Tabletop Sheepdog Trial

Hello all. Just got back last night from a trip down near Colorado Springs, CO. We traveled to the dog's and my first field trial again since Kaycee and the National's last September. Lise Anderson hosted it and it was great!! This was the first year for the Tabletop SDT and I'm hopeful there will be many to follow. It was on a great field and the sheep were very even and tested us all well.

There were 3 open go round's starting on Thursday and going through Sunday. Each round featured a different judge with a little different course. I really enjoyed this aspect and it made the trial more challenging in my opinion. The judge for the first go was Don Helsley, then Stormy Winters and the third go was judged by Beverly Lambert. Herbert Holmes judged the Open Ranch and Nursery runs on Sunday.

The field was a bit hilly and had a small draw running up the right side. It seemed to me like the majority of the dog's really handled the outrun pretty well. The drive was a challenge every day but certainly doable.

As it seems to be the case everywhere this year, the weather was all over the board down there as well! Thursday it was cold, windy and rainy all day. Then warmer on Friday and Saturday with some wind both days. Sunday was colder again with periods of rain.

The L & M Crew ran pretty well for the most part. Zac brought home his fair share of money and just loved the cooler weather and tough sheep. He lead the first go round most of the day until Tommy and Sly came along and bumped us to second. He had a great running going in the second go and one ewe had been testing him the entire time. He'd had enough and gripped off. The third go he was on the money and ended up winning it! The thing I'm most pleased with though is how well he held up physically to three runs in a row. Yes, it was cooler weather but it was still a tough course and you'd never know he just worked that much.

Jag is getting more consistent and I'm thrilled to say didn't grip off or even consider it during any of his run's down there. Yay for Jag! He seemed to get harder to handle each run though so we certainly still have work to do. He did move those fiesty girls around like a champ though! He managed a fifth place finish in the first go so got a few more points toward National's.

Dustin and Kat ran their first Open Ranch course and the first go wasn't too shabby. Not in the money but got around the course. Just couldn't get the pen. The second go was pretty rough. Uno ran in her first ever field trial and we found out it was a bit over her head. She lost sight of them on the outrun and took my redirect's really well though!!

So, overall I'm quite pleased with the dog's and had a really great time! It was fun to get away for awhile again and it makes me appreciate home that much more.