Friday, July 30, 2010

Dawson Creek and Kate's debut

Last weekend Louanne, Jenny and I headed NORTH for a trial - that's a first as I am now totally used to the summer "commute" south for trials. The Gellings trial in Dawson Creek was a first for all of us. Dennis and Jean do a great job of putting a trial together. Heck, I'll be heading back next year for handler's dinner alone. 


Hope and I did not have a good weekend. On Friday neither one of us was steller. I don't know what I was thinking, but it sure wasn't about running a dog. I forced Hope...not once, but twice to cross over at my feet. After that, between him not listening (who could blame him, he was handled by a dislectic idiot) and me then totally doubting every flank I gave him (which isn't good for one's timing) we didn't exactly have our game on and we finally lost a ewe on the drive when she bolted for the water on the field. She wound up swimming even though Hope was nowhere near her by then - at the very least he still had a good recall...chalk that up to another "never had that happen at a trial" I thought...


Day two.  After a night of obsessing "come by clockwise, away counter" I was good to go. Hope had a great outrun, lift and fetch and we were both feeling really good about things...and then one ewe broke away and bolted for the water - which was a LONG way away. What were the odds... I left the post and Hope and I tried to push the other three to catch up to the fourth (you pretty much always want to push the group to the single), but frankly she was going for broke with nothing chasing her. What the heck. THAT's the luck of the draw. 

But hey, on to the good news.


This was Kate's first trial as a nursery dog. She doesn't have the best birthday date for Nursery so between that and the trials I could get her to this summer this was her first and pretty much only Nursery entry. 


Day one she got out to her sheep and brought them in fairly nicely , got them around the post and then lost them as we started the drive when they bolted into the trees. I left the post to help her out as I wanted things to end well for her, her first time out. 


Day two she did a bang up job and got the sheep around the course, penned them and won the nursery class (and beat all of the pro novice dogs as well as it was a combined class). Good girl Kate!

 Kate at the post on day two. 

Check out Louanne and Jenny's blogs for more about our Dawson Creek adventures.  Next trial stop, EID, Shaunovan and Maple Creek. It will be the whole family for a change with Travis AND Bruce attending - folks won't know what hit them. 

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