The event was at the York Springs Equestrian Center. It was a fairly convenient location, but let me summarize by saying that I do not think you need to shop there for your herding needs. The arena for the HTs, PTs, and Course A (there were no B or C Courses) was a horse arena. Normally, this is filled with sand, but it had rained every day for the previous 10 days, and the footing was the consistency of still-wet concrete. There was especially soft goo in front of the entrance to the pen, and about 2 inches of water over it.
At the handlers' meeting on Thursday, I asked judge Mary Alice Theriot what would happen if a handler took a major fall in front of the pen in all of that goo. She said she would be in the pen and would try to prevent disasters from occurring; and if we could pick ourselves up and continue we would be allowed to finish. What a comforting thought....
One of my teachers, M.J. Wylie, ran a Belgian Turveren before me. In a PT, you can, according to the rules, run the gates in either direction. So I watched to see how this very experienced veteran would do it, and ran it going the same way. (Her dog passed.) The sheep were a bit lighter than the ones we had had in Bangor, PA, at the last trial, but the judges seemed easier, so things were probably about the same.
Bryna held nicely until I walked over to the sheep and called her up. The run was a little zoomy. When we got to the point where you turn around and start back through the two gates, things were going well, so I stopped her there. (The judge said we could stop anywhere.) They had put a giant orange traffic cone to mark the halfway point. Since one of my runs would not be complete without a significant piece of idiocy, as I backed up to start back, I came darned close to falling backwards over it. By grabbing the fence, I managed to stay upright, wet concrete and all.
When we got back to the pen, Bryna held the sheep, although it was more a question of holding them to me than back from the gate. And we passed! I was thrilled!
Bryna anticipated her release at the start, but the sheep were starting to bolt, so her judgement was good. She gathered them to me really nicely. The trip around the arena and back was uneventful, except for one small grip on an obnoxious ewe that I thought might have deserved a good smack myself. The judge gave me some comments, and didn't seem to mind the little grip. The pen went better, although the sheep bolted and Bryna brought them back. I got her positioned a wee bit better to hold them off the gate, but that part still wasn't too terrific.
I knew we had passed; abandoning all dignity, I dropped to my knees in the damp sand, gave her a hug, and told her--at length, with adjectives, and her head between my hands--that she was the most wonderful dog ever.
I did ask what I should do about the specialty, since I had scheduled 2 PTs, and there was NO way we would be ready for HS (college level) in less than a month. Entering a ring off-lead is something we have never practiced, for example. Bob suggested that I consider this the best practice run ever, and work on the 2 elements I really hadn't done so well on: the hold at the pen, and getting my voice to sound less excited, and therefore to be less likely to excite Bryna. (People said I didn't really yell--I just sounded really agitated.) I could do it in a not merely realistic, but a real situation, but with no pressure at all to pass. Sounded good to me.
I think I left the ring walking 6 inches off the ground. Bryna still knows that I am very, very happy with her, looks at me, watches my smile, and gives a little bounce.
I might add that different dogs have different personalities that you have to consider in training. Bryna is very soft. I think it would have been easy to wreck this dog. She wants very much to please me, and a bag of the type Carl uses on a dog that is so noise sensitive might have turned her off forever, at least if I had used such a technique in the beginning. I will have to be careful about how I prevent her from rushing, off-lead, into the pen when we go to the HS level. I have to go slow with her, and use lots of praise. This has resulted in a slower start, but I think it is paying off in the long run. She will not quit, and I have been told that I must be careful not to work her into heat exhaustion. The word that comes to mind when she works is "joy." That said, I should note that I have seen dogs that almost needed a hammer applied between their eyes to get their attention. As obedience people often say, there is no substitute for knowing your own dog.
The bragging is ended. You may now resume normal programming. Thank you for your patience.
All the best,
Lynne & Briarpatch Impromptu, CGC, PT, HCT