Baxter Border Collies' Blog: 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!