Aug 30 - International Sheepdog Championships

Today was Day 1 of the International Sheepdog Championships outside of Heber UT at the site used for the Biathalon and Nordic Ski events in the 2002 SLC Olympics.

Not sure what to expect today but I'm thinking it going to be a blast watching dogs herd sheep around. And I was not disappointed.

Got there around 9:30 and left at 3pm only because my butt hurt from sitting all day on wooden bleachers :) (And standing would mean doing so in the 90+ degree sun - not too fun.)

I started with the Splash dogs -- obviously not herding sheep but jumping into a pool of water after their favorite toy. Most of these dogs weren't the championship dogs you would see on ESPN (ie., stopping at the end of the boardwalk instead of jumping after the ball) but they were just as fun to watch. There were some good jumpers - saw 2 dogs get to 16-17ft.

But it was time to watch the herding.

The dog had to herd 5 sheep down a hill and thru a gate,

then down toward the handler into a "shedding ring", then uphill a little thru another gate, then across the hill and thru another gate (probably the most troublesome gate) before returning to the shedding ring. There, the handler and the dog have to separate the herd in a group of 2 and a group of 3 (and it wasn't as easy as it sounds). After that, the dog had to herd the 5 sheep into a pen - the hardest task of the event as I saw about 20 dogs and only 3 got the sheep in the pen

-- some were so very close, and then one sheep would bolt and the dog would start all over again. (And they had 15 minutes to complete.) After the course was over, the dog ran to a tub of water which it plopped into -- kinda like a ice tub for athletes.

All was very fun -- the crowd was clapping whenever the sheep went thru a gate and groaned when the gates were missed and laughed when one of the sheep would stomped its hoof at the dog - naturally the dog was unfazed.

The penning pretty much had everyone on the edge of their seats (including myself) rooting for the dog and moaning every time a sheep bolted (which they did a lot).

The sheep ruled though; one dog that medaled last year, didn't even complete the course, the sheep were all skiddish and breaking everywhere. There was one very impressive 2yr dog -- didn't pen but impressed the judges for 70pts -- the high when I left was 85 (1st dog I saw pen the sheep - the other 2 penning dogs got a 75 and 72).

But some of the dogs had their day. One dog decided to take a water break after the sheep first got into the shedding ring. Minutes passed as the dog enjoyed the water and the handler stood there with the sheep. I think the dog was hoping they'd go away, but when they didn't, he did get out of the water and continue herding. But when he left the sheep at the final pen for the water, the judge called the match because he thought something was wrong with the dog (heat, altitude). I saw the handler later and asked if the dog was OK, She said he was fine, he was just being bad (maybe that was baaaaaad).

There was another dog who went for the water on the 2nd return to the shedding pen. He was there for a very short period of time before resuming. But everyone could tell when he was trying to get the sheep back to the pen, he lost focus and almost headed back to the water but the handler got him back.

There was also one dog that came up limping, which they quickly stopped the course. Not sure if it was a cramp, maybe a thorn but after the water bath, he seemed to be walking OK.

Sometime in the early afternoon, the sheep that were already herded almost made a break for freedom and cause chaos on the course. Their pen was right in back of where I was sitting. They were pretty quiet and all of a sudden there was a loud bleat, the lady next to me and I turned around to watch all the sheep heading back down the chutes (someone left the gate opened). The lead sheep was excited as he pounced into the air - jumping for joy. But fortunately, the sheep handlers scrambled before 50+ sheep were released onto the course. Could have been very interesting.

A fantastic day!

More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whalerider33/sets/72157635308790264/