Final trial result -
Sheep: 1, dogs and handlers:0
Two fields running, wild Welsh sheep, and RT (retired) is the main score on the board. When asked "How was your go?", the common response was "No joy" or "No good" and every other variation on "it didn't go well" you can think of. The fetch panel seemed to have invisible fencing across it for much of the trial. The five sheep to be shed insisted on either bolting out of the ring en masse or a single ewe would take take on an 'every ewe for herself' attitude and refuse to flock. The pen was an exercise in walking on eggshells.
Mary Lou and I both managed to finish, Mary Lou in particular having quite a decent go, but Linda's Bet succumbed to a well known dead spot in the sound (according to the locals in the know) complicated by pouring rain and wind, which caused many drive panel difficulties for everyone.
None of us were a danger on this day to make it into the final double lift, especially given the sheep went better at the end of the day. We were in good company. But we and our dogs have been used to pushing on and a new level of understanding is required on sheep like these. What an amazing experience this will be. The beauty of it is we paid £4, drove just over an hour, were home for dinner, and are going to two more trials tomorrow. Makes it easy to move on...
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