juliepoudrier Posted October 7, 2003 Report Share Posted October 7, 2003 Hey folks, I posted this on Sheepdog-L and then thought about the thread about whether we ever meet outside of the boards and thought I would post the results here as well, since a number of people who did well at this trial post here (or are members who don't post). The Montpelier Sheepdog Trial was held October 4-5 at the Montpelier estate (home of James Madison, our fourth president) in Orange County, VA, in conjunction with the Fall Fiber Festival of Virginia. The fiber festival always attracts a large crowd of people, who, in addition to enjoying the handmade and fiber offerings of the vendors at the festival, also crowd along the fence to watch border collies in action. Thursday night brought the first frost of fall at Montpelier, but as the weekend wore on, temperatures rose, finally ending up in the 70s by Sunday afternoon. The sheep, provided by the Hoffman family, were a flock of commercial wool ewes who were a bit touchy, especially when dogs were too pushy. When they entered the shedding ring, these ewes glued themselves to one another, making for few sheds in the open classes. The field was gently rolling. Dogs sent to the right were out of sight of the handler for the last part of their outruns. The field was a bit muddy in the low spots, and the ruts from a truck left in the fetch line and along the return to the pen caused several dogs to take tumbles. Freight trains passed by on a regular schedule, and the noise of their passing created a challenge for handlers who tried to be heard over the sound of their passing. The judge was Will Cormack of Scotland, former Scottish National Champion and Farmer?s Champion with his bitch June. Mr. Cormack was quite a hit with the handlers, and there was no shortage of volunteers to clerk for him. A long list of thank yous: Verna Krammes, for taking care of all of the paperwork for the trial; Sam Furman, for taking charge of the trial; Tom Forrester, for setting sheep for most of the trial; Monroe Williams and David Henry for setting sheep for P/N so that Tom could run his Annie; Julie Poudrier and Craig Rogers, for pushing sheep out; Debbie Crowder and her 4-H kids for working the pens; Richard Rogers, Sam Furman, Craig Rogers, Stacy Tackett, Julie Poudrier, and Sue Asten for setting up the course; David Henry, Christine Koval, and Victoria Renz, for posting scores; Jean and Steve Bell, for heading the tear down crew; and Judy and Wink Mason. Clerks for the weekend were Sue Asten, Kate Caldwell, Thayer Drew, Robin French, Christine Koval, Verna Krammes, Julie Poudrier, and Victoria Renz. I apologize to anyone I may have left out?everyone?s help was greatly appreciated and made for a smooth-running trial. And now the results: Open Saturday (34 dogs) 1. Christine Koval/Rook 88 2. Linda Tesdahl/Peg 88 3. David Henry/Zoie 87 4. David Henry/Holly 87 5. Christine Koval/Mirk 86 6. Linda Tesdahl/Jaffe 86 7. Florence Wilson/Moss 86 8. Kay Sander/Quest 85 9. Suzanne Craddock/Nell 84 10. Mark Billadeau/Blue 82 Open Sunday (33 dogs) 1. Sam Furman/Grace 92 2. David Henry/Holly 91 3. Stu Ligon/Nap 87 4. Verna Krammes/Willow 85 5. Tom Wilson/Pearl 84 6. Tom Wilson/Dot 83 7. David Henry/Zoie 82 8. Kay Sander/Quest 80 9. Christine Koval/Mirk 79 10. Stu Ligon/Nick 76 Champion: David Henry/Holly Reserve: David Henry/Zoie Open Ranch Saturday (31 dogs) 1. Susan Rhoades/Dupont 80 2. Stu Ligon/Davy 78 3. Christine Koval/Bess 78 4. Doug Brewer/Queen 77 5. Linda Tesdahl/Toss 75 6. Susan Rhoades/Edge 71 7. Craig Rogers/Mirk 71 8. David Henry/Bracken 68 9. Pam Gardner/Ferrell 66 10. Sherry Smith/Edge 66 Open Ranch Sunday (29 dogs) 1. Renee Billadeau/Rae 79 2. Craig Rogers/Mirk 76 3. Doug Brewer/Queen 75 4. Pam Gardner/Ferrell 67 5. Sherry Smith/Edge 65 6. Christine Koval/Bess 64 7. Victoria Renz/Kip 64 8. Sue Aston/Katy 62 9. Sherry Sheldon/Jaff 61 10. Robin French/Jet 60 Champion: Doug Brewer/Queen Reserve: Craig Rogers/Mirk Pro-Novice Saturday (20 dogs) 1. Julie Poudrier/Twist 76 2. Randy Munford/Judy 67 3. Louise DiMarcello/Jane 61 4. Suzanne Craddock/Jon 57 5. Louise DiMarcello/Jax 56 6. Tom Forrester/Annie 56 Pro-Novice Sunday (18 dogs) 1. Pam Gardner/Kia 71 2. Randy Munford/Judy 70 3. Louise DiMarcello/Jane 67 4. Doug Brewer/Bill 63 5. Kay Sander/Buck 59 6. Suzanne Craddock/Jon 58 Champion: Randy Munford/Judy Reserve: Julie Poudrier/Twist Novice/Novice Saturday (3 dogs) 1. Billy Pritchard/Kate 67 2. Lynn Prescott/Flame 62 3. Thayer Drew/Casey 58 Novice/Novice Sunday (4 dogs) 1. Lynn Prescott/Flame 57 2. Thayer Drew/Casey 44 3. Cleda Copeland/Peg 21 4. Billy Pritchard/Kate 18 Champion: Lynn Prescott/Flame Reserve: Thayer Drew/Casey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted October 7, 2003 Report Share Posted October 7, 2003 Julie, what kind of sheep do the Hoffmans have, mostly. Seems like last time I was there (when the earth was young) they had a good bit of Blackie in their flock. Considering going up in December. Last time I went up it was with Ben and, well, it was a short run. Not the sheep's fault by any means, mind you! :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted October 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2003 Um, I'm not real sure Becca. They do have some blackface sheep, a couple of which look very much like the Scottish blackface, others which may well be Suffolk crosses. Most of the sheep are actually whiteface sheep, but I really don't know the breeding behind the flock. Perhaps Sam, Robin, or Mark knows? J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted October 8, 2003 Report Share Posted October 8, 2003 I don't think there's too much suffolk in there. There are a couple of Scottish Blackfaces but it's mostly commercial "mixes" i think - columbia, dorset, border leister (that's not spelled right i know), maybe polypay, mostly white faces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted October 8, 2003 Report Share Posted October 8, 2003 The black faces in the scotties tend to fade to a speckle in the first cross, but so does the, er, scottiness. Might try my hand if I can get up there. If if not too late to send in my entry!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted October 9, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 Becca, Entries open Oct. 27th. If you need an entry, let me know and I'll see if I can't get one to you. The Scottie sheep were indeed speckle-faced. I would have sworn that the "Don King sisters" had some suffolk in them.... J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted October 9, 2003 Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 The Don Kings might have had suffolk in them, but they weren't at the trial last weekend. Thankfully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted October 9, 2003 Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 Along with the list Robin gave, I think there's some Katahdin mixed in as well. There were a few that had what looked like a mix of wool and hair on their back. I believe Renee said they had or have a Katahdin ram. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted October 9, 2003 Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 Wow, sound like my flock before I thinned it out. Thanks, Julie, I've got the entry now and I see the opening now - I always seem to think of entering the VA trials about the time I see them announced as being closed. I missed the summer trial because my family had a whole series of health problems. I hated it because it's the only time every year I get to see my friend Angela W, who comes down for the annual meeting. Talk of meeting people in person! I hope she'll come for the award dinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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