What a nice herding trial! Cathy Lowe and her charming husband Lobo allowed the GSDCA and retinue into their home for a lovely weekend of herding. They worked so hard to be accommodating to the GSDCA and provided - ample parking, beautiful ambiance, and reasonable stock. The sheep for the A, B and tests were probably more reactive then most were accustomed to working, but if the dog and handler gave them room - they were willing to settle. The C course flock were more then willing to stick together and move as a flock. While the sheep appeared to be light - Cathy and her young Aussie showed time and again - their reasonableness and manageability. I competed in both A and C contributing 4 runs, and on day one - neither of my dogs passed. It was not due to the stock, it was due to 10 hours in the car and not working other peoples stock enough. Everyday is a new day and if you only train and trial at the same facility - your dogs generally are at a great disadvantage somewhere else. On the B course - if your dog runs straight up the middle - the stock is going to fly in different directions. You must have a wide outrun if you are going to be successful on the B course. The biggest issue in the test classes was handler errors. The handlers let the stock get past them and spend too much time fighting with their dogs while the stock vacated the area, which in turn revved the dogs up and the chase was on. When the leader of the flock and the wolf lock eyes, the rest of the flock decides the leader is going to become lunch for the wolf and they would do best hightailing it in a different direction. Tests are just that - tests and this weekend the results showed that the dog & handler teams need more practice before heading to the trial arena. The results on day 2 were much better for the test classes. Dogs and people were better about reading the stock. I am very happy to say that Norah's (Terra Norte's Midnight Serenade, HSAs) C course run went better and we qualified for our 2nd Started C Course leg and went Reserve High In Trial to a very nice Advanced dog and handler team from the A course. Unfortunately - she was one of those Intermediate A dogs who didn't qualify. Running straight up the middle does not provide for a successful run. Special thanks to the Herding Committee - Theresa Royer and Debbi Humble in particular. Theresa and her crew worked very hard to put on a first class event - this is a tremendous feat since they didn't have a local member to help with the logistics. Debbie Humble should be nominated for member of the year, she took a week of vacation and drove in several days before the trial to design and build the C Course. Unlike the other 2 courses that have set parameters - the C course is customized into the topography of the site. This means mowing or tilling in borders, building obstacles (pen and bridge), etc. Debbi designed a well thought out course that the sheep agreed to follow. Also Debbi and her dog assisted in a fabulous demonstration of the C course on Saturday afternoon. When I first stated hosting herding trials at our place - I used to worry alot about the percentage of qualifying runs as an indication of stock workability. But a wise AKC judge pointed out that it is the dogs & handlers who have the greatest control on qualifying scores. Often the entries of a particular trial are at the beginning of the learning curve of their trial careers - first time in the test arena or a recent move-up to the next level. Now it is time to change gears and trade my stock stick for my 12 ft conformation lead....... ~ Val Manning Terra Norte' GSD Rancho Terra Norte' Wellington, CO ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2011. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org SUBSCRIPTION:http://showgsd.org/mail.html NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================