Back to Work

Well the celebration from a good job at Sonoma is over.

It is back to work cleaning up those things that still need cleaning and polishing those that need polishing. Plus learning a new thing or two.

The wind was howling in Campo today making it hard to be heard at a distance. Perfect for practicing at a distance.

We started with outruns and fetch on a tricky group of rambouillet's that wanted to pull heavy to one side trading with Sally Douglas and Trapper. Piper took her first couple outruns nice and wide and deep and her fetches were generally pretty good even though the sheep kept trying to push over her and off line. After a few outruns she got a bit lazy and started to flatten out so I set her up and got the timing right on a good "get out" on the away side and this was better.

Driving was generally OK today but not great. She did some good stuff and some not so good stuff. The cross driving was generally better and the driving generally got better during the day. On our last cross drive the sheep wanted to drop anchor. This was the same group that made her turn tail a few weeks ago and she was not walking on. She wasn't turning like before but still not walking on. I gave her a "hit it. hit it. hit it." and she did. YEAH !! Moving sheep again.

We also snuck in a bit of shedding practice today. Piper is getting the concept pretty well. It's me that has the problem of getting in her way and not leading the drive off. I think by the time we need a shed we should have one.

Anyway only 2 weeks til Deer Creek and I want to have her ready.

Apres Sonoma - the Wine Tasting

Well the best part of the Sonoma Trial is the "Apres Sheepdog Trial" wine tasting.

As I did last year, after our runs were over I snuck away with Piper for a bit of wine tasting. You can get a list of wineries that permit you to bring your dog but I have pretty much found that by keeping to the smaller wineries (and a few of the big ones - but check first), Piper has been welcome at almost every winery we stop at. The only exception was one winery that had their own two Great Danes wandering around and I left her in the truck to avoid dog on dog issues. All I do is bring her to the door and ask first and the answer is almost always that she is welcome.

The picture above is Piper outside the Madrigal Vineyards where we picked up a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. This was a small estate bottling with only 200 cases made so it is only available at the winery. It is somewhat richer in taste than the average Sauvignon Blanc and a very nice wine. It was purchased as a gift.

The funny thing - to me anyway - is how easily impressed everyone at the wineries is by a well behaved dog. The Wine Country Sheepdog Trials get a fair amount of local publicity so most everyone seems familiar with the concept of a Border Collie. But they are always amazed that I can just walk in - either off leash or just drop the leash - and tell Piper to "lie down" and she just stays there. For those of us in dog trialing she better darn well lie down at 3 feet because otherwise we will never get it at 300 yards - but for most people they seem way impressed. Guess they just are not use to dogs that do as they are told.

Well we hit a few wineries and picked up some nice bottles of wine.

Our first stop was at Ballentine Vineyards - a small well respected boutique winery - where we arrived just as a tour bus group of mostly young 20 something women was finishing their tasting. So it was a bit crowded and I hesitated before bringing Piper but I was assured she was welcome. She was a huge hit with the girls. Wow!

Here is a picture of Piper posing outside Ballentine. We bought a nice Merlot here.

My favorite winery this visit - and something of a surprise - was the Vermeil Winery tasting room right in Calistoga. I had kind of expected it was another celebrity slapping his name on a winery for publicity but apparently Coach Vermeil is a Napa born native and the roots and connections go way back. The winemaker (Paul Smith) was formerly at Mondavi and is partly responsible for one of the truly fabulous wines of the world - Opus One. Mary Sue Frediani (Paul's wife) literally grew up with Coach Vermeil and (wo)mans the tasting bar. She is a real joy and while I was there took time out to help a couple young girls find lodgings for the night.

Well I tasted a vertical flight of Zins from 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 from the same vineyard. The difference was remarkable. While they were all great my favorite was the 2001 with an intense peppery taste and very full bodied. My next favorite was the 2003 which to me had a bit of a chocolaty taste. I bought a 2001 and 2003 in a gift box as a special gift for my sons future in laws.

Mary Sue was great in welcoming Piper and Miss Piper managed to behave herself for the entire 45 minutes or so that I enjoyed the tasting. (I kind of broke tasting protocol and drank the wine as it was my last stop before dinner across the street). She even moved along with me a few feet at a time as we heard the Vermeil/Frediani combined family history (told with obvious and well deserved pride and love).

The picture above is Piper chilling at the Vermeil/Frediani tasting bar.

On our way out of town we stopped at V. Sattui for some wine, salami and cheese. This is a larger operation but is always one of my favorite stops due to the wide selection, dog friendly atmosphere (except for the deli section we learned) and wonderful deli selection. They were even doing barbecue in the picnic area. If you are looking for a place to stop and lunch V. Sattui is hard to beat on a nice day. Just remember if you are using their picnic area it is supposed to be with their products.

Sonoma - What a Difference a Year Makes

Well I guess the picture gives away the ending so I will end the suspense immediately. Piper ran well, scored a 63, lost all tiebreakers from a 3 way tie for 5th and ended up 7th winning a Ribbon, dog bone and bottle of wine (I love the loot at this trial). I was very proud of her.

What a difference a year makes. Last year it was Outrun, Grip, "Thank You".

The Pro Novice at the Sonoma Trial was a combined run with Nursery and there were so many entries (52) that they cancelled the second Nursery Run. This is absolutely one of the best trials of the year and it is pretty much unbeatable for hospitality and atmosphere. If you do well you can go wine tasting (separate entry coming) to celebrate, If you do poorly well there is plenty of wine to help you forget.

Because the trial is so popular the PN/Nursery attracts a higher number and more experienced handlers than you might otherwise get in a PN trial. We were running competitively against nationally known trainers like Derek Fisher, Bill Berhow, Don Helsley, and Geri Byrne. Add in Suzy Applegate with a Nursery only run and we were running in some pretty good company.

Our judge was Dennis Birchill from Ireland -the current international brace champion and he was a charming man even if a bit difficult to understand due to the heavy accent. I love that accent though.

We were given 9 minutes to complete the course and it frankly was too much time. Unfortunately many PN handlers will not walk away from a wreck when they should and a lot of runs ended with calls of "time". The result was that by about 3 p.m. we started running to a standard - something almost unheard of in PN. Piper and I ran at 4 pm under the standard.

Suzy Applegate and her Nursery Dog Dot set the early standard with a lovely controlled walking pace run losing only 11 points for a 79. (This was a Nursery Only run so it did not count against us for placement in PN) If you are running the same course later in the day from Suzy I HIGHLY SUGGEST you watch her runs closely because you will learn a lot about the course draws and how the sheep are behaving that day.

Geri Byrne and Danny were the only other run even in the same neighborhood in the morning posting a 68 after having a bit of trouble with the line and some reluctant ewes at the pen (although she did get them in). Geri was very happy with her young dog and rightfully so.

In the mid afternoon Candy Kennedy with Bond and Patti Sowell with Del posted tied scores of 63. They got there differently but they were both nice runs.

Derek Fisher and his new dog Mirk had a bit of trouble on the outrun. Derek had to blow Mirk down and redirect twice (4 pts off) but Mirk eventually bent out and the rest of the run was a thing of beauty. Derek's timing on his flanks is impeccable and the fetch and drive were both things of beauty. He posted a 77 (I think) which had him in first place until the very last dog.

Piper and I ran 40th and did not go to the post until almost 4 p.m. As I approached the post Dennis Birchill told me we were now running "to a standard" and the magic words would be "thank you."

I sent Piper to the left and she went out a little slower than usual (about 3/4 pace) like she was feeling her way along. But she was wide and deep and came up about 11:30 on the clock face before turning in. Since the sheep were generally lifting to the handlers left this was the right spot for the pressure. Zero points off the outrun (but she has me spoiled on the outrun)

She took my down whistle and walked in on the sheep nicely. The sheep lifted calmly but slightly off line to my left. Five points off the lift.

On the fetch the sheep wanted to go to my left but Piper mostly held them pretty close to the line. As we approached the post they came further left and would have set up nicely for a right hand drive. Unfortunately it was a left hand drive and we had to head them to wind the sheep around the post properly. They took this as an opportunity for escape and Piper gave me an outrun sized come bye flank catching and turning them for a very wide turn around the post. This was definitely the worst part of our run and we rightly lost major points.

On the driveaway the sheep wanted to lean to the right but Piper held the pressure and we made the inside edge of the gate. I was slightly late on the flank and she went wide around the opposite panel so the turn was a bit wide and we had to bring the sheep back down to hit the cross drive line.

The danger point of the run came here as Piper wanted to stay on top and ignored two verbal away flanks. Just as the sheep were about to tip back towards my feet she took the away whistle and got in the pocket to hold the line. As we approached the panel we needed a slight adjustment to get them back from the outside of the panel and through.

Then I failed Piper on the turn. I gave her the come bye to make the turn but because I was afraid the sheep would come back through I blew her down and short flanked her. This one was on me as I should have let her come around instead of breaking the flank into two parts. Result was a wide turn and our line to the pen was not the best.

At the pen the sheep were generally pennable but not anxious to go in so it needed proper teamwork. Our sheep gave us a couple attempts at rebellion upon nearing the mouth but in the working pen area. Piper held her side and did not overreact and the sheep soon gave up and went into the pen. Run completed with 3 and a half minutes left.

As I was leaving we were in a 3 way tie for 3rd place (losing all tiebreakers due to the points off the lift) with only about 6 dogs to go. Unfortunately for us 2 of those dog/handler teams laid down excellent runs and bumped us back two spots. Don Helsely jumped in front f Gerri Byrne and behind Derek Fisher ending up 3rd. Erin Swanson and Lark nailed the last run of the day to take home first place honors.

For a video of our run follow this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-dcxXTyeeY