Bluegrass - my (long) account

[Denise Wall]

As you all know, Emil Luedecke and I are not known as the nation?s top handlers to say the least. He and I were very candid in giving our dogs the credit for our nine point lead over the better handlers in the first run. At 425 yards on those sheep, it was pretty much all about the dog and the sheep.

 

For my first run it was already starting to get pretty hot and it was very humid. Standing at the post while they brought out my first group, my tension grew as I watched the put out crew fight with three demons in lamb suits at the top of the field. Finally, they split and went three different directions, two of them went over the fence and were running all about the Masterson Station Park trial area while four wheelers drove around to retrieve them. While that was still going on, they tried to bring out my second group. Also not a good group, the put-out people struggled with them for at least five minutes while they split and ran all over the field before getting them to the set-out post. Needless to say, things did not look hopeful for Mick and me at this point. Someone told me I was voted ?most harrowing before-run wait at the post.? When Mick got to the top of his outrun, I knew enough to leave him alone, and I could see he was sorting them. Scott later told me Mick broke the sheep at the top of the field. We then went on to have the run I dreamed about having. I was so happy and excited and proud of my dog, the score was just icing on the cake. Our 86 score held up well and by the end of the first day I believe was still 12 points ahead of the next score. I never thought it would last that long but was thrilled to go to bed that night winning the first round of the Bluegrass. I woke up that next morning at 5AM, remembered the day before and just started crying right off the bat. I never thought I might actually win it until over 100 dogs had run. Then I started to hope. Not long after, Emil and his great dog Ben put in a beautiful run to edge Mick and me into second place by a half of a point. I sorta wish it had been more. It would?ve been easier to take. Still, I was thrilled to be second.

 

I only got two hours of sleep the night before my second run with Mick. I talked to myself all night long and tried to convince myself I would not mess up getting in the championship round yet again (I?ve had several near misses on this at the BG so it had become kind of an issue for me). For my second run, I walked out to the post and once again, my sheep were unusually difficult to set. I heard someone from the handlers? tent yell, ?Don?t look, Denise!? After what seemed like long while, they got the sheep down to the set-out post and I realized I was expected to send my dog after them. I sent Mick and before he even got halfway out on his outrun, the sheep got away from the put-out person and booked it back up to the put-out pen. The judges immediately called me off for a rerun as that had definitely not been Mick?s fault. I tried and tried to call him off, but he wouldn?t come. Mick was sent for sheep and it was pretty clear he was not coming back without sheep. One jumped back into the put-out pen and Mick went in after it. Rusty Kreider radioed down to the judges, ?This one?s too determined, we?ll have to catch him.? At this point, I?m still calling and calling and finally Vergil told me they'd caught Mick and he?d take me up there on the four wheeler. I was so embarrassed. I turned to the judges and said I was sorry. They both had big grins on their faces and one said, ?Nothing to apologize for.? So that made me feel some better.

 

Once I retrieved him, I walked all the way back along the outside fence with Mick and tried to get my head straight for my run. Actually, in the end, it helped take the edge off us both. He ran the first run on Wednesday and the second run three days later on Saturday. Mick?s a dog who needs to work everyday so a 500 yard run to the top and a bit of pen work helped some. For me, it was sort of realization of my worst fears so I figured anything else would have to be better.

 

My rerun was two runs later and my new sheep seemed typical on set out. Mick and I had another nice run and I knew going into the shedding ring (the last phase that run) that I had a high score so far that would get me into the double lift finals. I had plenty of time left but at this point, I was too scared to take any big risks on the shed. I thought if it worked out perfectly, I would try it but I was very conservative and time ran out before the perfect shed presented itself. Still, we had a 75 and ended up 10th second run even without the shed. Mick and I were third overall with all three of us in the top three spots within two points of each other.

 

After I knew was in the top 20 final run, all my tension was gone. I just wanted to go out there and do the best we could do. I told Bev Lambert at the handlers' dinner that I wanted to have a good time and hoped I would surprise everybody. She told me I already had

 

Although I?ve done an International Course in competition once before with Mick, it?s a little hard to expect that you?ll go out with the knowledge, confidence and polish of those who?ve done it a lot so I didn?t expect that of us. I thought, overall, that we were more composed and the run was tighter than the last time I was in a double lift. I felt like it was a respectable run and we ended up right in the middle of the pack, in 10th place, which I was very happy with.

 

I was pleased with Mick?s first gather. He took his lookback and went back for the second group well. Unfortunately, my second lot of sheep got away from the put-out person and started running down the field, actually almost straight at Mick while he was still on his outrun. I thought he finished it and took control as well as could be expected under the circumstances. At this point I had trouble keeping him from bringing the sheep straight to me instead of angled toward the fetch panel. The wind was blowing pretty hard and he might not have been able to hear me very well from where he was. We got it somewhat straightened out but then we missed the fetch panels with all ten sheep. The regathering of the first lot to join with the second, remainder of the fetch with all 20 and turn at the post were all good. The drive was what I considered very nice with Mick doing a lot of correcting of the line on his own and me mostly just blowing a steady whistle until we got the crossdrive panel where, as usual, I couldn?t tell whether they were lined up right to go through or not. They were actually right on but apparently I couldn?t be happy until I had moved them up then back down too low before I realized it and most of them slipped past the panel low. I have a big problem with depth perception so it was no surprise but I was sorry it messed up our nice drive.

 

I had decided ahead of time I was going to do my best to do the International shed the right way. I had a plan and lots of time (21 minutes). After a few minutes, I had the sheep stringing out and we formed a gate just the way I wanted. I don?t remember how many we had off but I think we only had a few unmarked ones left and lots of time so I began to feel somewhat heartened. Mick however loves to sort sheep and was still very fresh and eager to pop in there and stop something. Although we have a routine at home for practical work, he was a bit on the muscle on this sort in a different situation. Mick is not a mild dog so I wanted to avoid him having to do any fast saves if at all possible, knowing it would upset the remaining sheep, possibly making uncollared sheep harder to get off or collared sheep more anxious to join their "special" friends that might be in the already shed group. Eventually what I didn?t want to happen happened. Mick came in fast and hard without being asked and stirred up one of the collared sheep too much. This sheep then wanted to find safety with its friend in the already shed group. It finally got by me on my side and we had to regather the entire group and start over. Several times we had some off, but this same sheep did us in each time once it found out our hole. Later I realized I hadn?t been holding my side well enough. But as the minutes wore on I began to lose focus and finally time ran out.

 

I learned a lot and I had a blast. And at night when I close my eyes go to sleep, I see Mick on the Bluegrass field doing his beautiful turn back to get his second lot of sheep. I think I?ll be reliving that moment for quite a while.

[Miztiki]

THIS is the kind of post I look for every day here. THANK YOU for writing this, and doing this, and sharing this with us! You and Mick were wunnerful and you should both be VERY proud of yourselves!

 

Hell yeah!!!

 

(Hey, I'm a redneck woman, I ain't no high class broad...)

[Pipedream Farm]

Denise,

 

I'm sooooooooooooo happy for you.

 

Mark

[Sue R]

Thank you so much, Denise, for sharing this with us. Although I enjoyed watching some of Open I and Open II, I could not stay for Sunday so I could only imagine what the finals would be like. Reading your first-hand account of your run on Sunday helped me to visualize and understand the size and complexity of the finals.

 

Congratulations to you and Mick on a job very well done (and consistently, over three big runs).

[Shoofly]

I so wish i could have been there to see it. but knowing Denise and Mick and seeing them run around here for so long, i can totally picture it all from this post. Thanks girl and congrats again!!!!

 

PS: I can still remember coming over and seeing Mick work the sheep in a little round pen sort of thing you'd set up to start him in. Whew that was a while ago!

[Joan]

Aw, Denise, you brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing, and I'm so happy you had a good trial at the Bluegrass!

[Valhalla]

Denise, I wish I could have been there to cheer you on, but I am glad I got to see your two runs with Mick before the final round. I'm so proud of you and Mick! You held it together under pressure. See you can do it, too!

[Carson Crazies]

Wow, I am so very proud of you guys! This brought tears to my eyes, thank you so much for sharing.

[Woodenlion]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I have been waiting to read about it. I admire those of you who share this special bond with your dogs. Congratulations, you are very strong and courageous.

 

Toni

[Eileen Stein]

Denise, thanks so much for writing this up for us. I couldn't be happier for you (though personally I'm not a bit surprised).

 

For those of you who don't know, Mick was bred and trained by Denise, out of a dam she also bred. He is a wonderful dog.

[Denise Wall]

Miztiki, Sue, Robin, Joan, Christine, Laura and Toni, thank you for your kind words. This is something that doesn't happen to people like me so I'm on cloud nine.

 

Yes, Robin, I remember that visit. it doesn't seem like that long ago when Mick was a fat little puppy who hit the ground wanting to work sheep. For those who don't know, Mick is a dog I bred from my Molly (who I also bred) and my Rob. He was the only pup in the litter. I always said there was only one puppy because fate wanted to make sure I picked the right pup to keep. Mick has always been my special boy. Things like this don't happen to people like me because I'm that sentimental wuss who keeps her dogs and loves them all for what they are. The dogs I run in trials are just the dogs I happen to have. I've been blessed to have some good ones.

 

At this point I should thank Christine for being my role model for grace under pressure. I sat at the Seclusival trial and watched her hold it together and still win after another dog ran out on the course during her pen with Rook. Over time I've watched her consistently get it done no matter what the situation or pressure. In the past I've been bad to fold under pressure and drop the ball. As Tiger Woods says, at some point it becomes a mind game. Christine inspires me do better at winning the battle within myself. I don't know how I'll do in the future but for once, I held up to the pressure and didn't let my dog down on his nice work. A special thanks to Christine.

 

Thanks everybody.

[Valhalla]

Oh Denise, you've made me cry... we seem to do that a lot don't we? Your kind words mean so much, but you don't need to thank me. You've always had it in you to succeed (and the dogs to do it)... you just needed a gentle reminder to prove it to yourself. If I helped remind you, I am happy I could.

[Denise Wall]

Thank you so much, Eileen. I must've been writing my post as you posted.

[zenotri]

Thank you for writing that Denise. I really enjoyed reading it. Congratulations to you & Mick on a great performance. I find your attitude very inspiring. Thanks.

 

Vickie

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

That was so cool. Do you remember talking about Mick with me at Dr. Ben's almost a year ago? Then I got to go up to New England and talk to Chris Smart - I was very impressed with what he said about your dogs (did you ever get in touch, by the way?). Mick may be a singleton but I don't think he's a one-off - you've worked so awfully hard on the line and your dogs' training.

 

That's a good point about Christine's last run at Seclusival. That was pretty neat. How DO you get "in the zone" to that extent while still staying sharp? I saw Christine and Rook a couple years ago at the Bluegrass championship go round - calm and cool like she did double lifts with several hundred spectators every day. :eek: Where DOES that kind of cool come from?

 

Thanks again Denise for that awesome report.

[laurie etc]

Denise, You are inspiration to those of us who aren't there yet. It's really nice to know that someone who is dedicated, with a goal and good dog they believe in, can succeed even under the toughest circumstances. Thanks for sharing!

[jvw]

Wow! What a wonderful write up. I too am tearing up.

 

Denise, it was great to meet you. I'm so happy for you and Mick.

 

Jennifer

[Denise Wall]

Thanks again you guys. And thanks for allowing me to share my excitement here. If I knew what was good for me I would quit now while I'm ahead and never go to another trial

[Valhalla]

Originally posted by C Denise Wall:

If I knew what was good for me I would quit now while I'm ahead and never go to another trial

But you won't quit, because you'll be striving to win it next year (by more than a half point)!

[tucknjill]

God, Randy just walked in and I am bawling my eyes out...sure wish I could have been there to cheer you on..you go gal!

[Denise Wall]

Thanks, Sam. We sure missed you.

 

Christine, I think I'm way overdrawn on luck. I'll be happy not to bomb next year and make this year look like a fluke.

 

On a humorous note, I was telling my elderly mother about my runs - how tough the sheep were, how Mick handled them, etc., and she's smiling and nodding like she understands. Then at the end she says, "Well, I can certainly see why the judges liked him so much - he's such a sweet, precious thing." I started to say, uh, that's not exactly what they're judging on mama, but figured it was a lost cause so I just smiled and nodded too.

[Valhalla]

Aren't mother's wonderful? You have to admit she's right! Mick is a sweet, precious thing and I bet you are saying that to him everyday!

[Denise Wall]

Mick is a sweet, precious thing and I bet you are saying that to him everyday!

Worse than that. I've just been staring at him constantly for the past six days. I'm even scared to work him much I'm so afraid I'll mess something up