Kinloch Farm Blog

January 13 , 2008: Black Sheep and Unsung Heroes.
This weekend we headed off on a wee trip down south to Lancashire and North Yorkshire - two incredibly beautiful areas of England. We left home later than planned due to an unexpected overnight snowstorm. The roads were a mess with snow covering black ice. It was slow progress. About a mile down the road we ran into a group of Cheviot lambs in the middle of the road and going in the wrong direction. Roy and Angie jumped out of the truck and quickly moved the lambs back up the road in the dark.

Next stop was a nursery trial at Thomas Longton's place, and our first trial on Herdwick sheep. Herdwick sheep are a native breed of the central and western Lake District fells in northern England. They are an extremely hardy breed of hill sheep and graze over a wide area. They have a reputation for foraging even in the most difficult of terrain. Thomas's Herdwicks are in excellent health and condition, and are well-behaved (i.e. kind to novice handlers). For trialling purposes they are super and a real treat to run on. Roy has not seen very many coloured sheep so it was iffy whether he would run out to them - or not. He did, thankfully, and Angie and he managed to negotiate the course, and even got the pen (at last!).

Roy and Angie fighting (successfully - at last!) for the pen.

Thomas puts on a superb trial, the sheep are great, the trial fields are beautiful, and the people are really friendly. Thomas and his wife, Anne, are some of the many unsung heroes in the world of sheepdogs and trialling. Sure, Thomas is the English President of the ISDS and is well-known in this capacity. Oh, he's also won an International - no mean feat! But lessor known - perhaps widely unknown - are the contributions he and Anne make to supporting beginning handlers and those of us with seven left feet. Every Thursday evening come rain, hail or shine, Thomas has an evening training session with a group of super friendly, highly interesting and very talkative (!) men and women - young and not so young, alike. Anne appears periodically with a tray of goodies (pastries, cakes and other baked goods) and a seemingly endless supply of hot tea. Everyone gets to run a dog, chat, drink tea - and, of course, laugh. Thomas seems to be a man of few words, but those words are always well thought out and well-worth listening to. He makes you think about what you are doing, and adjust your actions accordingly. He also provides very perceptive feedback on your performance which is also worth listening to. We have a great deal of respect for both Thomas and Anne.

After the trial, we headed for North Yorkshire. Our satellite navigation system in the truck took us on a very circuitous route! Alas, it seems completely incapable of finding a good bakery with chocolate croissants! We stayed overnight at a friend's place.

Sunday morning we got up bright and early to head off to another trial. The Escrick Park Estate Sheepdog Trial is held on Black Hebridean sheep. Hebridean sheep are an ancient and hardy breed, similar to sheep that will have grazed across the heathlands since the Bronze Age. Due to their grazing preferences, Hebridean sheep are a vital conservation tool in delicate ecosytems. For trialling, these sheep are touchy! VERY touchy! They require delicate handling by the dog. It was a really terrific experience trialling on these sheep.

Black Hebridean sheep - tough for many triallists!

We headed for home after watching a few runs, and arrived home to flood warnings, lashing wind and rain, a river in our back yard, a lake in our front yard, and very wet chickens feeling sorry for themselves. It was a great weekend exploring new places, trialling on different breeds of sheep, and watching some extraordinary handlers. Ah, perfect!

Archives:

January 6 , 2008: A Quiet Week

December 29, 2007: If the Queen can, so can we.

December 19, 2007: Shepherd's Crooks and Irish Shamrocks

December 12, 2007: Gathering in the Snow

December 4 , 2007: Rain, Rain and more Rain

November 20, 2007: A Day to Forget

November 13, 2007: Back out Gathering

November 6, 2007: Some Down Time at Last.

October 26, 2007: A Day Out at the Up (Ram) Sale.

October 22, 2007: Pheasant Shooters.

October 15, 2007: Trials, Trials and more Trials.

October 2, 2007: Back to Work.