Vashon Island Sunday (quick recap)

In a couple of days, I will do the full report. The course was reversed, the outrun was 425 yards, drive, shed and pen. Ewes ran better in the morning and were cranky in afternoon. The sun decided to show a few rays in the mid day then was chased away by serious clouds which then presented a full deluge for the late afternoon to the evening.

Patrick won again and I think Karen was next. I thought I had taken a pix of the score sheet but I guess not! Over 50% of the Open dogs were RT or DQ. The sheep were still tough. I enjoyed working them.

Rainey ran a non-compete Open run at the lunch break and was judged by Brian Ricard. She had a wonderful outrun, ran into a gully, didn't see the sheep and began to scan for the sheep at the top. The set out person saw her think and scan when she was in the gully, then she found the ewes and had a nice lift. She said it was one of the better lifts and the ewes did not challenge her. She brought them smartly down the fetch and they slipped past the panels at the last minute but still had a nice fetch. The drive was hard as they wanted to run up the hill and she had to work but ran out of time. She never backed down or got ran off and help her ground as the ewes charge. I was quite happy with her.

Roo ran after lunch and had a nice outrun, lift and decent fetch. He actually listened and I had hope but at the drive the ewes stood him off and he decided to do his version of the drive than the one I was asking him, I called him in for the shed but he didn't get it in time .

Nan was the last dog to run and it was darkish and the sheep wanted to break back to the set out. Her outrun was nice and she walked in for the lift, the ewes challenged her, she got a proper grip then the still tried to break past her. She got a bigger grip when I gave her a big, hard walk up and we got called. As the sheep split around her, I gave her a look back, followed by a flank and she got the group back but then I had to recall her. even though she was called, I was pleased that she did try and listened to me.

Got tons of pixs so will post them. The trial was fabulous and I really enjoyed the tough ewes. They really showed what I need to do for my homework and will be working on that now. It also showed that Patrick can run a damm near flawless run and by watching him, we all got a free lesson on how to run on range ewes.  He was very humble when you asked him and his grace on the field was an inspiration to all of us.

Much thanks to Maggi and the Vashon folks who hosted this wonderful trial. It is a must return and you better do your homework! It is a 5 star trial and I highly recommend it.