I got home late, blown in, with nests for rats in my locks and an obsession about ticks. The 2012 Dirt Blowing Trial was a good one.....I really loved it for a number of reasons, all of which I will enumerate on here! I know I have said it before, but I really value my over-thinking sessions with handlers I respect. Some of theses handlers have tossed out words over the years, words that I have picked up, dusted off and pressed into my mind book to take out on long road trips. One of my mentor/teachers/zen masters never really seems to say much of anything along the line of "giving me answers".....but as I chew on the words, I have found the answers lie in me and stay tap-rooted if I nurture them myself. The "given answers" aren't nearly as hardy.
Pretty much every trial I see Rob Miller at he says to me, "if you think you have this figured out.....just go to another sheepdog trial". I believe he might have said in the beginning..."anytime I think I have this figured out...I go to another sheepdog trial" but now he helps me keep perspective: Ego check, perspective check, life check.
Nell and I learned so much this weekend. I almost said, "struggled" but I don't feel that way...others do. Besides my time with my dogs, one of the things I love most about trials is filming runs...it makes me watch. The Dirt Blowing trial lived up to its Blowing name this year so the camera never came out except when a friend filmed my first two runs and I, hers. So instead, after I finished running my last dog the last day...I got the opportunity to scribe. That really forces me to watch: pay close attention to details I miss when I sit and chat with friends. I got to see a top hand run a dog similar to my Nell during my scribing session and I feel like I owe them for a lesson. The handling and support.....well it really was priceless and I know the direction I am headed with Nell. I can see what she and I are doing wrong......my timing is late, her eye slips her off and we argue...which my one wrong flank in a precarious situation does not help! Yet, sometimes, I am not sure exactly sure what to do or how to "fix" it with Nell. Watching a dog very Nell-like was pretty darn amazing.....I see things a little different from just 8 minutes.
Funny how another top hand's young dog struggled a bit on the Targhees and as she left the field she said her dog just needed more experience on those type of sheep. I thought to myself, "ya, Nell needs more experience - bummer is: so do I!" But I did see some good when comparing my two runs. The first ended in a "Thank You" from the judges combine. The second run was tough and better and once Nell and I worked through getting them to my feet, I left the post. I wanted to end with the understanding on the fetch and not muddle it with the drive or a grip. We both need more experience on this type of sheep for sure. But that is the joy of this journey.....that if I am willing to push and stretch and challenge myself, all I have to do is go to another sheepdog trial.....
Seize the Day!
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