Canadian finals

I am about to head out for Utah just some last minute things to do. My second run in Cranbrook was mediocre still no pen. Meg was not listening to me which lead to me yelling at her and her taking offense.  In the end we ended up one point shy of making the double lift finals. So instead of running a dog I was asked to set out for some runs. Now that everybody knows my prowess on a horse I am the next go to person behind Chris and Wendy Schmaltz. The good part is Chris and Wendy supply me with a nice broke horse.
The view from the top is spectacular. Mountains and hills surrounding you. If I lived there I would defiantly have a horse to go riding in the hills for hours.
I took very little pictures from the weekend. The first half my camera battery was dead and then I was too lazy.
In the end Scott Glen and Don prevailed as Canadian Champions with Dennis Gellings and Jan in the reserve spot.
One thing I did accomplish this weekend was two perfect sheds. I guess you can"t have it all. Didn't hit a panel or pen but now I can shed. Always some sort of Unicorn standing beside me.
Now I am off to Solider Hollow for moral support and shopping.

Canadian finals Day 1

Just a quick post to make Jenny happy. I asked her to take some pictures of Meg today since I have very little pictures of her and I . We are in Cranbrook at the Canadian Border Collie Championships. The sheep were tough and a challenge for the day. I was happy with Meg's amount of try for me today. Although I will expect more tomorrow. We scored a 74 just out of the top ten for the day with no pen. Thanks to Jenny for taking some pics of me and Meg. Tune into her trial blog for nightly updates.

Yea!! a shed

Shaunavon Classic

This weekend I traveled to Shaunavon, Saskatchewan.

The hard working Jamie VanRhyn puts on a trial every year. Jamie works her butt off to raise money and put on a good trial. 

Instead of talking about my runs I am going to show some interpretative pictures.

The "toilets"

"Garbage" can

And finally
A pile of cow "shit"

Couple days home to regroup and then off to Cranbrook for the Canadian Border Collie Finals and The Western Canadian Fnals.

Working, Show or Sport Bred

I know the sheer title of my blog gets hackles up and people automatically get defensive. In this case I am not talking about border collies. I have already said my peace about that many times and all to many times on the Internet. In this instance I am talking about my Range Rover. 

My Range Rover is working bred

He often in need of a bath. Has been used to chase sheep through fields while I am whistling away to my dog. Also has been seen carrying an escaped guardian dog in the back seat. His inside is covered in dog hair, dirt and some sort of hay or grass on the floor. A very useful machine around the farm. I sometimes feel bad when we go to town and the show Range Rovers point at mine and laugh at how much dust and dirt is on him.

In comparison below is a picture of the show Range Rover.

Yes, shiny and pretty but really what is it good for.
Needs to be kept indoors.
Can it go off pavement and drive through puddles to check on cows. 

Can it handle gravel roads at 110 km. 

Can it pull out a truck from a snow bank.

I was unable to find any pictures of the elusive sport bred Range Rover. But I imagine it is hard to live with. Can't keep it in the garage. Probably uses alot of fuel because it always wants to go fast. Maybe has some flashy colors on it and driving around with some sort of cooling device on it's roof. 

After writing this blog I feel bad for my little guy. I am going to give him a bath and maybe even take the matts out from behind his wheels.

Maybe someone in the house will save me

Our big tough guardian dog is not so tough when it storms

Bow Valley Classic trial

I really have not much to show from this trial. I took one picture and the only money I came home with was a refund cheque from scratching Craig from Nursery. This year Ian and JoAnn moved their trial to a different location. Equally as much terrain and challenge as the old place. As always they ran a good show.
The first day Meg and I had a good run. Even shed and penned for a score of 85. Any other time that might have been good to place but not here the top scores were in the mid 90's. That's why I love trialing in Alberta just when you think you bring your game up everyone else has as well. Keeps you on your toes.
Second day we ran in the afternoon with the temperature very high and the wind blowing. Meg couldn't hear, her fetch was way off line. At the drive away panel she just lied down and looked at me "what the heck do you want" So I walked off.

Monday top 12 dogs got to play in the double lift. 

I was recruited to do some setting so Wendy could have a well deserved break. Me who had not been on a horse for two years and a dog who had never been worked from a horse. It took meg a couple seconds to figure out where I was. She only tried to heel the horse once.

Below is the only picture I took the whole weekend.

Congrats to Scott Glen and Maid on their double lift win.