Bluegrass Classic Stockdog Trial

THE BLUEGRASS CLASSIC STOCKDOG TRIAL
May 13-17, 2009
Dawn till Dusk
Masterson Station Park
Lexington, KY

This competition, nearly identical to the one in the movie "Babe," is the longest running, continuous border collie competition in the country. Each year, spectators can watch the top handlers from across the US and Canada compete to take home top honors in their field. People of all ages are in awe of the working relationship between the border collie and their handler.

When my friend Nancy told me about wanting to attend the trials this past Sunday, I have to admit I was more than curious. I vaguely remembered the movie "Babe" and honestly thought the dogs would be herding pigs, not sheep. (See how little I remembered....). I always love a good outing and adventure, so we said count us in!

Masterson Station Park is about a twenty minute drive from my house and is just north of the city. There we found lush green fields with soft rolling hills. It could have been New Zealand or Scotland by the looks of it. Lexington is full of picturesque scenery and settings. It's incredible.

Where the land had a slow dip and then rise, we found a paddock of sheep, a man on a horse, gates, dog handlers, lots of dogs (mainly Border Collie), spectators and a cool playground. It was the perfect set up.

Nancy and her crew got there first and set us up right next to the judges, in front of the pen and had the playground behind us. The kids were in heaven.

Soon we were given a crash course in Stockdog Trials 101 for Dummies by a sweet lady who was watching next to us, but also competes. The handler and the dog are given 12 minutes to get 3 sheep from a far away point across the field, through the first obstacle (pairs of gates), into a circle, through the second obstacle (another set of gates) back into the circle where one sheep is separated from the herd and run out of the circle and then into the pen where the handler closes the gate. The run is then over. When herding the sheep the handler uses a whistle, hand gestures and his voice. A dog may never touch or bite a sheep and the handler may not touch the dog or sheep. The goal is to move the sheep in a tight group, walking in a straight line across the course in the allotted time.
The courseThe handler The dogsThe sheep The judgesThe scores

During our hour and a half stay, we watched about five different handlers and dogs compete and only one was able to complete the course. The other either ran out of time, or lost control of the sheep and were told by the judges that their run was over. It was very interesting and educational.

It is amazing that a handler can be so far away from the dog and through his whistled calls he can instruct the dog how to properly move the sheep (move counterclockwise, right, left, stop, etc.).

For a competition this size, a herd of 600 sheep were needed. You can not get sheep from different herds, or they will not stay together. These sheep were brought from Texas for the event. Many of the sheep were young and had never been herded in groups as small as three. The woman said it would have been easier to move a group of 10 vs 3 because they were so scared and skittish. She also said none of the sheep had even been in a pen that small before, so it was a huge accomplishment to achieve the last task of penning the animals and closing the gate.

During one run, one of the sheep just simply fell over and looked as if it were dead. I am guessing it was from fright. I felt horrible for the handler and dog, because you can't compete if one of the sheep you are trying to move is passed out on the field. It came around after a few minutes, but during that time the dog and other sheep had to wait.

Once I got home I did a little more research on the trials. Here's what I found:

History of the Border Collie Trials

The tradition of sheepdog trialing began in Great Britain in the mid-1800’s when a few shepherds and farmers got together and were having the “my dog is better than your dog” discussion. It was decided then that a competition to test the prowess of the shepherds’ dogs would be the way to find out who really had the best dog.

The dogs used for herding livestock were primarily Border Collies, a breed developed on the borders of Scotland and England by a selective breeding program of working dogs. Desirable traits included speed, strength, endurance, a drive to control prey, and the ability to use eyesight to seek out prey. The result was a medium-sized dog that bonded and worked closely with its owner and had a natural ability to find, gather and move livestock.

The earliest trial competitions between farmers and their dogs decided which dogs should be used for breeding. Their qualities and abilities would be carried on in offspring. In addition to willingness and enthusiasm for working, a good dog needed to be trainable and biddable. The livelihood of shepherds and farmers depended on having a good working dog; a dog who would work with them as a true partner. Originally used primarily on sheep, Border Collies adapted to working cattle and other livestock and became known as “stockdogs,” rather than just “sheepdogs.”

In today’s Border Collie competitions, one will see dogs who work full time on farms and ranches, as well as dogs who live in non-farm homes, being trained to work sheep as a hobby. Regardless, the precision and pressure of running a trial course requires specialized training. Trial handlers come from many different professions and all walks of life. All have this in common - dedication to regular training. Every dog receives the highest level of mental stimulation, physical exercise and conditioning required by a competitive athlete.

This team shows how the dog moves the sheep into the circle and then herds two of the sheep out of the circle so only one remains.They also were the only team we saw get all the sheep into the pen. They even had time to spare.This team was so close to finishing.It was incredible how the dog would get low to the ground and while listening to the call of the handler take their direction and move the sheep as instructed.This team had the sheep in the perfect position to move them into the pen and then the sheep ran. They were never able to move the sheep into the pen before their time expired.This is the poor team that had the sheep pass out on them. It was quite the sight to see.There were as many dog watching as people. (Not really, but there were a lot!)
But after a few minutes, my gang decided the play area looked even more entertaining....Seconds after Nancy snapped this photo, the heavens opened and my girls and I took shelter under our tarp until it passed. We left soon after. The girls also used the first port-a-potty in their lives. Gross? Yes. And yet I'd take being potty trained over the yuck of a mobile toilet any time!

What a day!