Tuesday, July 27, 2010

WA State Yard/Utility Championships 2010

“Binnaburra”, Kellerberrin, 15th-18th July

trial

It seems like an age since I was at a sheepdog trial, and an age since I worked Queani at all. In fact, I think it must have been February, since her pups were born mid-March. And oh deary me, did it show.
So off we went, via the Wheatbelt backroads, to Kellerberrin for the State Yard/Utility trial. I overpacked just a little, after hearing R’s horror stories about the icy conditions at the last Binnaburra trial. But as it happened, the weather was beautiful and sunny- you could almost hear the crops growing.

kellerberrin crops

I love travelling to Kellerberrin.  The gentle hills of home are scenic and picturesque and all that, but the landscape that really lights my fire is that eastern wheatbelt country out towards the Goldfields. Red dirt county, where scrubby gimlet and salmon gums line the banks of subterranean rivers like seaweed on an invisible beach, where the light in the afternoon is the colour and consistency of honey. Kellerberrin isn’t really far enough east for me, but it’s a start.

kellerberring road

It was nowhere near as cold this time as the previous Binnaburra trial, so I was told repeatedly (every time I shivered) by those hardcore veterans of the “Coldest Sheepdog Trial of 2010”.

hayshed morning

But look, we did get ice! That’s what happens when you leave the pram outside overnight…

icy pram

So how did we go?

Well, we’ve done better. R had not much luck all weekend. He ran Fly, Jim and Bonnie, all of whom did okay at times and not so okay at others. Fred was the oldest dog competing, and he was really feeling it, and his one run (Open Utility) really wasn’t the best. I think both Bella and Charlie had nice runs up until a point, and I can’t remember what those points were, except that Charlie was quite pigheaded and it probably was all his fault this time. Because all the dogs were so underworked and undertrained, even by our standards, R decided to scratch Jake from his yard runs. I tried to talk him out of it without effect, but then Neil K called him a pussy and it was game on. He did run him with a muzzle on though. And in the end Jake was his most successful dog, qualifying for the Novice Yard final with a 63 (including 5 points off for the muzzle) and ending up 4th.

I was only running Queani, and while I didn’t expect much from her given that she’s hardly had a decent run for two weeks and hasn’t worked sheep since February, I still wanted to strangle her after out first couple of runs.

First we had a lost sheep in the Novice Utility, which wasn’t really her fault because they were leaping out of that race like gazelles. But then she wouldn’t back (unusual for her), wouldn’t listen and kept jumping out of the drafting race in the yards to stare at the drafted sheep, anticipating taking them out into the paddock as per the usual utility course. Usually Queani and I have a sort of understanding, but I just did not feel any connection with her- it was like she was someone else’s dog. So basically both our yard runs were rubbish, and while we penned in the open utility, it wasn’t much fun to run. I’d kind of given up a bit by that stage, so tried not to tell her what to do at all in the Open Utility, and it did work a little bit better, although nothing to write home about. We ended up with a score of 105, which just scraped us into the final in last place.

Sunday morning:
yard dawn

But on Sunday morning, Queani was in a totally different mood- she smiled up at me when I spoke to her, came running when I spoke, and basically felt like my dog again. I’m not sure where she’d been, but it was nice to have her back. We had a much nicer run in the final. She still wasn’t keen on backing, although she did volunteer a little, and she did jump out once to go to the draft pen, but otherwise she listeneda bit, argued a bit, and did some nice work. It felt like we took forever getting through the yards, so when we got outside again I was motoring. We hooned through the gap and race with the odd lurch off course, and then got to the pen. We had one sheep break around the pen, then Queani pushed them in, and I jumped straight for the gate, sure the siren was about to time us out at any second. Queani lay down in front of the open pen mouth, just as she should, and then, for no apparent reason, I heard myself say “Queani, COME here!”. And to my total horror, she did. She got up and walked over to me, and bang, out went the sheep. 15 points down the toilet. And as it turned out, we had three minutes left on the clock. Nice work, Sam.

We ended up a very respectable 9th. Of course, as I keep reminding myself with that same exquisitely painful satisfaction that comes from scratching a scab or poking a bruise, I would have been 5th if I’d kept my mouth zipped and got the gate shut. 5th. With those extra 15 points, we would have had 124 in the final, which was the highest utility score of the weekend. 5th. Ahhh.

Queani was smiling when we left the ground, anyway. I think she figures it will give her something to throw back at me next time she screws a run up.

 Mac’s Magic in the race:
magic race

Novice Yard Final
1) Hayden Harries Olboa Ben (NZHDxcollie) 66 63 129
2) Rick Janitz Boylee Elly (collie) 65 50 115
3) Hayden Harries Mac’s Magic (collie) 62 52 114
4) Richard McGuire Badgingarra Jake (kelpie) 63 47 110
5) Marianne Rogers Christies Cocoacina (collie) 66 34 100
Hayden Harries and Mac’s Magic at the force:
hayden magic force
  
Christies Cocoacina:
coc

Nan Lloyd and Kumbark Caleb:


caleb force
caleb race
nan caleb

Novice Utility Final
1) Nigel Armstrong Yarralonga Ding (kelpie) 113 108 221
2) Marianne Rogers Christies Cocoacina (collie) 111 95 206
3) Rick Janitz Jandoree Dotcom (collie) 102 103 205
4) Hayden Harries Olboa Ben (NZHDxcollie) 101 95 196
5) Nan Lloyd Christies Driftz (collie) 97 scr 97
Nigel Armstrong and Yarralonga Ding:
nigel ding backs
ding j
ding
ding tongue

Christies Driftz:
driftz

Rod Forsyth and Binnaburra Basil:
rod basil force

Grassvalley Moss:
moss
moss2

R and Fly:
fly force
fly
fly2

The Open Yard Final was a nail biter. The top scores are usually hard to separate, and this year was no exception. Neil K and Nigel A were tied for first even after the final run. The first run-off ended in a tie. And then so did the second. On the third attempt, Nigel’s Blue had the edge and won by two points, to the relief of the office staff, who’d been wondering if we’d be finished by dark.

The tension was palpable- spectators at the runoffs: R, Andrew Gorton, Ken Atherton, Rod Forsyth, Hayden Harries, Gordon Curtis and Grant Cooke:
blokes


Open Yard Final
1) Nigel Armstrong Yarralonga Blue (kelpie) 67 69 136 +66 +66 268
2) Neil Kristiansen Badgingarra Casey (collie) 67 69 136 +66 +64 266
3) Ken Atherton Ramulam Gus (collie) 67 68 135
4) Nigel Armstrong Yarralonga Darkie (kelpie) 68 65 133
5) Grant Cooke Grassvalley Tod (collie) 67 65 132
=6) Neil Kristiansen Badgingarra Toppie (collie) 63 68 131
=6) Rod Forsyth Binnaburra Milo (kelpie) 63 68 131
=6) Neil Kristiansen Karrawarra Shona (kelpie) 64 67 131
=6) Gordon Curtis Binnaburra Tuff (kelpie) 67 64 131
10) Rick Janitz Jandoree Dotcom (collie) 64 66 130
11) Hayden Harries Olboa Ben (NZHDxcollie) 64 65 129
12) Rick Janitz Boylee Elly (collie) 63 65 128
13) Andrew Gorton Boylee Ella (collie) 65 61 126
14) Gordon Curtis Binnaburra Jess (kelpie) 63 62 125
15) Gordon Curtis Ramulam Sam (kelpie) 63 55 118
16) Tony Boyle Bellview Dale (collie) 64 LS 64
Neil Kristiansen and Badgingarra Casey:
casey force
casey backs

Nigel Armstrong and Yarralonga Blue:
blue

Blue’s litter brother, our Yarralonga Charlie:
charlie

Rick Janitz and Boylee Elly:
elly

Karrawarra Shona:
shona race

Tony Boyle and the famous Craig Black:
black

Open Utility Final
1) Ken Atherton Kiwi Knight (NZHD) 117 122 239
2) Neil Kristiansen Karrawarra Shona (kelpie) 111 124 235
3) Gordon Curtis Binnaburra Jess (kelpie) 110 123 233
4) Ken Atherton Ramulam Gus (collie) 112 119 231
5) Neil Kristiansen Badgingarra Casey (collie) 107 128 228
6) Gordon Curtis Ramulam Sam (kelpie) 123 101 224
7) Andrew Gorton Boylee Ella (collie) 120 103 223
8) Gordon Curtis Binnaburra Tuff (kelpie) 114 105 219
9) Sam Weaver Daheim Queani (collie) 105 109 214
=10) Doreen Hansen Jandoree Molly (collie) 105 106 211
=10) Rod Forsyth Binnaburra Milo (kelpie) 115 96 211
12) Rick Janitz Jandoree Dotcom (collie) 107 101 208
13) Tony Boyle Boylee Mustard (collie) 115 77 192

Binnaburra Tuff at the gap:
tuff gap

Rick Janitz and Jandoree Dotcom:
dotcom force
dotcom race
dotcom rick race

Boylee Mustard at the race:
mustard

Nigel Armstrong and Yarralonga Darkie at the pen:
darkie pen

Stars of the future- Boylee Sugar:
sugar

Andrew Gorton’s Just Bounce, unmistakeably a Jake pup:
   bounce          
And another Jake pup, but this time out of Queani- Mac’s Ollie:
ollie head

Jim’s seen it all before:
jim         

K really enjoyed spectating this weekend- perhaps she’ll take after her dad and yard/utility will be her cup of tea.       


k

She especially liked having a the close up view of the action- you never know when something might happen.

sheep out 1
sheep out 2
sheep out 3

Pffft! Not quick enough, Nigel!

k bub

Farmboy had a great time, too. He had his own transportation-

j bike

And Rick and Doreen kindly brought along a mate for him to play with-

doreen kids

But four days was plenty for us, and eventually even the endlessly enthusiastic started to fade, eh, Ollie?

ollie lies

Home time.

caravan