Patrick Shannahan Judging Clinic - January 22

[PennyT]

PATRICK SHANNAHAN JUDGING CLINIC

 

JANUARY 22 (SUNDAY)

 

This will be Patrick's 6th annual clinic in at Frank and Penny Tose's place,

551 South Valley Road, Poplarville, Mississippi, 39470. The email address is

ftose@direcway.com and the phone number is (601) 795-2080.

 

The regular clinic on January 20-21 is full; however, we have space in the

judging clinic on Sunday, January 22, 2006 and space in private lessons on

Monday, January 23.

 

Patrick started out in livestock without a dog, first working in a stockyard

part-time while in school then with 250 registered ewes of his own. When he

got his first stock dog to help manage the ewes, he soon learned the value

of a well trained dog.

 

Since that time, Patrick has become one of the

country's foremost and best respected trainers, judges, and handlers. He has

won the USBCHA/ABCA National Finals and many other well known dog trials.

Most recently, he was Reserve Nursery Champion and an Open Finalist at the

2005 USBCHA/ABCA National Finals with Riggs who goes back to Patrick's

famous Hannah, National Finals Open winner in 1994.

 

Patrick is one of the most sought after sheep dog trial judges in the

country and

has judged the National Finals among numerous others. He has served on the

boards of both the USBCHA and the ABCA and been a regular columnist

for the American Border Collie Magazine. As a qualifier in the top 17 at the

National Finals in 2004, he earned a place on the U.S. team for the World

Trial in 2005 and attended.

 

Patrick is known for his skills in helping beginners with all breeds of dogs

make the transition from trainer to handler by moving from treating dog and

sheep as adversaries to partners in a cooperative effort. He also helps more

experienced handlers develop finesse and broaden their skills.

 

When working with someone, Patrick studies their dog and their situation and

looks to the long term development of the handler and dog as an ongoing

team. He also helps his students to trust their dogs and to read the

livestock. His students range from beginners who take weekly lessons to

skilled handlers, some managing livestock operations or successfully

competing in stock dog trials or both. It is not uncommon for both trainers

and their students to attend Patrick's clinics.

 

Patrick brings out the best in the handler/dog relationship, and those

improvements both in behavior and insight continue long after a clinic is

over. You can read some of Patrick's articles at patrickshannahan.com.

 

The 2006 Patrick Shannahan clinic will start on Friday, January 20 and run

through Saturday, January 21. The cost is $140 for both days.

 

On Sunday January 22, there will be a judging

clinic in the morning and demonstration trial for judging clinic practice

purposes in

the afternoon. Dogs at all levels are welcome to participate.

 

We will run

novice in the training field and pro-novice and open in my back field.

Novice will probably be a fence line, ASCA type course; pro-novice will have

a short outrun, lift, fetch, drive, and pen. Open will be an outrun, lift,

fetch, drive, shed, and pen (or shed, pen, single if time permits).

 

Whether you are a novice hopeful or stockman looking for help with livestock

or seasoned open handler, you will benefit from the

judging clinic by learning what judges are looking for and why they are

looking for particular things. Whether your goals are trialing your dog or

moving your livestock more efficiently without ever taking the dog off your

place again, a judging clinic will help you to understand why good, clean

work is preferable to a sloppy job and will help you to understand what the

differences are between the two.

 

The cost of the judging clinic for

people not entered in the regular clinic is $80, which includes running 1

dog

in the demonstration trial. There is no limitation at this time on how many

dogs you can run

in the demonstration trial but there will be a nominal fee of $15 each for

second and

third dogs if there is time to run them.

I do not anticipate having to limit the number of dogs a handler can run in

the judging clinic at this point; however, I am keeping that option open.

Trial

type runs at the clinic are for demonstration and judging clinic practice

only with no money pay back or sanctioning. This is a judging clinic, not a

dog trial, so your level should not be

affected by where you run.

 

The judging clinic cost is $80 for Sunday.

 

Private lessons with Patrick are on Monday the 23rd. Cost to be arranged

with him. It is usually $30 per half hour.

 

Friends and family attending with someone entered in the clinic are

not

charged an observer's or auditing fee and are included in meals. Otherwise

the observer's fee is $40.

 

Let me know who is coming with you so that

I can plan meals and sleeping arrangements. If you have an RV, we can

probably plug you in. Space is available in the bunkhouse here at no cost if

you need a

place to stay, just let me know in advance.

 

Penny