Only Fools and Horses

If R wasn't farming, parenting, sheepdog trialling or waiting on me hand and foot, he'd be playing polocrosse.

R's family have been playing polocrosse since way back when, which is a long way in Kojonup: the first polocrosse in WA was played here in 1950, and one of the major centres of the sport is just around the corner (walking distance in the old days when people actually walked places). R pretty much grew up there, like I did at the University, and it's a bit of a social hub for the district.



I love watching polocrosse, it's a fantastic spectator sport. I'd always imagined that polo was even more exciting, given that it's more well known and more expensive, but frankly, from a spectator perspective, polocrosse leaves it for dead. BabyJ and I went to watch the polo in Perth last year, and I nearly fell asleep. It's slower, it's less intense, and while it isn't a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon (especially with lots of champers and a picnic lunch), I'd rather be watching polocrosse.



Anyone can play polocrosse- they have junior, men's, women's and mixed teams at levels from pure weekenders to the top class, A Grade players, who take it pretty seriously. Most of the horses are stock horses (ASH) or thoroughbreds, often specifically bred for the sport, and they seem to really get into the game, chasing and blocking and jostling for the ball with little encouragement.

R's family have always had their own line of stockhorses- Jarrah and Blade are the only two still up for competing, but we're hoping to get one last foal out of Quiz in the next year.





So it's kind of a given that BabyJ will grow up riding, and probably play polocrosse. We need to find him a pony to get started on, because he's outgrowing Bill already.










And one of these days I'm going to learn to ride, too. I regularly look through the paper for an athletic allrounder that sounds promising, but the only horse R will let me near at the moment is the Horseland pony, and even then he's worried about me falling off.



Personally, I'm pretty sure I'll be as awesome at polocrosse as I am at everything else, if only I can find time to play in between excelling at 3 day eventing, showjumping and endurance. And once I can get Horseland Harry into a trot. Giddyup.

There's something about kelpies

It's hard to define what it is that makes a kelpie different from other sheepdogs. When border collie people start discussing it, I tend to take the old, slightly defensive, "they're just like border collies" line. It's definitely nothing to do with the stuff you hear from some kelpie groups about them being "independent", "easily bored", "not mechanical like border collies", or "too smart to drill". That's not true.

Kevin Howell's Karana Digger:

Simon Leaning's Marionvale Axle:


But the truth is, there's something about kelpies. Something that means that whether we've been working Bella and Charlie, Lethal, Bonnie, Salli, Jake or Muddy, we'll walk away at the end of the day shaking our heads and saying, "Bloody kelpies!". Something that means that they are still the most popular choice for a working dog across most of Australia.



That something is hard to define- possibly impossible. R and I tried to work it out the other day, our kelpie-induced headaches pounding in unison after a typical day in the yards. The nearest we could get was "they think they know better!", but that's not exactly it.

Binnaburra Tuff:


Like the border collie, the kelpie breed encompasses a huge range of traits in terms of physical appearance, temperament, working qualities and so on. Kelpies can be wide casting or straight, pushy or pussy-footing, pigheaded or biddable, yardy or not.



Just in our own team, the kelpies vary so much that it's hard to identify any common qualities. Charlie is pure farm dog, turns his paw to anything. He's totally without any pretence of class on the 3sheep trial ground, but has more block and cover than any dog I've seen. He can move mobs or catch a single sheep. He and Bella are the go-to dogs around here to get any job done. They will work and work and work. They have a pig-headed, sulky streak that drives R wild, but he wouldn't part with them for the world.

Yarralonga Charlie:






Yarralonga Bella:


Lethal has eyes so pale they make people nervous, and he will cast half way across the country if the sheep are there, fences or not. He's all footwork and breakout and not much shove, and he hates the yards. I don't think I've ever heard him bark.

Riana Lethal:






Jake is pure power. He's never done much outside, he's straight casting and sticky, but in the yards he'll shift anything, and will keep going until he drops. When R was working in the feedlot loading out a hundred thousand sheep, rams and all, over a couple of days, Jake was the dog for the job. But he's soft- he tries his heart out to get it right.

Badgingarra Jake:







Bonnie, Salli, Muddy, Bindi and Blue- they're all so different but still so obviously kelpie. I can't put my finger on that kelpie essence, but there are some factors that seem to occur in most kelpies I know. If your dog has most of these features, he may be a kelpie.

1) they are much better looking than border collies
2) they work cats. Obsessively.
3) they work lambs. Obsessively.
4) when they think something needs doing, they'll go and start doing it. Even if it doesn't.
5) having finished one job is a cue to start looking for something else that needs doing.

That's all I've got. Feel free to help me out.
And of course if your dog has none of these features, he may still be a kelpie. I said this wasn't easy.


(unlabelled photos courtesy of Badgingarra Jake)

Upwards and onwards...

For a while now, we've been talking about the direction of the farm given the current world financial climate (price of fuel, dropping wool value and lamb prices, blah blah blah), and what a difference just a couple of thousand acres extra would make.

As Jeff Tracy would say,

Farm expansions are go!

And now the hard work begins...

Good thing we've got BabyJ around to give R a hand. He'll be invaluable, just as soon as he learns to drive and shear.