PN and Nursery from LaCamas on Thursday

Here are some photos of PN and Nursery on the first day. I didn't take any on Friday as I was running in Open. The sun was very bright so the photos were hard to take. 

 Rochelle Stanford and Rack. He is very fast!

 Rack on a nice walk up.

 The fetch.

 The lambs. They haven't missed a meal and made short work of a dog if it was too pushy or weak. They just got sheared and their coats glistened in the sun.

 Ron Green and his Chavo ran in Nursery. This dog is a cousin to Rainey.

 The fetch.

 Almost done at the fetch.

Ron Green ran DeltaBluez Kiki. She is a great grand daughter of Tess. She ran in Nursery and won the class.  Rainey would be her Grand Aunt.

 Turning into the sheep.

 Leaping lamb and serious dog.

 On the drive.

The first leg of the drive. They did quite well and Ron was very pleased with her.

Tess had five pups (Roo, Pete, Kate, Koko, Rainey) , four grandpups (Lucy, Finn, Kirby, Pooka) and one great gradnpup (Kiki) running at this trial. On the first round of Open, Kate was fourth. On the second round of Open, Koko was fourth.  Rainey was 10th and 11th in PN. Kiki was first and second in Nursery. Not bad!!

Rainey's first PN run at LaCamas

This is Rainey's second time to the post with me in PN. She is a much softer dog than Tess, Nan or Roo. She is like her sire, Scott, in the sensitive department. However, she has a heart of gold and will do anything I ask of her. She has gotten a lot tougher on sheep in the last few  months.

Bill DeVoe was the judge and did this for three days (three rounds of PN) and he did a suprb job. He has a great sense of humor and made everyone feel at ease.  I met Bill over eleven years ago at the Vashon Trial. They hosted the Handler's Dinner and it was a feast. He was very kind to me at that time, being a Novice and still to this day,  is still a classy guy!

 Walking to the post. She spies her sheep.

 Making the fetch panels.

 Holding the pressure on the rest of the fetch.

 The lambs tried to make a break for it but Rainey told them otherwise.

 Rainey says, "Do not enter this forbidden zone"

 She is very tiny but full of herself.

 I like the intensity in this photo.

 Turning the post. They tried to make a break for it but she stopped them and got them back online. She is very quick.

 Leaning on them on the drive. I actually had to slow her down.

 Just missed one on the cross drive panel.

Walking into their head at the pen. We timed out.

Photos: Ron Green

Friday and Saturday at LaCamas

I decided to roll Friday and Saturday into one blog. Then you will get the photo blogs that should span several days and the Double Lift photos. I guess I better get hopping on editing the photos from the trial. Believe me, there were a lot of them plus the lighting was quite bright so I will pick the best, do the massive edits and then post them.

Nan was the only dog of mine to run on Friday. Ron ran Tigr and Chavo in Nursery. Bob and Rochelle ran Cloud and Ben. The day started cool but soon the sun burst in and the temperature rose to the 80s. There was a slight breeze then patches of stifling hot dead air. I decided to sleep in until 7 and that felt good. A couple of cups of coffee and I was ready to wander down and see the Open runs. By mid morning, Ron had done his Nursery run. placed second with Kiki and retired with Chavo. He was quite happy with Kiki’s performance. Kiki is a great grand daughter of Tess. There was three generations of Tess’s pup at this trial. Tess was my lap warmer and the few times the sheep raced by her near the fence, she leaned into her leash and perhaps relived the times that she ran on this course.

Nan ran in late midday and cast our wide. She slowed down at the top bit so I flanked her out and she lifted the sheep and began the fetch. She did not grip on the fetch so I was happy there. I did notice when the sheep were set that one lamb kept trying to break away. True to his intentions, the lamb tried to gallop off on the fetch but Nan tucked him back in. Just before the post, the lamb tried for another runaway and Nan cast out wide and put him back in. She was well off the lambs as I put the breaks on her so that was not the cause as in her previous run. At the turn, the lamb bolted to the fence and Nan swung out wide again and marched him back. The other four lambs were very manageable and waited.

I got them lined up straight on the drive and the lamb bolted again and Nan put him back for the fourth time. I know Nan has a bit of a temper however, she was being very patient at this point. I slowed her down and kept a large bubble. We hit dead center of the first drive panel and Nan did a brilliant flank that had a super tight turn. She set herself up for the cross drive when the lamb did a 180 and ran of. She had had enough of this lamb and flew up in the air, did a quite face grip, turned the lambs and tucked him back into the group. The lamb decided discretion was the better part of valor and decided to behave himself but we walked off with a DQ. Even though we got a DQ, I was happy at her performance, a bit fast in some places but she tried hard. So at this point, I was 0 for 3 on points for my Open dogs.

Suzanne Anaya ran her Yoko in the PN field and did quite well. She placed in the top ten. Yoko handled the lambs quite well and they are a good team. I remember seeing Yoko a couple of years ago and it was nice to see her progression as a trial dog. Suzanne comes up from southern California once a year for trials and she is a real joy. Suzanne had Jett, who is retired but is a fun dog. He knows about a million tricks (well, it seems like that many) and has a wise face. He took Tess’s leash and took her to a walk under the big tent.

Later that night, Suzanne and I had steak and shrimp on the grill. We had some drinks and just hung out. The dogs got chew on some treats and soon we all fell asleep with the dreams of doing better on Saturday. I know we couldn’t do any worse!

Bright and early on Saturday, we went to the PN field to run Rainey and Yoko. This was the third day they had run PN and the course was the same as the first day. They had three PN classes but you were in only two of them we got the Thursday and Friday draw.

I sent Rainey to go on the away side but she started to cross but I got her in time and gave her a quick correction, followed by the flanks I wanted her to go. She spun on a dime and went out very nice. She was slow at the top since there was a setout person but not as slow as before. She very carefully walked on to her sheep nice and quietly. She had a nice fetch and took the flanks as needed to stay on line. She lost two on her outrun, one on the lift and four on the fetch. We had a fast turn at the post but I was pleased with it. She lined out the sheep and got the first panel, nice cross drive then made the second panel. The sheep broke hard to the exhaust and she had to swing high on the come-bye to cover them, Almost 270 degrees but got them turned. They were offline so I had her march them back online and that was very hard for her but she did it. We had them in the mouth of the pen and were easing them in nicely when one busted out and around the pen. She timed out putting them back together again. She lost five for her drive and all of her pen points. Interestingly enough, she got the same score on her last run and very close to the same points in the other areas. At least, she was consistent. Rainey got 10th out of 47 dogs.

Suzanne was up next with Yoko. That dog can move like a racehorse and she had one of the nicest outruns. She had a nice lift and then brought them down smartly on the fetch line and had a bit of a bobble at the post turn. Her drive lined out nice with a sprint at the cross drive but then got them to the pen, only to time out. She is looking quite nice now and really can red her sheep. They had very nice teamwork and placed 8th out of 47 dogs.

Gloria Atwater ran her Nick. Nick ran like a professional, had nice lines and had the lambs just go ever so sweet. She got the pen and the crowd cheered at such a beautiful run. I was able to met Gloria for the first time at this trial and we had been in contact via Facebook for a while but never met.

Roo was the last dog of mine to run.  I gave him the "evil eye of death", otherwise known as "you better down" look as we went to the post. He cast out wide on the away side, then he began to cut in. I stopped him and looked to see what caught his eye and it was a water truck with a big white water tub on top. I told him to look so he looked HARDER at the truck. Sigh. I waited until he decided it was a truck after all and not a giant sheep. He did look up towards the sheep so I flanked him and he went out like a champion. He decided to bust in at the lift and three lambs swr\irled to one side and we got them back online. He was pushing quite hard and I got a hold of him. The rest of the fetch was decent and we had a ok turn at the post. He was pushing hard on the drive and caused extra work for himself but he did stay back. His first leg was quite nice and as we did the nice first turn, the lambs went high but he got them back online. Due to my poor eyesight, I though I had the sheep dead on for the second panel but was low! I can't fault Roo at all for my mistake as he did as I told him. He got them in the ring was was gassing out. As a result, he would get closer and scattered the sheep. I created an opening as he was slow to come in so they regrouped. They ran about for a bit while Roo took a couple of water breaks and I knew we were out of shed points by them but wanted to get them back in the ring as time was running out. He got them back in the ring and time was called. I was much happier with him, aside from the bust in at the lift. He got a small token score in the 40's for his efforts.

All in all, it was a learning experience for me. This time Roo at least found the sheep and completed the course. Nan was free with her teeth. I know what my homework is now. Rainey did better than I thought she would and it was on all heart. If she didn't believe me, there would have been no way she could have moved the sheep. There were a few times she looked at me for help, and I encouraged her and she put down her head and did it for me.

Once again, it was a real pleasure to hang out with Bob and Rochelle. They are a five star people in my book. I can't enough good things about them. for those of you that think Bob maybe gruff, he really isn't. He cuddles his dogs and loves them dearly. He has a heart of gold. Rochelle is not only a beautiful woman but she has a heart to match that. She loves her Koko and took that little red dog and made her into a diamond.

I enjoyed hanging out with Suzanne. She showed me how to calm Nan's fears on gunshots and thunder a couple of years ago. She loves her dogs and believes in them. She is down to earth and none of the petty BS type of person. Plus she has a great sense of humor. Her ribs were cracked and she was in major pain but was a real trooper all weekend. I hope they heal quickly!

This trial is the "Bluegrass of the West". I really love this trial, the people who host it and can't say enough on how great it is. The sheep are tough and you have to work for every point. The hospitality is out of the world!

Photos and more trial stuff in the next few days.

Thursday in more detail at LaCamas

Thursday runs could have been a lot better with my Open dogs. As I previously stated Roo was a comet. Bright flash then a flameout. He would flip to the wrong side on the fetch line and not the side I needed him so as a result the sheep were way offline. We did a decent turn and a pretty decent start of the first leg. Then as I needed him to do the come bye turn, he decided to push then this way and then that way and totally ignored me. Part of it was due to the lay of the land but part of it was that he refused to listen. He was near my feet at the post turn and still refused to have me on his program. His outrun and lift were nice and the best part of the show. I walked off at the first drive panel since he was not partnering up with me and no sense in displaying more of his misbehaving.

Nan had a nice outrun and lift and one of the white face lamb strung out to the left. She tucked the lamb back in but it was pushing still to bust away. She apparently had enough of its shenanigans so gripped it hard on the hock and it leaped up to the delight of the crown, did a 180 and headed to the cornfield. Nan was quite satisfied that she got rid of the troublemaker and brought the remaining four down at a nice pace and was quite pleased with herself. It was the first time that Nan had done such a spectacular grip for me and I was even at a loss for words when she nailed the lamb. This was not looking good when my two Open dogs went down in rapid order on the first day.

The lambs were white and black faces and had been worked in the large flock. They had never been worked in a small group and it showed. They had no leader and had a tendency to split into two groups and go in opposite directions. Put any pressure on them and they would stand off to the dog (and had no idea to respect a dog) or simply bolt in several directions. However if your dog was gentle but had a firm quiet control, you looked like a rock star.  Since Roo and Nan are quite pushy, my goal was to slow them way down and keep them well off the bubble but that idea went to hell in a hand basket in about two seconds. I had worked the heck out of Roo the few days before the trial to make him feel the sheep and listen but since he had Wednesday off to recover, the Monday and Tuesday lesson were quickly forgotten.

Ron Green ran Tigr and she went out wide, lifted nice but was offline. The drive was hard as the lamb had no inclination to do as told and she had to push. They did time out in the shedding ring.

Ron brought Kiki and Chavo to run in the Nursery Class and I had Rainey for the PN class. This would be the second PN run that I ever did with her and I groaned inside when I found out the same lambs would be run on the PN field. Rainey is still learning to push and these lambs were be way above her head. She has been working two large flocks at home but never on range or valley lambs and not seasoned. We have been doing a lot of driving and hard work and she trusts me so that helps. She also is unsure of the people at the top so when I saw the setout person was between the lambs and pen and that was the way she needed to go, I knew that I had my work cut out for me. But at least with Rainey, she will turn herself inside out for me and try to please me, even when it above her skill level.

Rainey scans the field for the sheep, then acts like nonchalant. She is like her mom, Tess in this matter. I asked her if she saw the sheep and she glared at me as if I was blind. I set her up to run out wide on the away side and she cast out wide. She walked in slow at the top near the person and I gave her some flanks whistles to keep me moving. She did a nice lift and then down the fetch line, a wee bit off but flanked well when I asked her and held the line. The lambs kept in a tight bunch and moved well for her. Lucky for me, I was clutching the handler’s post otherwise I would have fallen down in utter shock. She had the good feel for the lambs and they respected her. She dropped her head and gave them a keen eye to mean business. They tried to make a break to the exhaust but she marched them back.

We had a fast turn at the post and they wanted to sprint wide on the first leg and she ran and got them stopped and then back on line. She held them true to the first panel, tucked them in and a nice turn. She leaned on the on the cross drive and they got a good run but I held her back so they slowed down. A misjudged on my part at the cross drive panel which looked like like a drunken sailor trying to do a jig but we got some of them through. The lambs saw their buddies in the exhaust but she tucked them back online and marched them to the pen. We had them in the mouth and almost in but time ran out. She was putting the right pressure on the lambs and I was the proud handler at the end of the run. There were a few times she had to be encouraged to walk into the faces of the stamping lambs, but she did as I asked of her. She took all of my whistles and once she did, a flank that she thought was right, but I stopped her and gave her the other flanks and she took it.

I really had thought these lambs would be too tough for her but she proved me wrong. Quite a few of the PN dogs could not stop the lambs or gripped as well as quite a few of the Open dogs (like my two!!)

Rainey strutted off the field and hopped in the water tub and was quite pleased with herself. I had pushed her quite hard and there were times she had to work hard to work the lambs but by the end she had done well. Her drive is the area that she has been struggling with and I was very pleased that she had only lost seven points on that. She lost two on her outrun, none on her lift and three on her fetch. I was doing the happy dance with Rainey after her run as it was very tough but she gave me it her all. The judge, Bill DeVoe told me that was a nice run and that warmed my heart. I got a few compliments on her run on how nice and smooth it was. She is not the strongest dog but she is very biddable. I plan to make her stronger with farm work and experience. She placed 11th out of 50 dogs. Her score was 68.

Kiki ran well for Ron and worked her heart out. She had superb outwork but struggled a bit on the drive but made it to the pen, only to time out. This was her first Nursery run and she won first place and got a engraved glass mug as an award. Chavo ran out nice but forgot his “down” and Ron retired him since he was not listening. It will be fixed by the next trial! Ron and Vic came over from eastern Washington and we hung out together. Ron fixed the blown out window in my trailer for me also.

On Thursday night, Bob, Rochelle and I went out and had German food. They had discovered a superb German Restaurant last year and we went to it. It was fantastic and I waddled back to my trailer. The night before we went to the Asian restaurant that we had gone to the year before. It was just as good. Bob and Rochelle set up next to me. I really enjoy their company and look forward to seeing them each year. They really love their dogs and are some of the kindest people in the world.  They ran Rock, Cloud and Koko in Open. Rack, Kira and Ben were in PN. They had their hands full with running all of them.

I am sure that I am missing something but that is life. I am still editing the photos and hope to have them up on Wednesday. I didn't take as many as I wanted to as I was busy and just enjoyed watching the other runs. Maybe next year, I will bring my laptop to the field and do blogging of the runs like I did at the Finals.

Top Twelve in LaCamas Double LIft

It took me over six hours for a three hours drive, with three of them in close to a 30 mile traffic jam. Therefore, I haven't downloaded any of the photos I took of the Double Lift. I got home and was too tired to do anything, except eat dinner and soon, off to bed. I had a great time at the trial. Much thanks to Lynn and Allison. I will do a lot of write ups this week.

Double lift draw for 12 for LaCamas- run Order

Cheryl and Jett
Francis and Chime
Patrick and Andi
Bill Berhow and Pete
Karen and Rock
Patrick and Riggs
Rob and Rex
Bill Orr and Boone
Lee Lumb and Chica
Terry Pelky and Dash
Lavon and Tess
Rob Miller and Jen

Scores
Cheryl and Jett 83
Francis and Chime DQ
Patrick and Andi 96
Bill Berhow and Pete 96
Karen and Rock RT
Patrick and Riggs RT
Rob and Rex RT
Bill Orr and Boone DQ
Lee Lumb and Chica 66
Terry Pelky and Dash (I can't remember)
Lavon and Tess 127
Rob Miller and Jen Scratch