Farmer Writes: dogs miss out on top 15 places

I have returned home from the Scottish national sheepdog trials with a rekindled spark for sheepdog trialling.

It was a wonderful showcase for the sport. We ran over four days on a beautiful, big, flat course in Dumfries, southwest Scotland. The event was kindly hosted by the Mair family.

The Suffolk-cross ewes were in the finest of order and consistent throughout the event providing the same level of challenge for everyone. The standard was fiercely high over the whole competition.

In Scotland, the top 15 runs from the three days of singles competition go on to represent the country at the International Sheepdog Trial. As the days went by, the spots were becoming increasingly hard to gain.

Each element of the run is pointed. For example, the outrun (where the dog runs to get the sheep) is worth 40 points (out of a total of 220) at a national, 20 per judge.

You gain points for precision and tidiness, tight turns round obstacles and keeping the sheep on line to pass right through the centre of the gates.

Each run has a 15 minute time cap. If you hear the bell, your time is up and you are bound for the walk of shame (I’ll tell you about that later as I would now consider myself an expert).

Dog and handler have to be singing from exactly the same hymn sheet to put a run worthy of a top 15 place on the scoreboard.

Course

My first dog ran like his pants were on fire around the course on Friday morning. He slightly redeemed himself in the shedding ring, but, by this time, our national hopes were a distant memory. Walk of shame number one.

Saturday morning brought a better start. I was the very first run of the day and despite running the day before, was quaking in my boots with nerves.

Knock, my older dog and incidentally the apple of my eye, put up a better run, but, annoyingly, we timed out at the pen.

You guessed it, walk of shame number two.

I was one of many who succumbed to this fate over the course of the competition. The sheep liked to be handled delicately, but there is a fine line between delicacy and dilly dallying - I specialise in the latter.

A massive congratulations must be given to the handlers who did manage to finish within the top 15, an accomplishment that does not happen without hard work and dedication.

An old shepherd once told me that the first 10 years of sheepdog trialling are the hardest. I’ll report back in a few years, but evidence would suggest there may have been truth in this. We can only try again next year.