Mornings started for us at 4:00 am. The ewe's had been put in separate running groups for day 1 and 2. Fresh sheep would be had by all for round 1.
The behind the scenes.."dark secret" of putting on a trial..goes forgotten.
We brought in 450 sheep for the trial. They are not easy or fun to move around..
The wind was HOWLING on day 1..this didn't make the task of putting the girls in the pen any easier!!
Round 1 the ewe's were pushy and not easy for the teams to handle..in fact they were just plain hard to work! It was a "fun hard" though! The sheep were 100% even for every run. They were hard to lift..(Yes we set on spread hay) it's better to have sheep calm for the lift rather than being pressured by a set out dog. Anna Guthrie did a perfect job for 5 days setting the sheep!
Once you got the lift, you had to deal with the rest of it..a pull on the fetch..obstacles of trees and the pool house kept the handlers and sheep on their toes. The sheep tried their best to outwit and outsmart the pesky canine. The lambs were 7 months old..yep you guessed it NO LEADER!
The sheep were not forgiving..if the dog made a wrong move, they were severely punished by the sheep; if the dog harassed the sheep ran, if the dog picked a fight..The sheep fought a good fight..usually winning the battle.
The weather was PICTURE PERFECT!
The average temperature for the trial was 68 degrees..light wind..AMAZING!
The players well..let's just say they are cute..
Charlie Torre was marking the Open and nursery runs, Jeff Blackstone and Kathy Murphy made the call on the pro-novice.
Standouts for run number 1 were .. 84 Open dogs went to the post
Don Helsley The Wizard 73
Noelle Williams Lad 71
Llona Brandenburg Tarr 70
Mike Burks Sport 68
Erin Swanson Coop 65+
Points were awarded to 16.8
Run 2 we bumped up the tempo a tad, asking for a shed, pen, single in the finish work. We shortened the horrendously difficult cross drive a bit. The lambs had settled in really well for round 2. The competition was fierce.
Standouts for run 2 were..82 Open dogs went to the post
Bryan White Scoop 93
Don Helsley Jesse 88
Michael Burks Sport 87
Stephanie Summers Tam 86
Jennifer Ewers Soot 85
The nursery dogs had a difficult time as most of them never knew sheep like this existed. They were innocently struggling on the lift as the lambs gave them hell. It was a short course..but that didn't matter
Standouts for Nursery 1 were ..12 dogs to the post
Bridget Strang Rain
Jennifer Ewers Plaid
Nursery 2..12 dogs to the post
Terri Pelkey T-Bird
Jennifer Ewers Plaid
Pro-Novice ran 2 rounds on Tues. 23 dogs in each go. the lambs were great. Trickey enough but not so hard there was a struggle.
Round 1
Noelle Williams Zac
Dan Williams Nap
Beth Benz Hula
Jennifer Ewers Poncho
Terri Pelkey Lonnie
Round 2
Marcy Roberts Sis
Terri Pelkey Lonnie
Jennifer Ewers Poncho
Beth Benz Hula
Noelle Williams Zac
The trial was a huge success. Thanks to all that supported us during our pre-trial drama. The restaurant onsite seemed to be a big hit "Popo Annies"..Fresh hot breakfast, lunch and dinner available to all.
Thanks Anna Guthrie for a great setout
Tricia Guidry for course directing and cleaning up rodeos.
Don Helsley for being everything
Charlie Torre for the great judging
Barbara Stewart as a great scribe.
Ron and I were pleased with how things turned out. Thanks everyone for believing in us.
Ewers Truly...
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