Snowbirds On the Border

Subtitle - "A View from the Top"

It sounds so much better than the "Walk of Shame"

Both apply to the weekend. First the "View from the Top".

Piper and I spent the two days of the Open Trial at the top end assisting with the set out relay from the set out pens to the set out dog (Leon and Blade). It is an entirely different perspective on a dog trial.

From the top it is easy to see which outruns are tight and which are wide and deep. It is easy to see which lifts are smooth and which came at the urging of a grip (sometimes well deserved).

It is also obvious from the top that a good outrun sets up a good lift. And a good lift sets up a good start to the fetch and so on.

Having seen what happens from the top I will never complain about drilling a correct top end to the outrun again.

Also from the viewpoint of set out there are different concerns. Good set out is like a referee or offensive lineman - it is best not to be noticed. If there are disasters at the set out pens it is best they remain hidden. Set out -like sausage -is best enjoyed when complete - the ingredients and process are not important - just the end result.

And the end result is supposed to be the right number of sheep arriving at the set out spot without being unduly disturbed. The concern from set out is (1) getting the right number of sheep (2) making sure no lame sheep are set out (3) clearing any emergencies or wrecks which may come back our way and (4) making sure no one has to wait for their sheep to be set - except following a corrected emergency. Hopefully #4 is the only one that is visible to the handlers.

For the most part I think we got the job done this weekend for Open. It was a good group with people Gayle, Nicko, Zack, and myself at the pens and Leon at the set out. Canine help was provided by Piper at the pen on standby for emergencies and Blade at set out doing yeoman's work at set out.

After two days of set out we got our shot at competing in Pro-Novice.

Out of 34 dogs in the first go round 33 sent on the come bye side and only 1 on the away side. We ran 22nd and I sent Piper away - the only dog sent that direction all day. I think most people avoided the away because to be right the dog has to go behind a rock outcropping near the top and give up sight of the sheep temporarily. If the dog cuts in front of the rock it will be either VERY tight or cross over. Piper took the away exactly as I expected - kicking wide and deep behind the rock and coming up pretty much spot on. She did not give me the lie down but she did give me a stand and then came on nicely for a lovely smooth lift. 0 points off the outrun and 0 point off the lift.

The last time she was on range ewes was Pt. Pleasant and the fetch was more of a wild uncontrolled chase. (See earlier Blog Post about Pt. Pleasant). Anyway the lift was slightly off line to the panels but relatively controlled. Piper took my directions and lie downs on the bottom part of the fetch and we actually had a pretty nice pace coming down. I thought the sheep were drifting to the wrong side of the post and gave Piper an away command which she took giving the sheep the opportunity they were looking for and they escaped wide to the right of the post. Piper's come bye was too wide and by the time she got around in their faces they had meandered out of bounds for a DQ. Even so I was generally happy with how she worked.

On the second run we apparently had angered the sheep gods. I deliberately sent Piper the opposite way so as not to let her pattern. She did a beautiful come bye outrun stopping on balance. This time she gave me the lie down and started to walk up on command. She walked up and . . . NOTHING. The sheep would not budge. We tried everything - slight flanks - both sides - walk ups and NOTHING. Finally Piper got the sheep to turn and they got about 10 yards down the fetch before turning back and going to the hay. A few more tries and it was obvious they were not going to move so I turned, thanked the judge and took the Walk of Shame. I think it was the right time because I did not want to frustrate her anymore. We scored 0 points off the outrun and 7 off the lift (I guess we got a lift score because they left then came back.)

Speaking to Leon (set out) afterwards he told me it was only one sheep stomping and refusing to move. Piper initially held her ground but simply could not get that one sheep to move. It is the first time we have ever failed to lift so I am not going to worry about it unless it becomes a pattern. As Jennifer would say the "Sheep Gods were not kind to me".

We will get her back on range ewes at Suzy Applegate's trial in three weeks. Overall she did a good job handling the range ewes all weekend - up top helping with set out and disaster control - and her first run in Pro Novice.