I'll give you a big price...

We only managed the trial in Scotland yesterday, after being quite lost and asking directions at a local castle (doesn't everyone?). When we saw the bog at the gate (at the bottom of the field, we had to drive to the top and it was really wet), we decided our rear-wheel drive (with no weight in the back), bald tires rental vehicle would never make it, and it would be less embarrassing to climb a few walls than to get stuck at the only gate to the field in full view of everyone.

We parked in a remote area, in the entrance to field with the skeleton of an old stone house still standing. After climbing a gate, walking through two steep fields, avoiding some stinging nettles and a rather feisty bull, and making a dash up the trial field in between runs, we finally made it to the top.



Little Dyna has been a superstar everywhere we go, running well and catching everyone's eye. This trial was no different. After her run, famous handlers came up and asked about Dyna's breeding, who had trained her and so on. Mary Lou has even had a few proposals, from big money for Dyna to an offer to come along too.

The wind was very strong during our runs in particular, so strong in fact that the pen door rope ripped through my hand, leaving me with a burn. Needless to say, the flapping gate didn't make friends with the sheep, not an ideal time to run, although I should have managed it anyway, having the sheep in the gap three times. People here even make charts so they know when the sheep will run best and run their best dog then, usually running their other dog in the morning to get a feel for the course. The sheep are often taken off the fells just for the trials, as was the case this day, and don't see a lot of dogs at all throughout the year. Penning is much more of a rarity at many of these trials. Linda and Bet had a very good go however, getting a 76 during very difficult running. The evening was gorgeous, as we worked our way back to the car.



Today's trial was up in the Lake District, judged by Katy Cropper. Herdwick sheep, with some Swaledale mixed in, and yet another stream for sheep to take shelter in. All the dogs again ran well, and I was thrilled to pen today as the sheep were not penning at all. We met a really neat man, who had owned and shepherded the nearby fells, with up to 8 dogs at one time, all under full control while basically mountain climbing. The stories were absolutely amazing. We actually had an offer to go gather the fells, but we all wanted to go home with our dogs intact.

We did some good shopping at the fair, and then another nice fellow told us to take a more scenic route home, and although the road was at times terrifying (in the picture, that slight ridge in the distance is the road and it is much further down than it looks), the view was some of the most spectacular scenery we've ever seen.






The next few days we will be starting to turn our focus back to heading home.

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