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ASCA Trial...Day One (Long!)



 
 
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Old September 19th 04, 02:14 PM
Shelly & The Boys
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Default ASCA Trial...Day One (Long!)

I'm no writer, or overly poetic in my writing, so here goes the
report for yesterday's ASCA trial.

Yesterday was Bodhi's 2nd Birthday.
It was raining.
A Lot.
From the beginning, I could tell that the sheep were tougher than any we've
ever worked. Ever. Lots of small lambies, all woolies though,
so that was a plus (in my book!).

And the Take Pen walls were short panels. Maybe 3' high at most?
Instantly, I had visions of sheep just simply jumping up & over to get away.

Of course, the running order is Advance, Open, then Started (our
class) is last. So, we get the joy of watching how difficult of a time
the more experienced dog/handler teams are having of it. Of course,
the Started people can move all over the entire course, aaah, the
beauty of Started! :-)
Half way through Open, I notice that the sheep are fetching, somewhat,
to the handler. Oh yeah! That is a definite plus for Bodhi & I, who
aren't ready for actual driving in trials yet, but he's a good, natural
(a plus in ASCA) fetcher & really thinks it's his job to keep the sheep
to me.

Finally, it was our turn to go in. I was nervous. I'd read the rules,
but still really didn't fully understand a lot of it. ASCA is different.
Cool, but different in the way they score & judge the runs. But, I went
in. I felt like there were a LOT of people watching. I think that is
definitely something to having a breed that isn't very common. We
were obviously the only Belgian there, and we were the only non-Aussie,
non-BC in our class aside from an English Shepherd.

I open the Take Pen door. You can send your dog to go in & take them
out, or in Started you can go in & help your dog. If the handler goes in,
you automatically lose half of your points on that section. I fully
intented
to go in. However...when I opened the gate (cattle gate covered w/
black plastic), the sheep looked at me, then I told Bodhi to go on in.
He stopped in the gateway, sizing up the situation. One of the sheep
looked at him & pretty much said, "Screw This!" and lept up & over
the pen gate--out of the take pen!

Okay now, this was NOT off to a good start! laugh Now I was
really nervous, thinking I just needed to go to the bathroom! I asked
the Stockhandler, "Now what? Are we done? Should I move back
so you can get that sheep back?" He laughed and said, "Oh hell
no! I'll just grab ya another one!" I laughed, nervously & too loud.

I sent Bodhi in, he split them. We'd practices a nice send in on a Go Bye
(clockwise), and with me helping him, he always did it nicely.
I am kicking myself for NOT going in
the pen (and WILL go in today!), and it wasn't out of arrogance, it was
as if my feet were stuck to the ground!

Anyway...once we got them out, we were good to go. Had a bit of
trouble in the beginning, trying to figure out how they were going to
behave. They kept wanting to flock around the Y-Chute in the center
of the pasture.
Finally, I let Bodhi circle all the way around them, then it was like they
seemed to say, "Okay, lets play the game the Wolf's way..."

We managed to get all the way around the course, in time even with
our beginning trouble (time starts when you remove the leash, or when
you send your dog). I helped
him on the first obstacle by going through, but the second one I stayed
out, so we managed to get more points there.
The natural draw on the course was to the Take Pen, but we had to
get them back over to the far corner & in the Pen at the end. We lost
a few points at the end, because one little lamb kept trying to head back
to the Take Pen, but Bodhi persisted in keeping him with the rest
of the group.

The judge gave us a few complimentary words, then we were off to
wait. I really didn't even know if we'd Qualified, simply because I
don't fully understand their scoring. In ASCA, you're judged on
completing the course, and on how the dog actually worked. That was
something the judge stressed in the handler's meeting. He was
there to see how the DOGS could work the stock, not necessarily on
how the handler could control the dog to work the stock.

So we waited around until all the classes were finished (It was cool
watching cattle!). When the judge began our class, he commented on
what a tough group of sheep those were (all classes work the same group of
sheep, actually), and what a nice Started class it was, and handed out the
non-Q papers to the handlers. Then the
Qualifiers. I waited...waited...waited...I was almost afraid they'd lost
mine! They had Bodhi confused with another dog named "Brody" that
was absent earlier in the day when we got our armbands! Then he
started class placements...4th...3rd...I was beginning to get really
anxious! 2nd place went to a really nice run w/ a tri colored Aussie...
then 1st place...

The judge started out by saying, "I really liked this team. They worked
very well together, and I especially liked the fact that
the handler walked in there with confidence and trust in her dog. You
could see that this team has a good level of trust between them, and that is
such an important factor in successful herding. First place goes to
Belgian Shepherd number 50."

Woo hoo!! First place out of the Started Sheep class. Yay!
Okay...I'm super tired, and off to try for another leg today! Those sheep
were tough, so if we can manage the course without anything getting
injured, I'll be happy! :-) I think, if I can remember, I will send him
into the
Take Pen on a Go Bye, then walk in & down him. Maybe that will
help settle the sheep a little bit...we'll see how it goes.
Shelly & The Boys




--
"A breeder who has no interest in rescue of what he has produced is of no
value to anyone, and of even less value to his breed." -- Dr. Malcolm
Willis, Author, Genetic History of the German Shepherd Dog
http://www.geocities.com/shellybrosnan/deerranch.html


 




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