And the winner is....

Thomas had mentioned that the weather could go sideways occasionally and now we know what he meant. Sunday's trial had lashing rain and brutal wind. Apparently Hurricane Katia was on it's way. This trial had Swaledale sheep with a few Herdwicks thrown in for good measure.

The outrun wasn't long, but was left-handed through a gate and then the dogs had to cast around a berm to be correct behind their sheep. The sheep were blind to the dog as he came through the gate. The right hand outrun was almost impossible as the dogs had to find a small gap in a thistle hedge and then cast out in an area of rough ground that brought the dogs in. The fetch came over another berm through rough ground and the ewes, who knew the field well, would often bolt to the right behind the hedge, catching the dog out of position and making it impossible to stay in contact. It was difficult for the dogs to hear at times due to the wind and rain driving directly at the handlers.

There were a number of interesting faces at the trial. Several foreigners were there, including German, Finnish, and American handlers as well as one of our Canadian teammates, Wendy Schmaltz. It was obvious the World Trial competitors were starting to congregate.

Katy Cropper, well-known dog handler and trainer, also made an appearance.

Many runs struggled with the outrun and fetch, and the pen wasn't a gimme either. Then Mary Lou stepped to the post. Dyna went out through the gate like she knew the field and although seemed a bit tight at the top because she chose to go inside the berm to keep an eye on the feisty ewes, the sheep accepted her without batting an eye. As Dyna's run progressed, the watching handlers all started to go silent, realizing they may be watching the winning run. Dyna never put a foot wrong...the lines were beautiful, the turns tight, the pen and shed tidy.

The weather was so foul that we left straight after our runs without checking the scores, fearing a relapse of Mary Lou's recovering health status.

Later that day, Thomas tapped on the door of the barn, and handed Mary Lou a large rosette and an envelope. First place!

It looks like wee Dyna and Mary Lou are peaking at the right time!

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