CKC Herding Trial Results

I am so proud of Brit. She was wonderful. I mean really wonderful all weekend. She worked hard, listened, and tried her best. I couldn't have asked for better.

We qualified in all four runs. Earning our Herding Started title this morning after our third run. She had one High in Trial, and three Reserve High in Trials! Her scores ranged from a 92.5 to a 97.5! She was very, very good. I had a few moments of Crap! but was able to fix the problem before it got out of hand.

The courses were interesting and all had challenges- particularily the course this afternoon that left almost no room for the dog to work the Y chute. But Sarah and I strategized, walked the course just like in agility, and planned smooth flowing paths for ourselves and our dogs. We were well prepared for the challenges, and at no time were we at a loss as to what to do. It felt great!!!

We lost most of our points on the inbetween stuff. The actual obstacles were not the trouble. Even the Y was pretty straight forward most times. I did have trouble with the settle- which is not surprising given the fact I've been having trouble even in training. lol. Brit is a very forward dog who likes to be in close. So the sheep don't really like to stop all that quick. Combine that with my slow thinking and well, often we had to redo that part a few times. 

On a whole the weekend was great- Louanne was a great hostess. There was a fair amount of laughter and drinking on Friday night. :) The trial itself was run really well, although a bit slow at times. And the company was great. Lots of visiting, and cheering for one another. I love that. On that note I was very glad that Gyppie was sound and could work this weekend. Sarah and I have been training partners through all of this so it was awesome to go together! The judges were super nice, although the scoring was a bit puzzling at times....

Our trainers have been spectacular, and we owe all of of our success to their guidance! Jenny Glen from AltaPete, and Louanna Twa from Phantomridge are super teachers who share their knowledge and passion for the sport with ease. Their support has been greatly appreciated. So a huge thanks to them for their time, teaching and patience!! It can't be easy to teach city folk how to work dogs and sheep! ;)

It's still hard to believe it's over. I mean, we've been working hard towards this goal since September!!!  But onwards to the next goal! We are going to be focusing on "big kid" stuff now- with the goal of competing with the big kids one day. I'm betting we are a year or more away from that. lol. But it will be great fun getting there!! This game is seriously addicting. Serious.

And because I haven't said it enough. I love this dog. Brit is just so wonderful. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky.  <3

Here is a video of our last run today. A "bonus" Q, and a score of 97.5. The others will be posted tomorrow, but with no fancy music. (adding music takes WAY longer...)