A sad day...

Sadly, Mary Lou's old Jill finally has gone to the Rainbow Bridge at the ripe old age of 15 and a half. She was same way bred as Mary Lou's Boy, and was Mary Lou's right hand for years, doing the chores and helping with herding lessons. Jill was one of those wonderful, steady, trustworthy types who got the job done with no fuss, no muss and overcame any weaknesses she had with heart and determination. She had a great life and was a great companion. Thanks for all the wonderful years. That'll do Jill. Your work is done.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Final-ly home

The 2013 National sheepdog finals are now over, and Mary Lou and Dyna finished 13th on the final day, due to a couple of sheep managing to escape the field into the exhaust. Dyna, to her credit, was not going to allow that to happen and somehow got into the exhaust herself and brought out about 80 some odd sheep. Go big or go home! Oh well, that's sheepdogging for you....

Needless to say, it was a brilliant week for Mary Lou and Dyna. Then reality set in and all the rigs had to be towed out of the field by a monster tractor that could crush most things.





After a few detours, we made it home late Monday night (2 am) and hit the ground running after a week away! Looking forward to the future!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

National Final Debut!

Mary Lou and Dyna have made it to the National Finals!!! Tied for second with a 182 with Scott Glen and Don! 17 dogs tomorrow (Sunday) to vie for the National Championship! Mary Lou runs number 9 tomorrow!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Exciting news!

Mary Lou and Dyna finished with a 201, high score of the qualifying round! It was a spectacular run, with Dyna taking firm control of the sheep and marching them around the course. There was a tense moment going to the pen where one of the sheep charged Dyna, but she calmly took it on the nose and told it to behave itself, then got on with the work.

Mary Lou runs in fifth spot in the semi-final today. Will be updating on Facebook and Twitter.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Waiting game

Well today was a wet wait... Waiting for scores, waiting for the rain to stop, waiting for Mary Lou and Dyna to run, but that is still a day away. I am still on the bubble to get in, but many good dogs tomorrow so am hanging on by my fingernails at the moment!


You can see the mud, rain in the forecast for the next few days so getting out might be an adventure! Fortunately the rain bothers the handlers more than it does the sheep or the dogs!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

On the bubble

Had my run with Craig today, and did ok, but whether it will be good enough is hard to say...right now I am just outside the bubble of scores expected to make it through, but you never know!

Took a break and went over to the nursery field and some tough slogging over there... Sheep did not want to play! Nice field to run on, good challenge for the young dogs!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

National Finals Day 1

I think today the sheep won. They were pulling hard for the exhaust from the get-go and many very good teams were defeated by the determined ewes...you know the saying 'there's one in every crowd'... Well it was very true with these sheep...always one leader with her own opinions, somewhat different from the other three. The top score was an excellent 196 (two judges scoring out of 110 points each for a total possible (or impossible) score of 220. Right now however the scores are generally low, so lots of room, especially if the sheep improve. None of our dogs running today, but tomorrow the action begins!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Let the games begin!

We are settled in at the USBCHA National Sheepdog Finals. We were lucky to get here yesterday, as today many of the truck and trailer combos made grand entrances sliding sideways into the camping area through slogging mud as a result of torrential downpours earlier this morning.

The sheepdog community is a small one, and there were many familiar faces to meet and greet. The sun poked out later in the day to create a fabulous scene of 650 wiley ewes grazing contentedly on the spectacular Belle Grove field.








The handlers meeting, consisting of 150 of the top dog/handler teams in North America, was straight forward. 4 sheep set about (guessing) 450 yards away (will confirm that tomorrow), left hand drive, split the four sheep into two groups of two, regather and then pop them into the pen, then bring them out and single one sheep off, all in the workmanlike time of 14 minutes.

Then a nice handler gathering complete with cake...




...and a ton of work by the wonderful volunteers who have worked so hard to put on this event.

The evening sunset was a beautiful final touch to the exciting upcoming days ahead! Stay posted!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:I-81 N,Middletown,United States

Hello again

Well, obviously only having one official blogger can cause a problem. When my back went out back (pardon the pun) in May, the blog died a premature death for the rest of the Bluegrass, as I was flat out and didn't see any of the event.

So in the hope of redeeming myself, I will be blogging furiously during the upcoming USBCHA National finals. I hope you will follow along! Blogging starts officially October 5th when we hit the road!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just in the nick of time...

Well, trial 1 is over. The last two runs of the trial (Craig and me being one of them) ran this morning due to fog rolling in last night, and it's a good thing because last night I couldn't walk because of my back, never mind stand at a post for 11 minutes unsupported. The chiropractor paid a trailer visit and something must've helped because although I was never upright yesterday, this morning I knew I had one chance at being upright and that would be it. I shuffled out to the post, assisted by Team Boywood of Mary Lou, Linda and Alistair. I was leaning heavily on my crook and I'm sure my face was pasty white. I sent Craig left but he was running tight so I whistled a big get-out and my back spasmed. I started to go down but was able to grab the post like a life-preserver. I didn't see Craig again until he was lifting the sheep, as I was blind with pain but I'm told he kicked out beautifully.

I couldn't whistle or even really talk as the wind was knocked out of me, but Craig started bringing the sheep on his own, managing an obstinate ram.

Poor Craig did much of the work on his own without much help from me, and time elapsed in the shedding ring. We survived with a 68, which on this field still gives me something to put with my next run, if I am able. I struggled back to the trailer, with kind offers from many of the handlers for drugs (over the counter btw) and even a walker! So I have about 30 hours more healing time, although I'm not sure it will be enough. All of the Boywood crew have decent scores to work with. Mary Lou has good scores with both Dyna and Tim.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

And so it begins...

The Bluegrass has begun. Mary Lou and Linda both managed scores in the roughest part of the day when the sheep were breaking en masse back for the set-out pens. Mary Lou had a 70 without a shed or pen and Linda managed a 75 on a workmanlike run. I run end of day tomorrow, so hope to add to the successes. At this point, the goal is get a score so you have two to add together to get to the double lift final. The days scores are below.








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Knocking the rust off...

Open 2 started on Saturday, and the winds were so strong, it looked like a sand storm as the top soil in an adjoining field blew across the trial field. I wasn't sure how the judge, Carol Campion, wasn't getting blown right off the judge's stand. The dogs could not hear at the drive panel, right at a crucial point where the sheep wanted to break for the exhaust. Mary Lou and Dyna ran in the worst conditions of the trial, which the judge even commented on. Between that and another independent runner ewe, Dyna had a workmanlike run, but not enough to offset the higher scores run the following day in kinder weather.

I had a decent situation with the weather and good sheep, and with a chance at the win and overall, was too aggressive at the drive panel with a great run going, which knocked my score down to seventh place. Still, the dogs are running well and the winter rust is knocked off. Thanks to all who worked hard to put on the trial. Bluegrass, here we come!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Warming up

We have begun the journey towards the infamous Bluegrass Classic Sheepdog Trial, taking a detour to Chillicothe, Illinois to partake in the Three Sisters SDT, a beautiful farm donated, not surprisingly, by three sisters to the area to be used for local agricultural type events.

The Open trial started on Friday, and the field was quite tricky...lots of undulations and blind spots. Mary Lou ran second in the trial and it was hard to see the sheep due the morning lighting. After giving Dyna a quick widening whistle on the outrun to help her see the sheep, Dyna ran very well, but a missed cross-drive panel combined with the commands on the outrun numbed her to 7th place.

Craig and I were fortunate to manage a high-headed ewe around for an 83, which held the top spot until the last few runs of the day. We finished in 2nd place.

Open 2 has started, more tonight!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Grand finale

Well no surprise we are sitting safely in a Florida campground due to a major storm blocking our route home. So I have a few moments to write about the weekend.

I ran out of fairy dust this weekend, getting independent ewes both days, one apparently known for never going in the pen. Craig did a good job nonetheless, shepherding so that the ewes didn't get their way, but enough to prevent stellar performances. We managed to place, but nothing to write home about. Mary Lou placed with both Dyna and Tim, with excellent drives on a very tricky drive line where the trees appear to move, and Linda also had a placement with Joe.

Saturday night was the annual bluegrass dance. Lots of fun and nice warm weather!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Florida sunshine

To reach the C54 trial, we have to take the rigs down a sandy, remote road to the massive fields behind.



The temperature was cold and the wind was strong as usual, upsetting the sheep and freezing the handlers. We Canadians were in full winter garb, parkas and all. However, the sun was out, which was a far cry better than the three feet of snow we have at home.


Craig ran really well, scoring an 86 to tie for second on Saturday (third on outwork) and winning Sunday with a wonderful run, earning a 96 from Irish judge Frank Cashen on a day where scores were not high and pens were few.

Linda also placed one day, and Dyna and Mary Lou also ran well.

We are now enjoying a few days seaside before the final trial at That'll Do and the long trek home.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wine connoisseurs

An American friend recently introduced us to a nice Pinot Grigio, and we thought we'd pick it up cheap in the US in between sheepdog trials. Usually the wines we buy in Canada range from $11-$15, so we are on the cheap end of things. We expected this particular wine to be $8-$10 in the US, assuming it was a similar class of wine to our usual brands and would reflect the cheaper US prices. Mary Lou almost fell over when she found the wine on sale at Walmart for $22.97! Even the Walmart cashier asked if it was a mistake, as wine over $15 at Walmart is usually a pricing error. Fortunately, Mary Lou had wisely balanced out the purchase with several single serving bottles of another Pinot Grigio for $1.00 a piece! ;)

Linda's old dog Nell started to do a taste test by trying the wine in an unsupervised glass but fortunately it had been the cheaper wine!

We are now enroute to the C54 sheepdog trial, an extremely flat 600+ yard outrun, where the dogs can mistake seabirds landing on the field for sheep, and the sheep shimmer in the heat waves, making you wonder if your straight fetch is really a mirage!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Washed away...

The Lazy J trial is a popular trial, with over 60 dogs running on lively hair sheep and a nice big field. Hitting the drive gates on this field is always a challenge because of the rolling terrain, unusual angles and changing light. Indeed, the drive on Sunday was around 500 yards, according to host Dawn Boyce.

Both days saw scores in the eighties and nineties, with Welsh judge Aled Owen sorting out the runs while still slowly recovering from what everyone suspected to be a bad case of the Norovirus. Linda, Mary Lou and I all scribed at some point, sitting in the truck with the still presumably contagious judge. I had visions of a movie like Contagion, with scribes clawing at the windows of the truck, but I didn't think Aled would appreciate me wearing a mask to scribe. I did, however, use the cool weather as an excuse to keep my gloves on, for all the good that probably did. I think we have cornered the market on orange juice, doing everything in our power to boost our immune systems! I had several decent goes, placing both days, as did Linda. Mary Lou and Dyna also ran very well with scores in the 80's both days, but the cross-drive panel was their nemesis both days, just grazing by. Mary Lou and Dyna made up for it on Monday by placing second in the double lift, just a point behind winner Bev Lambert.

A series of systems carrying torrential rain continued to sweep through the area, causing several people to be stranded in the field, and we decided to make a dash for Florida before we were washed away, in search of drier, warmer weather.

A few days in a Florida campground to do laundry and collect ourselves (and shop) is in order!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Extremes...

After stopping to fix a propane leak en route from the Suwannee River sheepdog trial to the Lazy J trial near Atlanta, Georgia, (blowing up really puts a damper on your trip) we were looking forward to two days of education from the two-time World Champion Aled Owen, the clinic graciously hosted by Dawn Boyce. Although Aled was deathly sick with a flu and we were all staying miles away from him, he soldiered on and gave a brilliant clinic. The first day was beautiful dog (and people) weather, sunny, slight breeze, 67 degrees (about 18 degrees Celsius for our metric friends up north)...fantastic. Today...well...pouring rain, wind, in the low 40s... Can you say "chilled to the bone"? But Georgia in February is a case of extremes, so we were prepared with wool and down, looking like proper Canadians, although a bit waterlogged.

Now that we are all saying lie down in Welsh, tomorrow is a day of young dogs having their go, and then we are back in action on Saturday with Open.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Lazy J SDT,Carnesville,United States

One glorious weekend...

...when the moon and stars are aligned and everything just falls into place. We survived ice storms and tornadoes, propane leaks and dark dead end roads to arrive in Branford, Florida at the Suwannee River Sheep Dog Trial.

Our always gracious hosts, Dick Williams and Cheryl Jagger-Williams, worked very hard and put on a wonderful trial, complete with Katahdin lambs and a UK judge, Welshman Aled Owen, who also worked hard for days sorting out the runs.

I ran relatively early with Craig, and scored a 97 out of 110, not bad but with enough small mistakes to leave the door open for someone. That someone was Mary Lou. Mary Lou and Dyna ran second last run of the day, and laid down a great run, worth 103 points and knocking my score out of first...Dyna rarely put a foot wrong and looked to be in prime form. Oh well, that meant Mary Lou was making drinks for all of us that night!

Day 2 saw me running first dog of the day with Craig, looking straight into the blazing Florida sunrise. Although it was beautiful, I had to ask the judge, to let me know when the sheep were out. We managed to have tidy run, with Craig taking a spectacular collared single in the shedding ring and saving my butt on a very small gap.

My score of 94 stood all day and by the time Mary Lou and Dyna were to run, they were the only ones left able to beat my combined score for the overall. Never fazed, steady Dyna shepherded her sheep around the course beautifully. Although my day score stood the test for Craig to win the Open trial for the day, Mary Lou and Dyna scored a 91, enough to win the overall title and capture second place day money.

As an added bonus, Dick and Cheryl ran a double lift, a great chance for the dogs to do a look back on another field. Mary Lou and Dyna were once again the top team, and Craig and I coming in third. Sheepdog trialing is usually a test of perseverance and perspective, and rarely such a story of success, so we are enjoying the moment as another day can be a very different story.

Now we are off to Georgia, to compete at the Lazy J sheepdog trial next weekend and see if the sheepdog gods continue to be so kind. This week we will get to work with Aled Owen at a clinic, and I'm sure the two-time World champion will be a treasure of information. Stay tuned!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dodging ice storms and tornadoes...

We left Canada on Sunday for the greener grass and lure of sheepdog trialing in Florida for a month, and sure enough didn't make it more than a few hours before being caught in a freezing rain storm, the last 15 minutes of white knuckled, very scary driving even as the rain froze to the windshield with absolutely nowhere to pull off and 15000 lbs of trailer behind us.

We made it to a Cabela's to wait out the worst of it...



...and watched as the ice storm slowly turned into a snow storm instead (great...snow hiding the ice)...



...and since trailers aren't meant to be driven in snow we waited until it melted enough for us to continue driving Monday afternoon.
We are now trapped at a KOA in Tennessee (where we never have any luck with weather) waiting for the tornadoes on our route to pass over (par for the course on these trips) so we can continue through Georgia to Florida and our first trial this weekend!
The upside is power, water and wifi here at the campground! We couldn't de-winterize the trailers and add water until we were far enough south in warmer temperatures. We are very excited about the running water. Things needed some freshening up, including us!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone