Oh, boy, What a great two days of herding for Token and Mesa at the Rottwieler Club of Canada Herding Trials at Phantomridge Farms, High River, Alberta, July 16 & 17th. Finished Token's Herding Tested title and got a "Q" of 85.5 with Mesa under Judge Shelley Fritzke. Not only that, but, thanks to the Rottweiler and Aussie Clubs, we received a beautiful Rosette and stock stick by placing High Scoring German shepherd! Better yet, we were 1/2 pt. off the High in Trial score! Yikes! That is scary stuff, considering who was working the dog. It felt really good seeing the girls work. I was most impressed with Mesa's pen work. She went in quietly and the sheep trotted calmly out of the pen and settled right away. I felt really confident working Mesa because she doesn't operate at the speed Token does and that gives me time to position myself better. But I gain more confidence when I can work Token and have her pass because she has more energy and she reads her stock better so she is often right when I am not. Probably always. Well, maybe not always, but most of the time, I think.
Sunday, Token didn't have to run because she had finished her title and I had hurt my knee while
taking the girls out for a run at 5:00 a.m. and was definitely not able to do any herding.
My Good Girls
Thankfully, the other competitors and neither judge had any problem letting Louanne work Mesa for me and she got our second score towards our Started title with 84.5 . As a matter of fact, Shelley, who has the highest scoring
German shepherd herding dog in Canada ever, volunteered to handle Mesa if Louanne was not allowed. Wow!
The entire two days was spent in the company of the best people and a variety of breeds of dogs. There were Aussies,
Rotties, German shepherds, Cardigan Corgi's, a smooth collie, a Shetland Sheepdog, and two border collies. It was so
neat to be able to watch the different styles. Even the upright breeds had different working techniques. What an impressive
group we all were!!!
And, bonus.......... Mesa and Token got along all weekend with no hair-raising experiences at all. Even rode home together in the extended-cab. Probably helped that Token spent her trip hiding on the floor and Mesa slept flat-out on the seat. Worked well for both of them.
Anyway, as soon as this knee thing goes away, I am off and running again! Whoa! Just remembered. I have Swayze entered in
Rally at AKC. Something tells me I should be working with him so that we don't look like ditzes. He works great at home.
Time to get out in public right away. But I'd rather be herding.
Judi
1 comment:
Congrats!
Post a Comment