Palm Cottage...as told by me

Palm Cottage......what a lovely sheepdog trial. Now don't be confusing "lovely" with easy...or simple....or straightforward. Palm Cottage is anything but those things.....

Friday ran pronovice, nursery and novice......I was in a hurry and did not take one photo. The sheep...having never been worked by dogs before were crazy wild...as proven by the lack of one single pen in the first round of either pronovice or nursery. My run with Nell, I felt like it was all crisis, escape management! My insistence on a down caused much distress in my dog and left me "late" and us not in the "team mode". But we got 'er done...and finished in the top third. Bella....had a rouge sheep created by her very tight lift....and ended up gripping out....but we did not have to buy any sheep so all's well that ends well!

Saturday dawned with a clear sky....Sally drew up in the teens. I was thankful for an early go as the clear day made for a hot afternoon.

The open outrun at Palm Cottage is very tricky....about 1/4 of the dogs did not make it to the sheep! See.....we stood in this one field.....and sent down into a wee little gate...that opens into a big field cattywhompas to the field we were in. Sending right....a fence caught the dogs and limped them along to the gate opening. Left....the field opened up and behind and if the dog got lost......there was not much hope of finding the gate. That, and shadows from the trees created trickery for the dogs!

In hopes of getting the dog through the gate and into the top field, handlers would line up and stand off to the side of the handler actually at the post.....thus encouraging their dog to spot the sheep being set.

The sheep were brought up the dippy hill and semi-around the post...slipping between the judges tent and finishing the course in the field behind the handler. The exhaust for all three days was to the hard right.....making a huge draw around the post and again in the shed ring.

The pen was made complicated by twitchy sheep....a flick of the rope would send them jumping....and too much pressure found at least one squirting out of what looked to be a good committed pen!My goal.......as I stood amongst the spotting fiends....was to have Sally see the sheep coming through the gate. Which did me just fine....with a little whistle help......Sal found the gate....and.... crossed over to go back to the set sheep. Yikes, oh well, game on.....I worked on some pace as she brought them on the fetch...nice turn....skimmed the panels....got the shed....and best of all....got the pen! Gate shut...swoosh!

Sunday dawned cooler with cloud coverage....which was nice as Sally and I had drawn up in the 30's and had us walking to the post around 1:30. It was getting a little warm but still there was a breeze and I was not worried. After "mind-melding" with Sally....visualizing her kicking out "away" through the gate...and well, chatting with her a little....I was sure we had it as she went through the first field with confidence and a wink of "I know there is a gate here!". She went through the gate with thought......I blew the lie down whistle.....got a hitch....blew a good deep wide away.....and Sal....crossed over, yet again going come-bye! What can a girl do but laugh! Somehow...not sure just how, but some how, the sheep were brought through the gate.....running hard.....and try as we may...I could not slow them enough and they missed going around the post. Having spent time working on pressure and walking into sheep not wanting to move and pushing back, I chose to unwind and make my post "correct". Sally was a rock star....dealing with intense sheep pressure in two areas and on we went for our drive. We actually hit our cross drive panel.....made our shed....and found rattled, run-on-the-fetch sheep that liked neither of us at the pen.

Here is what I learned from this weekend......1) Sally has come a long way! 2) I have come a long way! 3) we still have things to work on! 4) this journey is special....very much mine and Sally's and one to be treasured, embraced, counting the blessings of the gifts and tribulations 5) other people's journeys are their own...filled with what they chose to look at and how they decide to address what is presented by their handling, their dog, and their view of the sheep. 6) I am thankful to my friends who come along side me on my journey and share in it...both with honesty, positive feedback, and tips for improvement! 7) I am thankful to people who put on trials...and those who work them...and for Maggi for setting for me...and for Joe for helping me take a breath and look back...and for Geri, and Candy, and Patrick, and Dianne for pushing me forward and not letting me fall down!

And with that......I plan to....

Seize the day!!!!