May 6, 2009: Trials
One of the benefits of living in Wales is the sheer number of trials one can get to in a season. Last weekend we had trials on Saturday and holiday Monday. Saturday saw us at the Erwood Trial, one of our favourites from last season. The weather was perfect and lulled us into a sense that summer is just around the corner (this was quicky forgotten by the time Monday rolled around). The Erwood trial is about an hour and a half from where we live so it was another early start to the day. Trial organizers here sometimes run two trials in one day. The first 45 dogs entered make up the morning session, and the second 45 dogs make up the afternoon session. You can run two dogs in each session but no dog can run twice. Entry fee: £3.00 for an Open dog; £5.00 for a combined run - this means a dog that has never won an open enters both the Novice and Open competitions. If this dog wins (or places in) the trial, they get the Open prize and the Novice prize - but more importantly, they get qualifying points for the National.

The Erwood Trial has a nice uphill gather where most dogs are sent right handed. It is a steep little pinch of a hill but a nice wee test for the dogs. The sight lines are generally very good except at the very top of the outrun if the sheep are set out on the flat section at the top of the hill. The sheep can be tricky at this trial as they can pull to the left side of the course (as one looks up the hill) and if they pick up speed on the descent, well, you have to be quick to contain the speedy little devils. The trial is run on three sheep so they can be quite light. The drive away is very short and the sheep have a tendency to bolt for the trees just beyond the drive gates. The cross drive is nice and the sheep tend to follow the lay of the land. Once through the cross-drive gates, the dogs have cover quickly or the sheep will bolt for the exhaust. The run is complete when the sheep are put through a gated chute. There is no shed at this trial.

Last year the hill seemed much steeper, the outrun significantly longer, and sheep a heck of a lot faster than they felt this year. Perhaps we are getting used to running on quicker sheep. Heaven forbid!

We managed to get a few runs with our dogs. Angie ran Jamie, Meg and Sioux, and Kelvin ran Tina and Blade. Jamie had a good run but Angie is still struggling to master his whistles which meant she did not always have Jamie in the right place at the right time. This resulted in a missed drive gate and an unsuccessful pen. Sioux did not have a good run and was retired from the course. That was her last trial for a while now as she is due to have pups at the end of May.

Kelvin's best run came from Tina although she was a little unlucky on her outrun when she lost sight of the sheep as they came over the hill and out of her sight. After missing a drive gate, Kelvin and Tina had a terrific pen. This is where Tina excels! She is so fast to cover and the sheep know they are beaten.

Our 'household competition' was won by Angie and Meg when they placed 4th in the Open despite Angie having to whistle Meg on the outrun and missing the cross drive gate (Angie's fault!!). Argh!

We got an email from someone this week who said if she beats her more experienced husband in a trial, her husband has to shine her shoes. Not a bad idea...we thought perhaps we could do something similar. So, Kelvin has decided that if he beats Angie in a trial, Angie has to cook him a meal. Reflecting upon this, though, he is now not sure whether this is a reward or a punishment given Angie's cooking skills! (Not quite sure how Kelvin decided that the more experienced handler (Kelvin) should have to beat the lessor experienced handler (Angie) to 'win' this prize, but there you have it).

All in all, it was a terrific trial and with the weather being hot and sunny, the atmosphere was fantastic. Many of the triallists headed off to the Sennybridge dog sale after their runs.

Karin Mattsson (from Norway - best female handler at the 2008 World Trial) was visiting Wales this weekend so we managed to nab her to autograph half a dozen books for us.

Monday saw us off to Jeff Hudd's trial about an hour and a half away from home as well. The day was cold, wet and windy - a stark contrast to Saturday's trial. We had heard Jeff's trial was a tricky course so what better way to find out where your dogs needs improvement than to put it through its paces on a tough course. Unfortunately we got a little lost on our way and by the time we arrived at the trial (7.45am), there was only one run available for the morning session. Jamie got the nod to have a run and that was the last run of the morning (which was around 2pm). With five pups left at home, we could not run in the afternoon trial as the earliest run we could book in for was too late for us.

The trial course lived up to its reputation. The trial field was tricky with dogs having to navigate a gate to get to the sheep in a second field about 450 yards from the post. Most dogs were sent right handed where the gate and dog were out of sight of the post. If dogs did not go through the gate, they were drawn across the course by a fence and by the time the handler caught sight of the dog, many dogs had crossed the course. A few dogs were sent left handed, which resulted either in the dog running too wide and not getting to its sheep, or the dog missing the left hand gate to the second field and also crossing the course. The sheep were tricky but manageable over the second half of the course - after they had blown off some steam!

'Carnage' might be the best descriptor for this trial. Dog after dog failed to navigate the gates and crossed the course. Few completed the course. The need for a bend out whistle was immediately apparent! A pull in whistle would have been useful if the dog was sent out to gather on the left.

Angie was the last run of the morning and she decided to send Jamie left handed. This was simply because she knew Jamie's pull-in whistle, but not his bend out whistle. Upon getting to the post, though, the sheep had bolted to the right side of the course making a left hand outrun impractical so a last second decision was made for him to go right. Jamie did run out but he needed several whistles to get him to his sheep, who were by now, standing against the fence on the right side of the course. He picked up his sheep nicely but had no chance at navigating the middle gate to get the sheep from one field to the next. Instead they came through the gate Jamie has just navigated on his outrun. After coming through the gate, the sheep very cooperatively walked straight through the fetch gates - with Jamie not in sight! To cut a long story short, we had a go around the course but it wasn't pretty. The nicest part of the run was Jamie's shed but after that, two sheep jumped a fence and one disappeared under a building. Not a pretty end to the run but still, it was a lot of fun! More work on Jamie's whistles absolutely imperative! Dai Meek came up afterwards and said to Angie "He'll make a good dog for you - next year" - it might take that long to get the whistles right!

It was a bit disappointing not to be able to give Meg, Blade or Tina a run on the course. We'll just have to get up earlier next year - or camp in Jeff Hudd's yard overnight. This trial is just the kind of trial we like. OK, not the waiting around part but having a challenging course to test your skills and those of your dogs. It sure is a wake up call for training deficiencies...and aside from the obvious need for a bend out on the dogs, having a good stop on a dog was critical too!

Not too much else happening here. Angie is off to Scotland on Friday to run in some trials there for 10 days. A last minute change of plans means Kelvin has to stay behind, which is hugely disappointing but unavoidable. Last year we froze our butts off at these trials so this year, Angie is going prepared. All the warm weather gear is ready to be packed in the car. Bailey is happy. She gets to continue her daily mole catching excursions with Kelvin.