Wrap up of shedding clinic

I am so T-I-R-E-D. Nan and Lucy are so T-I-R-E-D. I am sure Monique is tired. I bet Scott Glen is really tired!!

The shedding clinic was a great success. We all did the International shed today and it was fun, despite being under all that pressure. Today was the results of the first intense days of learning all the different aspects of shedding.

For me, it was a couple of key areas that would cost me a point to five points and those points would just knock me out of the placings sometimes. Not to mention the shedding partnership needed to be fine tuned.

We worked lambs or ewes. There were red or blue painted sheep and Scott would torture us by picking a color for us. I may not have the exact order of how we went but it is close. I am tired so don't remember all the details.

Melinda Eden was first with Coon. We all volunteered her to go first since she had the longest drive. Coon in the first day of the clinic was unsure but today, he just shined. He held his gate and they worked the flock like pros. Melinda gets bonus points for pointing me to the ice cream cones in the barn. Those were very tasty.

Heidi and her very talented Aussie, River had some wonderful work. He has an outrun that is stellar and rates his stock great. They worked the gate and were very calm. They have come very far and were a real pleasure to watch. Everyone just loved this talented pair. That is one nice Aussie.

Lora used her Sally today and awed us with her record time of 6 minutes in the Internationals shed. She picked her sheep off and was quiet, calm and made it look easy. She set a high standard for the rest of us. She is one incredible handler.

Jorgen worked his young dog and as I watched him, I realized that we have a serious contender on our hands. They are a matched team with his dog doing everything he asked of him. Is there anything this team can't do? They looked pretty darn good! BTW, Jorgen was a good sport considering he was the only male in the group. (Aside from Scott)

Nan was eager and was listening quite well. I was to sort the reds and we carefully maneuvered the sheep, did the gate and got the four sheep shed in 4 and a half minutes. Nan was right on and the cards all worked in our favor. The Scott told me to sort the blues. We did well and got down to the last few but were having problems with one blue that hung out in the middle of the refs. Scott came out and showed me what to do. Scott went out to help everyone when he saw that they needed help and were struggling for a bit. He wanted us to experience the issue then came out to help us fix it. Luckily for me, the issue that I had was the issue that has plagued me during my three Double Lifts that I ran in this year. His tips were great and helped me a ton. I kept thanking him as it was the stumbling block for me!! I was very happy with how Nan worked and she was starting to get the idea.

Monique worked Lucy and by God, they worked and worked and had nice sheds. Lucy was spot on and Monique was quiet as she moved the sheep into the proper position. I keep forgetting that Monique is new to the sport as she shows great stockmanship for someone so new. She has tons of experience in training dogs and it shows. She got tons of compliments under the tents for her good work.

Lauren was up after lunch with Bob. I like Bob as he is a nice, slick tri male that had go forward. They did well and Bob began to go forward a lot more and the sheep decided to go when they were asked. Lauren did well and she looked happy with Bob as they walked off the field.
 

Corinne and Tay were the next set up. Tay is a slick black and white female that adores Corinne. It really showed on the field and she did some nice saves. Tay was working well and they had some nice smooth work out there. She is a really neat little dog!

Erin had been working hard all weekend getting fresh sheep was last. Mick (One eyed Mick) is her dog. They have come far in working together. She had to do some extra work as Mick has limited vision in one eye but she made it happen. Erin took her time and set up a win win situation and got some nice shedding in and they are a nice team to watch.

Monique and I bailed as she had to catch a ferry. They were going to do some more short sheds and I am sure they had fun. I got home and Nan, Lucy and I crashed and took a short nap.

I certainly had fun at the shedding clinic and if you have a chance to go to a Scott Glen shedding clinic, it is well worth it. I got help on two areas that I had been struggling with plus I got to watch other folks and see the different progress. Scott is the shedding master and if you are going to learn how to shed, go to the best.

We took pictures and if I get them I will post them.