on a nearby ledge to dry out. Trust us to have a grand exit, nothing is ever normal with us.

We made it back to the Birchall's just before the search party went out... I think they've all come to realize we need a bit of minding as adventures tend to follow us!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Big Field

We were invited to stay at Denis Birchall's for a few days, and today Denis suggested we go out to "the big field". He loaded up some Scottish Blackface sheep into his small (sized for Irish roads) stock trailer and we headed off.

"The big field" was an understatement. It was a massive field, wide with an 800 yard outrun and young cows bouncing around. Denis shooed the cattle away and trailered the sheep down to the far end of the field, where white sheep looked like bits of rice and darker sheep were pretty much invisible.

Both Mary Lou and I were able to send our dogs the distance, 800 yards being a first for both dogs, and it didn't take long before they were listening well at that distance, if only I had binoculars for eyes so I could give them the correct commands! Driving the sheep back up that length of field was great experience for the dogs.

Another first for me was setting out both groups of sheep for a double lift by myself. Trying to get the second group out in time was a bit stressful, but getting to try a turn back (which we each took a turn at) in that field under Denis Birchall's watchful gaze was fantastic!

So far, we really had not had any major glitches in the trip. We decided to go do a bit of shopping and give the dogs a break. As we went to pull out of the driveway, I looked at the rear right tire, which I had thought was a touch low when we picked up the car. Sure enough, the tire was almost completely flat. Fortunately Denis had an air compressor nearby and filled the tire and then directed us to a local tire shop, which fixed the tire immediately for €15 so overall the "almost" flat was relatively painless. And to top it off, we found a local coffee shop with great cappuccino and free wireless (I really like tea, but with jet lag, tea just isn't quite cutting it). We sat in the sun on the patio with a good caffeine hit, connected wirelessly to the world, dogs at hand, in a sheepdog lover's heaven, what more could one ask for? We were so relaxed, we decided the shopping could wait for another day. I could get used to this...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

First running

This morning we headed to Hollywood. Big white letters up on the side of the hill. But wait, there's sheep grazing around the letters. No, this wasn't Hollywood, California, but rather Hollywood, Ireland. There is an amazing little local fair held in Hollywood every year, where many locals dress in period costumes of the early to mid-1900s. There are antique cars, steam tractors, horse-drawn buggies, old time Irish music and it feels as if you've gone back in time. True to form, there is also a sheepdog trial.

Mary Lou and I were some of the earlier ones to arrive (around noon, very laid back around here). We had to jump a barb wire fence after throwing our dogs over it to get to the path that took us to the field. Through a cemetery, over a stone bridge crossing a small stream, walk through another small stream, you get the idea. The field was small, but the sheep were set out of sight behind a [berm]. You couldn't see the sheep and the dog had to get directed out through a gap in the brush. As a matter of fact, you couldn't see anything, it was pretty much a blind fetch until your dog hopefully brought the sheep on the small path through the brush. On top of it, the sheep were extremely touchy and they could see the exhaust. The spectators were on the field everywhere. If you sent right, your dog ran past people, who needs a fence? I wondered about the liability of it all, in North America you'd be signing waivers until the cows came home.

It was first come first served, so I walked up to take my try about the fourth go but a lady "needed to make the boat", so she went ahead of me.

I sent Craig right, and he went out beautifully, and didn't need a redirect. He'd seen a few previous runs and worked out where the sheep were. He overshot a bit and the only reason I knew was I had a glance of sheep heads going sideways (it's a good job I'm tall). I whistled him over and he elected to bring the sheep through the scrub instead of on the sheep trod, but oh well, by the time you saw them, it was time to worry about the fetch panel. We made the panel but turning the post was tough with the exhaust and all the spectators. We got it done, but (I'll blame it on jet lag, it's as good an excuse as any) I was shy on both my drive panels. Got the shed alright, but none of these sheep were fond of the pen, which by the way, had no gate or rope on it and was the smallest thing I'd ever seen. Is there a time limit here? Which side of the pen do you stand on? Does anyone care?

I finally managed to slide my sheep into the pen with some excitement here and there. Is this when I head to the beer tent?

Mary Lou and Dyna went shortly after, and they looked great. Dyna found her sheep with ease, walked them beautifully around the course, except for a little bobble at the cross drive panel where the spectators were so close they were almost blocking the panel. The shed was a bit tricky and the pen was relatively straight forward. Several people stopped Mary Lou to compliment her on Dyna and their run. The trial was to carry on all day, and Denis Birchall had invited us to go watch a demo he was doing so we left straight away instead of waiting for our scores.

However, we lost sight of the person we were following to the demo and got lost. We stopped in at a pub for lunch instead, and tried to rip open the leather bound squares that were on the table in front of us that we assumed were leather-bound menus. Turned out they were place mats and the lady at the table beside us could barely contain her laughter as she watched us struggle. We decided to try elsewhere as we were in a search for a wireless connection. The server suggested we try the Hollywood Inn. Sounds familiar...

We drove in circles for awhile and ended back at the fair. We decided to go back in and look around as what we had seen looked pretty spectacular. The fair had basically taken over the town and it was closed to cars so we went back to our original parking spot in a field and went in the same way (over the barbed wire, etc). As we walked through the fair, we came upon the Hollywood Inn and Pub. Duh. (No wireless however.) We decided to try an Irish Guinness. Everyone says you have to try Guinness beer in Ireland. As we were having a sip, a hornet landed on Mary Lou and stung her. She yelled and leapt up, throwing her beer (accidentally) all over herself, me, the dogs, and a passing lady in a dress. Oops. Sorry about that.

The dogs handled the commotion with remarkable steadiness as we forced our way through crowds of people, horses, buggies and steam engines with children reaching out to pet them randomly. Jet lag was setting in on all of us and we decided to call it a day, after many laughs and adventures.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Irish National Sheepdog Trial

Still slightly bleary eyed from an overnight plane trip into Manchester, a drive to Wales on the wrong side of the road, and a less than average B&B, we took the fast ferry to Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Lharry, don't ask me how), and went to pick up dog food at a cute little pet shop five minutes from the ferry terminal. We had reluctantly switched the dogs onto kibble for the trip, and since we were able to find Orijen, which is Canadian, we figured it was at least patriotic. The dogs were able to accompany us at a local bistro for lunch (love the dog-friendly atmosphere over here), and then we started another drive on the wrong side of even narrower roads, and it started to rain. Mary Lou informed me that I had been driving like a church mouse up until that point, but now that the hedges were getting close to the passenger side mirror and the road was wet, she felt my speed was excessive. Whether I was getting more comfortable or her nerves were starting to fray has yet to be determined. :) We finally arrived in Tinoran, County Wicklow to catch the last afternoon of running of the Irish National. It was interesting to watch the level of competition with fresh eyes, having just come off the Kingston trials.

Just as we got to the trial, our judge at Kingston from two weeks earlier, Aidan Gallagher was at the post. The sheep were a North Country type, in fantastic condition and working beautifully on their third day of running. The field was on a beautiful rising hill with a clear view of the sheep, although slightly blind on the left. Three men set the sheep, barely using the one dog that was with them. The top scores were extremely high, 214 leading the way. The lines were very straight (sheep rarely even glanced to the side) and the turns were unbelievably tight. Handlers were retiring at the slightest bobble. Many people said it was the best sheep and best Irish National ever.

Although we were enjoying watching the running immensely, both Mary Lou and I had to take a short siesta in the overstuffed car as we had not yet conquered our jet lag. I'm sure anyone looking into the car would've laughed at us with our little inflatable pillows wrapped around our necks and surrounded by suitcases.

Last year's USBCHA Finals judges, Allistair Lyttle and Denis Birchall made the team in singles and doubles respectively, and Frank Kashen, one of this year's USBCHA Finals judges, won the team in brace.

We're heading to a small trial at a local fair tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes. It'll be nice to get the dogs out and let them stretch their legs on some sheep!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

80 Acres & Kingston (Part 2)

80 Acres (continued)
On Monday, the 80 Acres Trial hosted the Novice classes. Two more of Mary Lou's students joined the action. In fact, they set a very high standard for the quality of work with good outruns and their dogs under good control, sweeping the top three positions. Neto finished first and third with his two dogs, and Tricia finished an impressive second in her first ever trial with a daughter of Mary Lou's Dyna, Boywood Kix. Mary Lou was very proud of them both.

Kingston
From there, we moved on to the Grass Creek site. The trial field is very picturesque with the St.Lawrence River in the background and the Wapoos Island sheep are always a (fun?) challenge. These sheep live on an island for a good portion of the year and don't see many dogs or predators, or even humans for that matter. They are quick to test a dog's courage and Wiley enough to escape the dogs that are willing to stand up to them. There is a line of trees on the left side of the field that tempt the sheep to make a run for cover and near the handler's post at the bottom of the field is the famous "Heartbreak Hill" where the sheep disappear from the handler's view in an attempt to get to their friends and some shade and rest. Many a good run has ended because a frustrated dog, trying to get the sheep back over the hill, has his lost patience and has gripped a stodgy ewe. This year there was an additional challenge early in the week of a wet, almost swampy area in line with the fetch and shedding ring that the sheep really shied away from.

The format was two trials over four days and Mary Lou and I were both running one dog (Mary Lou had a second dog but he came up lame just before the trip). As luck would have it in a random draw, both Mary Lou and I were scheduled to run fairly early on Day 1 and then not again until near the end of the day on Day 4. Fortunately there were enough friends to watch, good dogs to admire and shopping to keep us busy in between.

Trial 1
The scores didn't start out promising on Day 1, although sheep often run well in the morning. Chuck Dimit and Rex scored a 79, and stayed at the top of the leader board for a long time. Mary Lou and I both ran fairly early and although we both ended up with scores that gave us a chance to get to the Double Lift final with good second runs, neither of us were able to get our pen, so also losing out on the final element of work, the single. Alistair and Linda also finished in the top 20%, so also having a shot at the Double Lift and gaining points towards qualifying for the 2012 USBCHA Nationals.

Trial 2
Sheepdog trialling is an activity where fortunes can change in a hurry. The sheep can turn good or sour in the space of a run, and luck and skill play their part. The scores were low in the second trial and Mary Lou and I waited through three days of trailing for our second try. The announcer, the respected and knowledgable Bev Lambert, started to explain to the spectators how the sheep would likely start to get very difficult as the trial wound down because the sheep that would come out would be the ones that had managed to avoid being used for four full days. They were likely wiley, head strong and not amenable to being herded politely around a field. Right on cue, the scores started to plummet as group after group of sheep came out and outfoxed the dogs. It was getting so comical that those of us remaining to run began to make jokes about our chances. The run immediately before Craig was a wreck, so it didn't seem likely the tide was about to turn.

I walked out with Craig and immediately began assessing my sheep. They were just grazing! Not a one was trying to run off or act independent. I may have been lucky enough to get the last settled group of the trial. Craig went out beautifully, and his out work was very good. In the shedding ring, the sheep started to get twitchy and we took some time trying to get the shed set up. Time started slipping away. Finally the sheep came apart and Craig took his two sheep nicely, but the other two bolted for "Heartbreak Hill". I sent Craig for the sheep, but they beat him over the hill. The other two joined them shortly. My heart sank. I couldn't see a thing except the occasional sheep head appearing over the bank for a moment.

Suddenly, Craig appeared over the hill with all four sheep, I don't know how he did it. I ran for the pen as I overheard the announcer say, "She only has 10 seconds and these sheep take at least a minute to pen, she had to use up too much time in the shedding ring". I grabbed the rope and swung the pen door open and glanced back at Craig. I couldn't believe my eyes! Craig was marching the sheep right at the pen opening! I started counting down in my head. The sheep paused just on the inside edge of the pen opening. Craig kept coming on and I came on strong and squeezed the sheep the last few inches myself. I swung the gate so fast trying to beat the clock I almost fell. Bang! We penned an instant before the buzzer went! What a high! And a score good enough to make the Double Lift!

Mary Lou's run was shortly after. Her group was already fractious at the top, with a runner and a laggard. Dyna was on her outrun when the group disappeared temporarily. But Dyna picked them up with her typical no-nonsense like style and started bringing them down the field. The runner started to run. Mary Lou and Dyna did a brilliant job of stopping the runner and gathering up the single sheep who kept lagging back. They stayed right on line. Throughout the outwork, Dyna kept managing a difficult situation beautifully, and Mary Lou was spot on with her handling, making all her panels and keeping her lines and turns tidy. In the shedding ring, the runner kept causing them problems by trying to leave the ring, but finally Dyna got her two sheep off. Once again, the sheep didn't cooperate and ended up behind the pen, with time running low. The announcer again commented what a difficult situation this was with less that 40 seconds to pen and the sheep in an extremely touchy situation. Dyna swung around and simply marched them back towards Mary Lou, who by now had swung the pen door open. As time counted towards zero, the sheep approached the pen opening from behind the pen, and just when the sheep arrived at the point where they had broken away from most of the dog and handler teams, Dyna gave a little flank and turned the sheep straight into the pen. Mary Lou swung the gate...Bang! Buzz! Once again, a heart-stopping exciting pen at the buzzer! Sometimes in sheepdog trialling, you see brilliant work in a difficult situation where the score can't reflect the quality of the work and this was just such a situation. Aidan Gallagher, the respected Irish judge, came out to Mary Lou and said, "That's a brilliant little bitch you've got, I'm very impressed with both of you!"

Well, both Mary Lou and I left the trial knowing we had work to do before the World Trial and that was as it should be. My Double Lift performance the following day finished in the middle of the pack and again I was happy for the lessons I had taken away from it. Onwards and upwards, UK here we come!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

80 Acres Trial & Kingston (Part1): The warm-up to the World Trial

With only two weeks left before leaving for the UK, Team Boywood headed for Kingston, Ontario to participate in the formidable Kingston Sheepdog Trials at Grass Creek Park, and the warm-up 80 Acres Sheepdog Trial.
These trials have challenging sheep and fields and both Mary Lou and I were hoping to get a sense of how the dogs were running. The heat and humidity this summer has made it difficult to do much work with the dogs. Our good friends and students of Mary Lou's, Alistair Simpson and Linda Comeau were also attending the trials.
The 80 Acres Trial can be a bit hard on the faint of heart, because the field is very long. Did I mention VERY LONG? And flat. Enough undulations to keep the dog popping in and out of sight, but flat enough to mess with your depth-perception. With 90+ dogs running this year, the outrun distance wasn't overly long which helped move things along, but without a nearby backdrop of trees there was still the optical illusion that the sheep were miles away.
The sheep seemed happy enough to cooperate, and there wasn't much room for error as top scores were in the 90s both days.
I had no idea what to expect from Craig, with so little work through the summer, but he ran great, placing both days and handling his sheep really well. The second day in particular he had a stellar run, very tidy all the way around. His first back to back scores in the 90s!! Maybe I should give him time off more often!
Dyna and Mary Lou also looked very good, but it just seemed like some small thing would go wrong each time. Herding can drive you mad if you let it, so we have a rule that whoever has the best score at the end of the day makes everyone else a refreshment. The person with the best score is happy to do so, and the others can enjoy being served a much needed drink!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Welcome to the new Boywood Blog!

Hi everyone and welcome to the new Boywood Border Collie Blog! We will be keeping you posted on our adventures throughout the world and at home on Boywood Farm as we travel on the amazing journey of the working sheepdog. We look forward to sharing the trials (excuse the pun) and tribulations, the highs and lows, the incredible people and characters, and the many lessons and hilarious stories that mark the daily interactions of life with sheepdogs and livestock.
- Kathy & Mary Lou