Yep, that's Tess' nickname these last couple weeks. She is huge to say the least. I couldn't wait any longer so I took her in Tues. to have her x-rayed and get a head count. The tally was... definitely 6, probably 7, and don't be surprised if there's more than that. There wasn't much room left in Tess' belly so the pups were stacked on top of each other pretty good and made it difficult for the vet to see them, but they counted 6 skulls for sure. There was a blurry place that they thought might be another pup, but couldn't tell 100%. So, my hopes of a small litter are gone, but I can't wait to see these little rascals! I've never been so excited about pups before. I've been wanting to see what Blaze and Tess would produce for so long now and knowing that I'll get to meet the little guys in the next couple of days has put me over the edge. Did I ever mention I'm not the most patient person? I took a couple pictures of Tess recently and really need to get them put on the computer so I can post them here, but that's one of those things I haven't taken care of yet.
So, business at the grooming shop is going good. So far the amount of clients I've been having come in have far exceeded my expectations for just starting out. Have pics on the camera of the shop too. Maybe I'll have some free time this weekend to get them uploaded.
Stay tuned, those pups are due any day now and I fully intended to blog about them on a regular basis!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
A Little of Everything
So much for keeping up with the blog. No matter how good my intentions are, it just never seems to happen. So today I thought I'd do a little typing.
What's been keeping me busy lately? I'm opening my own dog grooming business. I've been grooming pretty much since I graduated high school and worked in a salon after dog grooming school until I had Jaycee. I took off for a year to spend time with my girl and then went to work for the local vet clinic 2 days a week for the past nearly 3 years. I've always dreamed of owning my own business, but I was comfortable with what I was doing so didn't want to take the risk. I got the motivation I needed this summer when Josh's mom had to go back to work and couldn't watch Jaycee anymore. Thanks to a good friend of mine, she didn't have to go to daycare. Now with me having my own business Jaycee will go to work with me everyday. The big opening day is Monday. All we have left to do is a few things like get the signs hung and finish my reception counter. I say we, what I really mean is Josh! :) He's been such a big help to me and I can't thank him enough.
The best part about taking this risk is, if it pays off, that farm I've been dreaming of will become reality much quicker. Everytime I walk outside to work my dogs on my little 5 acre place I am thinking to myself, "I can't wait till I have a big field to practice in." Not that my dogs would even recognize a sheep at this point. None of my dogs have been worked for the last couple weeks while I get things finished on the shop. I'm hoping I'll have some time in the evenings to get back to working them soon. I'm excited about this upcoming year of trialing. I'm hoping to move Blaze up to Open Ranch this year and hopefully I'll have Fly ready for the spring trials to run in Ranch. Josie will be running in Ranch as well. Who knows, if she comes along well this year I might compete with her in the Nursery class this fall. We'll just see how it goes.
Tess will be taking some time off to have pups next month. It wasn't a decision I took lightly at all. I've been thinking about crossing her with Blaze since she first came to me 2 years ago, but I wanted to see how the 2 of them progressed before committing. I was very pleased with both dogs this past year and couldn't think of a pup I wanted more than a pup from those 2. I've already got a few folks interested as well, so last month I finally made the decision to go for it. The plan now is to keep 2 of them to raise and train and either trial myself, or sell started. I really love starting young dogs and the thought of having pups similar to either Blaze or Tess or a mix of the 2 thrills me. So here's to hoping that Feb. 8th brings a healthy litter of working prospects. I bet I'll have something to blog about then.
What's been keeping me busy lately? I'm opening my own dog grooming business. I've been grooming pretty much since I graduated high school and worked in a salon after dog grooming school until I had Jaycee. I took off for a year to spend time with my girl and then went to work for the local vet clinic 2 days a week for the past nearly 3 years. I've always dreamed of owning my own business, but I was comfortable with what I was doing so didn't want to take the risk. I got the motivation I needed this summer when Josh's mom had to go back to work and couldn't watch Jaycee anymore. Thanks to a good friend of mine, she didn't have to go to daycare. Now with me having my own business Jaycee will go to work with me everyday. The big opening day is Monday. All we have left to do is a few things like get the signs hung and finish my reception counter. I say we, what I really mean is Josh! :) He's been such a big help to me and I can't thank him enough.
The best part about taking this risk is, if it pays off, that farm I've been dreaming of will become reality much quicker. Everytime I walk outside to work my dogs on my little 5 acre place I am thinking to myself, "I can't wait till I have a big field to practice in." Not that my dogs would even recognize a sheep at this point. None of my dogs have been worked for the last couple weeks while I get things finished on the shop. I'm hoping I'll have some time in the evenings to get back to working them soon. I'm excited about this upcoming year of trialing. I'm hoping to move Blaze up to Open Ranch this year and hopefully I'll have Fly ready for the spring trials to run in Ranch. Josie will be running in Ranch as well. Who knows, if she comes along well this year I might compete with her in the Nursery class this fall. We'll just see how it goes.
Tess will be taking some time off to have pups next month. It wasn't a decision I took lightly at all. I've been thinking about crossing her with Blaze since she first came to me 2 years ago, but I wanted to see how the 2 of them progressed before committing. I was very pleased with both dogs this past year and couldn't think of a pup I wanted more than a pup from those 2. I've already got a few folks interested as well, so last month I finally made the decision to go for it. The plan now is to keep 2 of them to raise and train and either trial myself, or sell started. I really love starting young dogs and the thought of having pups similar to either Blaze or Tess or a mix of the 2 thrills me. So here's to hoping that Feb. 8th brings a healthy litter of working prospects. I bet I'll have something to blog about then.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Washington Co. FFA Junior Stockdog Trial
Wow, what a great weekend! Can't say we were at all disappointed with our dogs! The trial was really nice and everyone worked very hard to put it on and raise $1300 for the kids. Thanks to everyone who made this possible. We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was just beautiful. The sheep were challenging for both dog and handler, but that's what keeps trialing interesting. :)
Tess was the first to run of the BBC team and gave me her all. She had one ewe who continued to be difficult and refused to keep up with the others, but she never quit trying. The first obstacle which was also the timeline proved to be very challenging. It was a y chute that looked very simple, but the sheep weren't having any part of it. After a long time of finessing we finally were able to get them through (one of only 2 dogs in the class to score) and were heading to the 3nd obstacle when we ran out of time. Tess showed her amazing stock sense and earned us a 2nd place trophy.
Next to run was Josh and Pete in the Ranch class. They had some tough luck on the first obstacle which wasted alot of their time. They conquered it and moved on to the 2nd where they went right through in good form and ran out of time on the 3rd obstacle. I'm not sure of their placing, but they were out of the money.
Blaze went in and made a run to remember. He made it look so easy. We got them all through the course plus all through the bonus in a time of 2 mins and change. Whoa! It all went so fast and easy that I couldn't believe we were already through when we walked out of the arena. What a good boy, and to think I was worried he'd never work again after his cattle injury in Feb. Blaze walked away with the win in the Ranch class.
Josie was also an awesome little girl and completed the course plus got her full bonus. She worked like a charm and even stopped at the top, which we've been working on deligently! :) With her time she managed to place 3rd in her 3rd trial. Once Josie and Jaycee get some age on them, watch out everyone! They are going to be the dream team. Special thanks to Jim and Pam Hicks for the more than generous gift to our little girl!
I ran Curly Bill owned by Tom and Ruth Hines of Oaktree Border Collies in the Ranch class as well. Curly did really well and listened to his commands like a good boy. The last obstacle was a T and to get the bonus points you had to turn them to come out the side. We worked on it for a bit and then the sheep split on me and started acting up, so I decided to end on a positive note and take my points without the bonus. I believe Curly ended up 5th.
After the trial was over they ran 2 jackpots. The first was the Open and Open Ranch combined into one. Tess went out and had a blazing run. She put the sheep through in fine fashion and won the jackpot! Next the other jackpot was run with the Ranch and Novice dogs. I decided not to enter any of my other dogs, since I already ran Tess, but Josh entered Pete and had a fantastic run and walked away with the win. I ran Curly again for the Hines and after alot of work getting the bonus on the last obstacle we got 2nd. I was so proud of him and couldn't think of a better way to end our working relationship. Curly went home to the Hines to continue working for Ruth. We'll miss ya pal!
So to sum it up, I don't think it could have gone any better. The dogs were all on point and the trial was tons of fun. Can't wait for next year! With the trial season over I plan to start blogging about the everyday occurances here on our little farm. Hope you'll find it entertaining. Thanks for reading!
Tess was the first to run of the BBC team and gave me her all. She had one ewe who continued to be difficult and refused to keep up with the others, but she never quit trying. The first obstacle which was also the timeline proved to be very challenging. It was a y chute that looked very simple, but the sheep weren't having any part of it. After a long time of finessing we finally were able to get them through (one of only 2 dogs in the class to score) and were heading to the 3nd obstacle when we ran out of time. Tess showed her amazing stock sense and earned us a 2nd place trophy.
Next to run was Josh and Pete in the Ranch class. They had some tough luck on the first obstacle which wasted alot of their time. They conquered it and moved on to the 2nd where they went right through in good form and ran out of time on the 3rd obstacle. I'm not sure of their placing, but they were out of the money.
Blaze went in and made a run to remember. He made it look so easy. We got them all through the course plus all through the bonus in a time of 2 mins and change. Whoa! It all went so fast and easy that I couldn't believe we were already through when we walked out of the arena. What a good boy, and to think I was worried he'd never work again after his cattle injury in Feb. Blaze walked away with the win in the Ranch class.
Josie was also an awesome little girl and completed the course plus got her full bonus. She worked like a charm and even stopped at the top, which we've been working on deligently! :) With her time she managed to place 3rd in her 3rd trial. Once Josie and Jaycee get some age on them, watch out everyone! They are going to be the dream team. Special thanks to Jim and Pam Hicks for the more than generous gift to our little girl!
I ran Curly Bill owned by Tom and Ruth Hines of Oaktree Border Collies in the Ranch class as well. Curly did really well and listened to his commands like a good boy. The last obstacle was a T and to get the bonus points you had to turn them to come out the side. We worked on it for a bit and then the sheep split on me and started acting up, so I decided to end on a positive note and take my points without the bonus. I believe Curly ended up 5th.
After the trial was over they ran 2 jackpots. The first was the Open and Open Ranch combined into one. Tess went out and had a blazing run. She put the sheep through in fine fashion and won the jackpot! Next the other jackpot was run with the Ranch and Novice dogs. I decided not to enter any of my other dogs, since I already ran Tess, but Josh entered Pete and had a fantastic run and walked away with the win. I ran Curly again for the Hines and after alot of work getting the bonus on the last obstacle we got 2nd. I was so proud of him and couldn't think of a better way to end our working relationship. Curly went home to the Hines to continue working for Ruth. We'll miss ya pal!
So to sum it up, I don't think it could have gone any better. The dogs were all on point and the trial was tons of fun. Can't wait for next year! With the trial season over I plan to start blogging about the everyday occurances here on our little farm. Hope you'll find it entertaining. Thanks for reading!
Open Ranch Class
Glenn Christensen & Smoke, Floyd Overton, & Jenna Baxter & Tess
Ranch Class
Floyd Overton, Jenna Baxter & Blaze & Josie, & Ruth Hines & Katie
Open & Open Ranch Jackpot
Jenna Baxter & Tess, Robert Scutkowski & Seven, & Floyd Overton
Ranch & Novice Jackpot
Josh Baxter & Pete, Jenna Baxter & Curly Bill, Robert Scutkowski & Queen, & Floyd Overton
Friday, October 16, 2009
Oaktree Fall Classic
This was a really fun, laid back trial. Tom and Ruth Hines of Oaktree Border Collies in Bartlesville, Oklahoma were excellent hosts. This was the first year for the Oaktree Fall Classic and everyone who attended felt it was big success. Sat. went better for the BBC Team than did Sun. but we still had a wonderful time.
Tess was the first Baxter Border Collie dog to take to the post for the Open Ranch class. She had a pretty nice outrun. She started to drift in a little about 3/4 of the way through, but looked in to check her sheep and before I could try to redirect her, she kicked herself back out and completed her outrun and made a nice lift. The fetch on the otherhand wasn't anything to write home about. The sheep pulled over to one side of the field and I could not get Tess to flank to get them back online. The drive was decent and the cross drive was going well until Tess had trouble hearing with the wind and decided it was best to just bring the sheep back to me! Dang! We got things back in order and completed the course. Not exactly a picture perfect run at 64 points, but 2nd to Angie Coker-Sells, don't think there's much to complain about there! :)
Josie was next to run in the Ranch class. Two words, well 3 if you count "and" Fast and Furious! LOL She's a little speed demon. She made it out to the sheep a little tight, but for never having run out that far I wasn't too disappointed in her. She had them flying to the post and once she got closer to me she settled back down and we made the rest of the course in okay fashion. Josie ended up 4th in her second trial with 43 points.
Next was Josh and Pete. Pete laid down a decent run except for not listening to Josh on the drive, but still managed a 1st place finish with 55 points in the Ranch class due to a nice gather.
Blaze went last. His outrun could have been a little bit wider and he managed to drift off line and not want to flank like Tess, but his drive was pretty good. We had heck at the pen with one ewe that didn't want to keep with the others, but finally got them in. Blaze finished 3rd with 46 points.
I'd rather not relive our second day, so I'll spare the details and just sum it up with the scores. (The first day the drive was only worth 15 points and the second day Danny Shilling, the judge, decided to give the full 30 for the drive.)
Tess 3rd 44 points Open Ranch
Pete 4th 65 points Ranch
Blaze 5th 61 points Ranch
Josie 6th 46 points Ranch
Pictures soon to come. For full results, check out the OSDA Website.
Tess was the first Baxter Border Collie dog to take to the post for the Open Ranch class. She had a pretty nice outrun. She started to drift in a little about 3/4 of the way through, but looked in to check her sheep and before I could try to redirect her, she kicked herself back out and completed her outrun and made a nice lift. The fetch on the otherhand wasn't anything to write home about. The sheep pulled over to one side of the field and I could not get Tess to flank to get them back online. The drive was decent and the cross drive was going well until Tess had trouble hearing with the wind and decided it was best to just bring the sheep back to me! Dang! We got things back in order and completed the course. Not exactly a picture perfect run at 64 points, but 2nd to Angie Coker-Sells, don't think there's much to complain about there! :)
Josie was next to run in the Ranch class. Two words, well 3 if you count "and" Fast and Furious! LOL She's a little speed demon. She made it out to the sheep a little tight, but for never having run out that far I wasn't too disappointed in her. She had them flying to the post and once she got closer to me she settled back down and we made the rest of the course in okay fashion. Josie ended up 4th in her second trial with 43 points.
Next was Josh and Pete. Pete laid down a decent run except for not listening to Josh on the drive, but still managed a 1st place finish with 55 points in the Ranch class due to a nice gather.
Blaze went last. His outrun could have been a little bit wider and he managed to drift off line and not want to flank like Tess, but his drive was pretty good. We had heck at the pen with one ewe that didn't want to keep with the others, but finally got them in. Blaze finished 3rd with 46 points.
I'd rather not relive our second day, so I'll spare the details and just sum it up with the scores. (The first day the drive was only worth 15 points and the second day Danny Shilling, the judge, decided to give the full 30 for the drive.)
Tess 3rd 44 points Open Ranch
Pete 4th 65 points Ranch
Blaze 5th 61 points Ranch
Josie 6th 46 points Ranch
Pictures soon to come. For full results, check out the OSDA Website.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tulsa State Fair
Talk about running a marathon... The first run of the cattle trial was held on Tues. as was both runs of the sheep trial. So I was back and forth from arena to arena about a thousand times waiting for Josh to run Pete, checking to see when the sheep handlers' meetings were, going to get a dog from the trailer, running back over to see if Josh was running yet. Needless to say, there wasn't anytime for the camera on Tues.
I started off with Tess in the Open Ranch Class. She had a great outrun, lift, and fetch, but then the drive got really messy both times. Tess stalled out on me on the crossdrive both times. The set out was right next to the crossdrive panel and Tess wouldn't come off the pressure to push them through the panels she was too worried they'd get away back to the set out. I can't remember if we ever did get a pen either run. I'm leaning towards no for both. See... amnesia again! So we managed a 4th in the first run and a 5th in the 2nd run for an overall finish of 4th place. I was a little disappointed, but hey that's trialing!
Blaze on the other hand, I was really proud of. He had a great run both times and tied for 2nd in the first run and tied for 1st in the second run. That left me tied for the Overall First with Danny Shilling and his dog Rip. They looked at the gather scores for both runs. My gather was better on the first run and Danny's was better on the 2nd run, so I was excited about doing a run off. Then they came to us and told us that they were going to add the 2 gather points together, so we were edged out by 2 measley points for that nice Tulsa Fair buckle. Rats! Blaze could have cared less about the buckle and I was so happy with him!
Pete ran in the Tulsa Derby which is designated for 3 year old dogs only. The cattle were really fresh and too much pressure sent them all over the arena, so Josh played it safe and didn't hastle the cattle. He walked around with his hands in his pockets the entire time and him and Pete just caressed the cattle through all of the obstacles for one of only 2 full score runs of the day. When all was said and done, Josh and Pete came out on top for the first day. Way to go guys! Then 15 mins. later they were over in the sheep arena running in the Ranch class. Pete was still in cattle mode and had a hard time staying off the sheep and wasn't listening the greatest, so his sheep runs didn't go so well and he ended up 6th. That's okay Pete, we all know Josh likes cattle better anyways!
Then Wed. rolled around and Josh and Pete got their second run. The pressure was on for Josh. Him and Pete laid down another nice run, but they had one heifer that didn't feel like playing. She charged Pete more times than I can count. Pete turned her back with a nose bite a few times, but she wasn't deterred. So she slowed things down significantly. They still finished, but their time wasn't good enough to hold onto 1st place. So they had to settle for 2nd to Brent Daniel and LH Wood's good dog Bree.
I started off with Tess in the Open Ranch Class. She had a great outrun, lift, and fetch, but then the drive got really messy both times. Tess stalled out on me on the crossdrive both times. The set out was right next to the crossdrive panel and Tess wouldn't come off the pressure to push them through the panels she was too worried they'd get away back to the set out. I can't remember if we ever did get a pen either run. I'm leaning towards no for both. See... amnesia again! So we managed a 4th in the first run and a 5th in the 2nd run for an overall finish of 4th place. I was a little disappointed, but hey that's trialing!
Blaze on the other hand, I was really proud of. He had a great run both times and tied for 2nd in the first run and tied for 1st in the second run. That left me tied for the Overall First with Danny Shilling and his dog Rip. They looked at the gather scores for both runs. My gather was better on the first run and Danny's was better on the 2nd run, so I was excited about doing a run off. Then they came to us and told us that they were going to add the 2 gather points together, so we were edged out by 2 measley points for that nice Tulsa Fair buckle. Rats! Blaze could have cared less about the buckle and I was so happy with him!
Pete ran in the Tulsa Derby which is designated for 3 year old dogs only. The cattle were really fresh and too much pressure sent them all over the arena, so Josh played it safe and didn't hastle the cattle. He walked around with his hands in his pockets the entire time and him and Pete just caressed the cattle through all of the obstacles for one of only 2 full score runs of the day. When all was said and done, Josh and Pete came out on top for the first day. Way to go guys! Then 15 mins. later they were over in the sheep arena running in the Ranch class. Pete was still in cattle mode and had a hard time staying off the sheep and wasn't listening the greatest, so his sheep runs didn't go so well and he ended up 6th. That's okay Pete, we all know Josh likes cattle better anyways!
Then Wed. rolled around and Josh and Pete got their second run. The pressure was on for Josh. Him and Pete laid down another nice run, but they had one heifer that didn't feel like playing. She charged Pete more times than I can count. Pete turned her back with a nose bite a few times, but she wasn't deterred. So she slowed things down significantly. They still finished, but their time wasn't good enough to hold onto 1st place. So they had to settle for 2nd to Brent Daniel and LH Wood's good dog Bree.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Oklahoma State Fair
This was the first year for the OSDA to have the State Fair Trial back under our management. We were all really pleased with the turnout. Everyone had a great time and there were some nice runs laid down. Angie Sells was our judge for the day. We ran the trial twice. Some folks headed for home after the first one, but we still had several hang around to play some more. Our dogs had a pretty nice showing and we were really proud of them all.
Jenna & Tess Open Ranch 1- 2nd Place
Jenna & Blaze Ranch 1- 1st Place
Josh & Pete Ranch 1- 4th Place
Jenna & Tess Open Ranch 2- 4th Place
Jenna & Blaze Ranch 2- 3rd Place
Josh & Pete Ranch 2- 1st place
The sheep challenged Tess pretty hard her first run and I couldn't have been more proud of her. At one point she had a ewe split from the group and she was trying to decide the best method to bring them back to me when the single ewe caught her off guard and sent her rolling across the arena. Tess got up shook it off and marched that girl back to the group. At that point some dogs would have quit, but not Tess. She knew the task at hand and was determined to bring me those sheep. To be honest after running several times I can't remember what our drive was like, but she penned really well and we scored a 73, just one point off the lead for a 2nd place.
Tess' second run didn't go so well. She had a great outrun with no points off, but the sheep were hugging the arena wall and she couldn't squeeze herself between them because they were fighting pretty hard so she came around to the other side and pulled them off the wall, so we were 9 points off our lift. The drive went as well as I've ever been able to handle her through it and we ran out of time with the sheep halfway into the pen. Tess had to back them in inch by ince and we just didn't have the time to get it finished so another 10 points off for a score of 58 and 4th place. We don't have sheep that are as tough as these wooly girls, so no more experience than Tess has in working with them I was thrilled with her.
Blaze's 1st run went really well. Blaze likes the kind of sheep that he can get in there and boss around and it showed. Thing is I get amnesia after I run and forget half of what happened out there. Maybe I should start bringing the video camera instead of the picture camera. :) I just know that he looked incredible and I was walking on air after his run. He got a score of 74 and brought me home a nice check, a blue ribbon, and a belt buckle.
His 2nd run on the other hand wasn't near as pretty. Blaze was anticipating the sheep to me heavy and fighting again so he came in a little hard on the lift and unsettled the sheep. They never did calm down and the quicker they got the quicker Blaze got. Flighty sheep just draw him in and cause him to be tighter and faster. So we ended up with a score of 59 and 3rd place.
Pete's first run was alot like Blaze's 2nd run. He wasn't really tight, but he wasn't very settled and his score of 62 reflected it. He placed 4th in the Ranch class, but he redeemed himself in his 2nd run and got a score of 73 good enough for first place.
We can't wait until next year and hope that the trial we be bigger and better until it grows back to an all day event like it was in the past.
Jenna & Tess Open Ranch 1- 2nd Place
Jenna & Blaze Ranch 1- 1st Place
Josh & Pete Ranch 1- 4th Place
Jenna & Tess Open Ranch 2- 4th Place
Jenna & Blaze Ranch 2- 3rd Place
Josh & Pete Ranch 2- 1st place
The sheep challenged Tess pretty hard her first run and I couldn't have been more proud of her. At one point she had a ewe split from the group and she was trying to decide the best method to bring them back to me when the single ewe caught her off guard and sent her rolling across the arena. Tess got up shook it off and marched that girl back to the group. At that point some dogs would have quit, but not Tess. She knew the task at hand and was determined to bring me those sheep. To be honest after running several times I can't remember what our drive was like, but she penned really well and we scored a 73, just one point off the lead for a 2nd place.
Tess' second run didn't go so well. She had a great outrun with no points off, but the sheep were hugging the arena wall and she couldn't squeeze herself between them because they were fighting pretty hard so she came around to the other side and pulled them off the wall, so we were 9 points off our lift. The drive went as well as I've ever been able to handle her through it and we ran out of time with the sheep halfway into the pen. Tess had to back them in inch by ince and we just didn't have the time to get it finished so another 10 points off for a score of 58 and 4th place. We don't have sheep that are as tough as these wooly girls, so no more experience than Tess has in working with them I was thrilled with her.
Blaze's 1st run went really well. Blaze likes the kind of sheep that he can get in there and boss around and it showed. Thing is I get amnesia after I run and forget half of what happened out there. Maybe I should start bringing the video camera instead of the picture camera. :) I just know that he looked incredible and I was walking on air after his run. He got a score of 74 and brought me home a nice check, a blue ribbon, and a belt buckle.
His 2nd run on the other hand wasn't near as pretty. Blaze was anticipating the sheep to me heavy and fighting again so he came in a little hard on the lift and unsettled the sheep. They never did calm down and the quicker they got the quicker Blaze got. Flighty sheep just draw him in and cause him to be tighter and faster. So we ended up with a score of 59 and 3rd place.
Pete's first run was alot like Blaze's 2nd run. He wasn't really tight, but he wasn't very settled and his score of 62 reflected it. He placed 4th in the Ranch class, but he redeemed himself in his 2nd run and got a score of 73 good enough for first place.
We can't wait until next year and hope that the trial we be bigger and better until it grows back to an all day event like it was in the past.
Duckhead Ranch Cattledog Trial
On September 19 Josh and I made the trip up north to South Coffeyville, OK, only a few miles from the Kansas line. Let me tell you, it was well worth the trip. The ranch was absolutely beautiful and the hosts were amazing. It was Mike Minor and his familys first time to see a cattledog trial as well as host one. Tom and Ruth Hines, Glenn Christensen, and Sue McDaniel all held an important role in getting this first time trial off to a great start. Thanks guys!
The trial field with a creek as a natural obstacle.
Seeing this trial made me wish Blaze was still fit to work cattle. I'd have loved the opportunity to challenge him with the creek crossing. A few dogs were a little hesitant about it, but everyone conquered it. Pete crossed the creek like he'd crossed creeks to fetch cattle a hundred times. The way he works I'm sure no one knows he rarely has the opportunity to work cattle. He's a neat dog.
Josh and Pete worked together and got the cattle across the creek, which was the first obstacle, and through 2 more obstacles made from panels and then the cattle started acting up and running for the exhaust. Pete stopped them and brought them back everytime, but they ran out of time and weren't able to complete the last obstacle. His timeline across the creek was fast enough for Josh and Pete to win the Ranch class. Pete has aquired enough points to win the OSDA Cattle Series Championship for the Ranch class. What a team! Great job guys. Josh and Pete aren't done yet though. They'll be in Lexington, OK at Yancy Paul's Bar L Ranch on October 3rd and then we're off to Tulsa to run in the Tulsa State Fair. Josh and Pete will be competing against top handlers in the Tulsa Derby for 3 year old dogs to wrap up the year for cattle trials. I'll keep you posted!
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