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