News
September 18-26, 2010 Middletown, Virginia
Jan 2010
Big Bend Benefit Trial
January 30 2010 12:21 PM Filed in: benefits trials
The Big Bend Benefit Trial for the 2010 National Finals will be held on March 13-15 in Millboro, Virginia. An entry blank for the trial can be found here. For more information about lodging and directions, visit the Big Bend web site.
Edgeworth Winter Trial
January 30 2010 12:10 PM Filed in: benefits trials
The Edgeworth Winter Sheep and Cattle trial was held January 8-10, 2010 on the farm of Florence and Tommy Wilson, Gordonsville, Virginia. Half of the trial’s net proceeds were donated toward the finals, along with 100 percent of the proceeds of a shedding clinic with Tommy Wilson held the following weekend. Here is a writeup and results of the event, written by Beverly Lambert:
*****
Cold weather and strong winds on Friday got Tom and Florence Wilson's winter trial off to a cool start on Friday morning. The trial began at 9:00 and ran until dark, which proved to be just the right amount of time to run the 48 open entrants. The sheep were beautifully fit lambs that gave the dogs a challenge when combined with the 25-35 mph winds. Saturday dawned cold but much less windy. The lambs had settled and the scores rose accordingly. The Winter trial is held on the same field as the famous October trial but uses only about half the available space so the outrun is only about 300 yards. This is no easy outrun as the rolling steep hill hides the sheep to any dog on the correct outrun path. The result was some beautiful outruns with the dogs arriving in the correct spot after a nearly blind outrun. It also resulted in quite a few lost dogs and off line lifts. The drive was straightforward but the strong winds on Friday made it very difficult.
Sunday was the warmest of the three cold days. The morning began with a lovely class of Nursery dogs. The lambs remained very unforgiving to any dog that failed to cover correctly and more than sorted out the youngsters. The Open Ranch ran smoothly and was followed by a second Nursery, a Pro/Novice and a few brave beginners in the Novice/Novice.
Lori Cunningham spent three days standing in the freezing cold and seemed to please all of the contestants with her impartial judgment.
Open 1 48 Dogs
1. Carla King Emma 88
2. Beverly Lambert Mirk 86
3. Doug Brewer Taff 84
4. Tom Wilson Sly 83
5. Don McCaig June 80
6. Christine Henry Tweed 80
7. Janet Harvey Jess 79
8. Kelly Bradley Jim 78
9. Dan King Fawn 78
10. Beverly Lambert Fly 76
Open 2 40 Dogs
1. Beverly Lambert Mirk 91
2. Carla King Emma 91
3. Dee Penatzer Rob 89
4. Kelly Bradley Jim 87
5. Michelle Brothers Snap 87
6. Janet Harvey Scott 86
7. Janet Harvey Jess 84
8. Jeannine vander Merwe Jade 83
Open Ranch 16 Dogs
1. Beverly Lambert Nell 75
2. Christine Henry Kaige 72
3. Pam Gardner Meg 70
4. Sylvia King Vic 70
5. Nancy Starkey Maid 63
6. Nancy Starkey Drift 63
Pro Novice 18 Dogs
1. Nancy Patriarco Anna 73
2. Tom Forrester Tippy 70
3. Christine Henry Kep 70
4. Rachel Ashley-Layton June 67
5. Alice Urquart Chip 66
6. Sally Glei Sid 63
Novie Novice 5 Dogs
1. Charlie Hurt Deacon 60
2. Peggy Simpson Davy 54
3. Charlie Hurt Patsy 49
4. Lynn Prescott Meg 45
Nursery--1 8 Dogs
1. Christine Henry Kaige 70
2. Jeannine vanderMerwe Sam 67
Nursery—2 6 Dogs
1. Jeannine vanderMerwe Sam 70
*****
Cold weather and strong winds on Friday got Tom and Florence Wilson's winter trial off to a cool start on Friday morning. The trial began at 9:00 and ran until dark, which proved to be just the right amount of time to run the 48 open entrants. The sheep were beautifully fit lambs that gave the dogs a challenge when combined with the 25-35 mph winds. Saturday dawned cold but much less windy. The lambs had settled and the scores rose accordingly. The Winter trial is held on the same field as the famous October trial but uses only about half the available space so the outrun is only about 300 yards. This is no easy outrun as the rolling steep hill hides the sheep to any dog on the correct outrun path. The result was some beautiful outruns with the dogs arriving in the correct spot after a nearly blind outrun. It also resulted in quite a few lost dogs and off line lifts. The drive was straightforward but the strong winds on Friday made it very difficult.
Sunday was the warmest of the three cold days. The morning began with a lovely class of Nursery dogs. The lambs remained very unforgiving to any dog that failed to cover correctly and more than sorted out the youngsters. The Open Ranch ran smoothly and was followed by a second Nursery, a Pro/Novice and a few brave beginners in the Novice/Novice.
Lori Cunningham spent three days standing in the freezing cold and seemed to please all of the contestants with her impartial judgment.
Open 1 48 Dogs
1. Carla King Emma 88
2. Beverly Lambert Mirk 86
3. Doug Brewer Taff 84
4. Tom Wilson Sly 83
5. Don McCaig June 80
6. Christine Henry Tweed 80
7. Janet Harvey Jess 79
8. Kelly Bradley Jim 78
9. Dan King Fawn 78
10. Beverly Lambert Fly 76
Open 2 40 Dogs
1. Beverly Lambert Mirk 91
2. Carla King Emma 91
3. Dee Penatzer Rob 89
4. Kelly Bradley Jim 87
5. Michelle Brothers Snap 87
6. Janet Harvey Scott 86
7. Janet Harvey Jess 84
8. Jeannine vander Merwe Jade 83
Open Ranch 16 Dogs
1. Beverly Lambert Nell 75
2. Christine Henry Kaige 72
3. Pam Gardner Meg 70
4. Sylvia King Vic 70
5. Nancy Starkey Maid 63
6. Nancy Starkey Drift 63
Pro Novice 18 Dogs
1. Nancy Patriarco Anna 73
2. Tom Forrester Tippy 70
3. Christine Henry Kep 70
4. Rachel Ashley-Layton June 67
5. Alice Urquart Chip 66
6. Sally Glei Sid 63
Novie Novice 5 Dogs
1. Charlie Hurt Deacon 60
2. Peggy Simpson Davy 54
3. Charlie Hurt Patsy 49
4. Lynn Prescott Meg 45
Nursery--1 8 Dogs
1. Christine Henry Kaige 70
2. Jeannine vanderMerwe Sam 67
Nursery—2 6 Dogs
1. Jeannine vanderMerwe Sam 70
Schreeder Benefit Trial
January 30 2010 12:04 PM Filed in: benefits trials
On January 15-17, Marianna Screeder held a benefit trial for the 2010 Finals in Cowpens, South Carolina. Here is Marianna’s writeup and the results of that events:
****
Although there were challenges, the 2010 Finals Benefit Trial in Cowpens, SC, was successful and fun. A special thanks goes to Sherry and Steve Godfrey who were coping with the loss of Sherry’s father during the week of the trial and Steve’s minor surgery the week before the trial. The biggest challenge was separating the 100 ewes and their lambs every morning prior to the beginning of the trial, then taking the lambs off the trial site. On Friday, Nancy Schreeder and Jan Thompson did a thankless job in setting the Nursery classes, essentially working the cranky ewes for the first time without their lambs.
The sheep remained challenging into the weekend for the open dogs with heavy draws to the set out and exhaust. Several sheep escaped into the pond, but all were good swimmers, no casualties, only frustrated handlers and dogs. Penning was also a challenge. There was only one pen on Friday made by RC Tomlinson and Lou who won the Pro Novice class. Saturday’s penning only slightly improved as Jennifer Maginnis & Poco, Connie Brannen & Trip and Claudia Frank & Jaydee were the only teams to finish. By Sunday, the sheep were more manageable, however only 8 teams made the pen.
Herbert Holmes sorted the runs with good humor and patience. Herbert was kind enough to donate his time to judge the trial in order to provide a larger donation to the Finals. Thank you Herbert! Dwight Parker arranged for the awards of double ring dog collars with name tags for the winners. Jennifer Maginnis made a pot of chili for Saturday’s lunch, and Gayle Richardson made cakes, muffins and brownies for everyone on Saturday and Sunday.
As usual, it takes a village to run a dog trial. In this case, every handler on the running order helped out; whether it was setting out, relaying sheep up to the set out point, clerking, posting scores, checking math or providing meals. Thank you all very much! On a personal note, I would like to thank my mother, Nancy Schreeder. Without her, there would not have been a nursery class. Not to mention, I wouldn’t be in this sport without her encouragement. Thanks, Mom.
And the best news of all….we raised $2,645 for the 2010 National Sheep Finals!!!!
Regards,
Marianna Schreeder
Nursery 1 – 14 dogs
1. Connie Brannen/Rem – 61
2. RC Tomlinson / Lou – 58
3. Shelby Cook / Ben – 52
4. Marianna Schreeder / Cap – 41
5. Barry Zimmerman / Storm - RT
6. Cy Peterson / Grace – RT
7. Denise Teal / Jesse - RT
8. Dwight Parker / Mike – RT
9. Maureen Robinson / Hellbender - RT
10. Dwight Parker / Lucy – DQ
11. Ginger Bruton / Sweep – DQ
12. John Grosse / Cruz – DQ
13. Vickey Russell / Grace – DQ
14. RC Tomlinson / Jan – DQ
Nursery 2 – 13 dogs
1. Dwight Parker / Lucy – 62
2. Shelby Cook / Ben – 57
3. John Grosse / Cruz – 55
4. Connie Brannen/Rem – 49
5. RC Tomlinson / Jan – 47
6. Barry Zimmerman / Storm - 41
7. RC Tomlinson / Lou – 34
8. Cy Peterson / Grace – RT
9. Dwight Parker / Mike – RT
10. Marianna Schreeder / Cap – RT
11. Vickey Russell / Grace – RT
12. Denise Teal / Jesse - DQ
13. Ginger Bruton / Sweep – DQ
Novice – 3 dogs
1. Terry Stroud / Zoe
2. Terry Stroud / Jen
3. Bill Lang / Powder
Pro Novice – 8 dogs
1. RC Tomlinson / Lou – 77
2. Barry Zimmerman / Storm – 68
3. Denise Teal / Jesse – 68
4. Sherry Farster / Jesse – 67
5. Jack O’Bryant / Flint – 63
6. Marianna Schreeder / Cap – 57
7. RC Tomlinson / Jan – RT
8. Donald McCaig / Dan – DQ
Open Ranch – 11 dogs
1. Dwight Parker / Lucy – 75
2. Dawn Boyce / Slim – 71
3. Cy Peterson / Emma – 54
4. Dwight Parker / Mike – 53
5. John Grosse / Cruz – RT
6. Nancy Schreeder / Fox – RT
7. Connie Brannen / Rem – DQ
8. Dawn Boyce / Carson – DQ
9. Jan Thompson / Hannah – DQ
10. Jan Thompson / Sara – DQ
11. Vickey Russell / Devi – DQ
Open 1 – 52 dogs
1. Jennifer Maginnis / Poco – 93
2. Connie Brannen / Trip - 83
3. Jennifer Maginnis / Bay – 79
4. Nancy Schreeder / Flyn – 78
5. Dawn Boyce / Tink – 77
6. Nancy Schreeder / The Don – 74
7. Claudia Frank / Jaydee – 74
8. Marianna Schreeder / Nan - 74
9. Claudia Frank / Buddy – 73
10. Connie Brannen / Peach – 73
11. Sherry Farster / Scott – 72
12. Craig Rogers / Jake – 71.5
13. Craig Rogers / Brit – 71
14. Marianna Schreeder / Penny – 70
15. Shelby Cook / Ben – 69
16. Tony Stewart / Lad – 69
17. Laurie Schultz / Nara – 65
18. Donald McCaig / Luke – 65
19. Connie Brannen / Rem – 65
20. Anet Haithcox / Gin – 64
21. Patricia Kallen / Jet – 63
22. Bobby Ford / Nell – 63
23. Anet Haithcox / Dod – 62
24. Vickey Russell / Zen – 60
25. Maureen Robinson / Newt – 59
26. Nancy Schreeder / Mona – 58
27. Denise Teal / Hope – 58
28. Dwight Parker / Craig – 58
29. Steve Godfrey / Celt – 55
30. Maureen Robinson / Lizard – 55
31. Jan Thompson / Bart – 53
32. Jennifer Maginnis / Arwen – 52
33. Gayle Richardson / Zeke – 50
34. Tracee Treadwell / Jack – 44
35. Denise Wall / Moss – 43
36. RC Tomlinson / Dat - 37
37. Donald McCaig / June – 31
38. Anet Haithcox / Flow – RT
39. Beth Chuck / Bless – RT
40. Bobby Ford / Cap – RT
41. Dawn Boyce / Jada – RT
42. Dawn Boyce / Juno – RT
43. Dean Holcomb – Jill – RT
44. Norma Stewart / Lena – RT
45. Barry Zimmerman / Bing – DQ
46. Craig Rogers / Luke – DQ
47. Denise Wall / May – DQ
48. Dwight Parker / Lucy – DQ
49. Norma Stewart / Jill – DQ
50. Patricia Kallen / Trim – DQ
51. Sherry Farster / Vic – DQ
52. Tony Stewart / Cole – DQ
Open 2 – 43 dogs
1. Dwight Parker / Lucy – 91
2. Claudia Frank / Jaydee – 90
3. Dwight Parker / Craig – 87
4. Dawn Boyce / Tink – 86
5. Marianna Schreeder / Penny – 83
6. Nancy Schreeder / The Don – 81
7. Tony Stewart / Lad – 79
8. Anet Haithcox / Gin – 79
9. Patricia Kallen / Jet – 77
10. Maureen Robinson / Newt – 77
11. Shelby Cook / Ben – 73
12. Nancy Schreeder / Mona – 72
13. Jennifer Maginnis / Poco – 69
14. Sherry Farster / Scott – 67
15. Connie Brannen / Rem – 67
16. Claudia Frank / Buddy – 66
17. Connie Brannen / Trip – 63
18. Tracee Treadwell / Jack – 63
19. Jan Thompson / Bart – 61
20. Tony Stewart / Cole – 61
21. Gayle Richardson / Zeke – 60
22. Vickey Russell / Zen – 59
23. Laurie Schultz / Nara – 55
24. Dawn Boyce / Juno – 47
25. Marianna Schreeder / Nan – 43
26. Denise Teal / Hope – 42
27. Anet Haithcox / Dod – RT
28. Anet Haithcox / Gin – RT
29. Beth Chuck / Bless – RT
30. Connie Brannen / Peach – RT
31. Craig Rogers / Brit – RT
32. Dawn Boyce / Jada – RT
33. Denise Wall / Moss – RT
34. Denise Wall / May – RT
35. Donald McCaig / June – RT
36. Nancy Schreeder / Flyn – RT
37. Patricia Kallen / Trim – RT
38. Sherry Farster / Vic – RT
39. Steve Godfrey / Celt – RT
40. Marianna Schreeder / Kate – RT
41. Donald McCaig / Luke – DQ
42. Jennifer Maginnis / Bay – DQ
43. Maureen Robinson / Lizard – DQ
****
Although there were challenges, the 2010 Finals Benefit Trial in Cowpens, SC, was successful and fun. A special thanks goes to Sherry and Steve Godfrey who were coping with the loss of Sherry’s father during the week of the trial and Steve’s minor surgery the week before the trial. The biggest challenge was separating the 100 ewes and their lambs every morning prior to the beginning of the trial, then taking the lambs off the trial site. On Friday, Nancy Schreeder and Jan Thompson did a thankless job in setting the Nursery classes, essentially working the cranky ewes for the first time without their lambs.
The sheep remained challenging into the weekend for the open dogs with heavy draws to the set out and exhaust. Several sheep escaped into the pond, but all were good swimmers, no casualties, only frustrated handlers and dogs. Penning was also a challenge. There was only one pen on Friday made by RC Tomlinson and Lou who won the Pro Novice class. Saturday’s penning only slightly improved as Jennifer Maginnis & Poco, Connie Brannen & Trip and Claudia Frank & Jaydee were the only teams to finish. By Sunday, the sheep were more manageable, however only 8 teams made the pen.
Herbert Holmes sorted the runs with good humor and patience. Herbert was kind enough to donate his time to judge the trial in order to provide a larger donation to the Finals. Thank you Herbert! Dwight Parker arranged for the awards of double ring dog collars with name tags for the winners. Jennifer Maginnis made a pot of chili for Saturday’s lunch, and Gayle Richardson made cakes, muffins and brownies for everyone on Saturday and Sunday.
As usual, it takes a village to run a dog trial. In this case, every handler on the running order helped out; whether it was setting out, relaying sheep up to the set out point, clerking, posting scores, checking math or providing meals. Thank you all very much! On a personal note, I would like to thank my mother, Nancy Schreeder. Without her, there would not have been a nursery class. Not to mention, I wouldn’t be in this sport without her encouragement. Thanks, Mom.
And the best news of all….we raised $2,645 for the 2010 National Sheep Finals!!!!
Regards,
Marianna Schreeder
Nursery 1 – 14 dogs
1. Connie Brannen/Rem – 61
2. RC Tomlinson / Lou – 58
3. Shelby Cook / Ben – 52
4. Marianna Schreeder / Cap – 41
5. Barry Zimmerman / Storm - RT
6. Cy Peterson / Grace – RT
7. Denise Teal / Jesse - RT
8. Dwight Parker / Mike – RT
9. Maureen Robinson / Hellbender - RT
10. Dwight Parker / Lucy – DQ
11. Ginger Bruton / Sweep – DQ
12. John Grosse / Cruz – DQ
13. Vickey Russell / Grace – DQ
14. RC Tomlinson / Jan – DQ
Nursery 2 – 13 dogs
1. Dwight Parker / Lucy – 62
2. Shelby Cook / Ben – 57
3. John Grosse / Cruz – 55
4. Connie Brannen/Rem – 49
5. RC Tomlinson / Jan – 47
6. Barry Zimmerman / Storm - 41
7. RC Tomlinson / Lou – 34
8. Cy Peterson / Grace – RT
9. Dwight Parker / Mike – RT
10. Marianna Schreeder / Cap – RT
11. Vickey Russell / Grace – RT
12. Denise Teal / Jesse - DQ
13. Ginger Bruton / Sweep – DQ
Novice – 3 dogs
1. Terry Stroud / Zoe
2. Terry Stroud / Jen
3. Bill Lang / Powder
Pro Novice – 8 dogs
1. RC Tomlinson / Lou – 77
2. Barry Zimmerman / Storm – 68
3. Denise Teal / Jesse – 68
4. Sherry Farster / Jesse – 67
5. Jack O’Bryant / Flint – 63
6. Marianna Schreeder / Cap – 57
7. RC Tomlinson / Jan – RT
8. Donald McCaig / Dan – DQ
Open Ranch – 11 dogs
1. Dwight Parker / Lucy – 75
2. Dawn Boyce / Slim – 71
3. Cy Peterson / Emma – 54
4. Dwight Parker / Mike – 53
5. John Grosse / Cruz – RT
6. Nancy Schreeder / Fox – RT
7. Connie Brannen / Rem – DQ
8. Dawn Boyce / Carson – DQ
9. Jan Thompson / Hannah – DQ
10. Jan Thompson / Sara – DQ
11. Vickey Russell / Devi – DQ
Open 1 – 52 dogs
1. Jennifer Maginnis / Poco – 93
2. Connie Brannen / Trip - 83
3. Jennifer Maginnis / Bay – 79
4. Nancy Schreeder / Flyn – 78
5. Dawn Boyce / Tink – 77
6. Nancy Schreeder / The Don – 74
7. Claudia Frank / Jaydee – 74
8. Marianna Schreeder / Nan - 74
9. Claudia Frank / Buddy – 73
10. Connie Brannen / Peach – 73
11. Sherry Farster / Scott – 72
12. Craig Rogers / Jake – 71.5
13. Craig Rogers / Brit – 71
14. Marianna Schreeder / Penny – 70
15. Shelby Cook / Ben – 69
16. Tony Stewart / Lad – 69
17. Laurie Schultz / Nara – 65
18. Donald McCaig / Luke – 65
19. Connie Brannen / Rem – 65
20. Anet Haithcox / Gin – 64
21. Patricia Kallen / Jet – 63
22. Bobby Ford / Nell – 63
23. Anet Haithcox / Dod – 62
24. Vickey Russell / Zen – 60
25. Maureen Robinson / Newt – 59
26. Nancy Schreeder / Mona – 58
27. Denise Teal / Hope – 58
28. Dwight Parker / Craig – 58
29. Steve Godfrey / Celt – 55
30. Maureen Robinson / Lizard – 55
31. Jan Thompson / Bart – 53
32. Jennifer Maginnis / Arwen – 52
33. Gayle Richardson / Zeke – 50
34. Tracee Treadwell / Jack – 44
35. Denise Wall / Moss – 43
36. RC Tomlinson / Dat - 37
37. Donald McCaig / June – 31
38. Anet Haithcox / Flow – RT
39. Beth Chuck / Bless – RT
40. Bobby Ford / Cap – RT
41. Dawn Boyce / Jada – RT
42. Dawn Boyce / Juno – RT
43. Dean Holcomb – Jill – RT
44. Norma Stewart / Lena – RT
45. Barry Zimmerman / Bing – DQ
46. Craig Rogers / Luke – DQ
47. Denise Wall / May – DQ
48. Dwight Parker / Lucy – DQ
49. Norma Stewart / Jill – DQ
50. Patricia Kallen / Trim – DQ
51. Sherry Farster / Vic – DQ
52. Tony Stewart / Cole – DQ
Open 2 – 43 dogs
1. Dwight Parker / Lucy – 91
2. Claudia Frank / Jaydee – 90
3. Dwight Parker / Craig – 87
4. Dawn Boyce / Tink – 86
5. Marianna Schreeder / Penny – 83
6. Nancy Schreeder / The Don – 81
7. Tony Stewart / Lad – 79
8. Anet Haithcox / Gin – 79
9. Patricia Kallen / Jet – 77
10. Maureen Robinson / Newt – 77
11. Shelby Cook / Ben – 73
12. Nancy Schreeder / Mona – 72
13. Jennifer Maginnis / Poco – 69
14. Sherry Farster / Scott – 67
15. Connie Brannen / Rem – 67
16. Claudia Frank / Buddy – 66
17. Connie Brannen / Trip – 63
18. Tracee Treadwell / Jack – 63
19. Jan Thompson / Bart – 61
20. Tony Stewart / Cole – 61
21. Gayle Richardson / Zeke – 60
22. Vickey Russell / Zen – 59
23. Laurie Schultz / Nara – 55
24. Dawn Boyce / Juno – 47
25. Marianna Schreeder / Nan – 43
26. Denise Teal / Hope – 42
27. Anet Haithcox / Dod – RT
28. Anet Haithcox / Gin – RT
29. Beth Chuck / Bless – RT
30. Connie Brannen / Peach – RT
31. Craig Rogers / Brit – RT
32. Dawn Boyce / Jada – RT
33. Denise Wall / Moss – RT
34. Denise Wall / May – RT
35. Donald McCaig / June – RT
36. Nancy Schreeder / Flyn – RT
37. Patricia Kallen / Trim – RT
38. Sherry Farster / Vic – RT
39. Steve Godfrey / Celt – RT
40. Marianna Schreeder / Kate – RT
41. Donald McCaig / Luke – DQ
42. Jennifer Maginnis / Bay – DQ
43. Maureen Robinson / Lizard – DQ
Butternut Benefit Trial
January 30 2010 11:54 AM Filed in: benefits trials
On January 2, Amanda Milliken held a benefit trial for the Finals on her farm in Kingston, Ontario. Here is Amanda’s writeup of the event:
******
On January 2nd, Ontario handlers braved the chilly weather forecast and attended a trial at Amanda Milliken's place, that benefitted both the Canadian and US National finals. The organization presented some difficulties: the trial pen was anchored in six inches of very solid ice, making it imposssible to free; the set out pen had some down sections that were similarly buried and there was no way it would contain sheep; the panels were firmly rooted in just as much ice, making them unavailable. Plan B. We moved the trial to a smaller more undulating field and recommissioned the set out pen that I do not suppose had been used for ten years. We borrowed pilons from the highway maintenance guys down the road for panels and set them out for a drive. Three panels from anywhere they were not stuck, were pieced together for a three sided pen. It was more sheltered than our ususal trial field, even if not so large. better in the long run
It worked. People could drive out over the frozen ground and get in their cars to get warm when required. We got rolling with novice, then pronovice then about twenty open dogs, which were lots considering it was kinda cold, on the judge, me. We stopped for a tomato soup lunch, thank god. The sheep stood up well
John Palmer won the Open with Preacher which brought him some points towards the finals. Carol Guy won Pro-Novice with Will. We raised a little better thant $250 for each of the finals. The winter is long, so it was a good break for northern hands.
******
On January 2nd, Ontario handlers braved the chilly weather forecast and attended a trial at Amanda Milliken's place, that benefitted both the Canadian and US National finals. The organization presented some difficulties: the trial pen was anchored in six inches of very solid ice, making it imposssible to free; the set out pen had some down sections that were similarly buried and there was no way it would contain sheep; the panels were firmly rooted in just as much ice, making them unavailable. Plan B. We moved the trial to a smaller more undulating field and recommissioned the set out pen that I do not suppose had been used for ten years. We borrowed pilons from the highway maintenance guys down the road for panels and set them out for a drive. Three panels from anywhere they were not stuck, were pieced together for a three sided pen. It was more sheltered than our ususal trial field, even if not so large. better in the long run
It worked. People could drive out over the frozen ground and get in their cars to get warm when required. We got rolling with novice, then pronovice then about twenty open dogs, which were lots considering it was kinda cold, on the judge, me. We stopped for a tomato soup lunch, thank god. The sheep stood up well
John Palmer won the Open with Preacher which brought him some points towards the finals. Carol Guy won Pro-Novice with Will. We raised a little better thant $250 for each of the finals. The winter is long, so it was a good break for northern hands.
