By Lisa McPherson
(Photo credit to Lisa for the landscape, all others to Norma de Rose)
We left Kitley and headed off to Jenovic in the late afternoon. The 2 hour drive gave time to reflect on the past 3 days and enjoy the beautiful colours and sunset. This year, the spring brought cold, wet weather and that was mirrored by the hot, dry summer weather. It was hard on farmers, livestock and especially nature. That has been evident in the trees this fall. Less vibrant colours and some trees have lost their leaves without changing. Several days in a row with 30 degree weather in October certainly is a bit strange.
Werner Reitboeck was the judge for Jenovic 2.0. He had also judged their spring trial and I think he appreciated the weather a lot more this time around. Monday continued the hot, dry weather, a stark contrast to the 5 degrees and raining that graced us in May!
The sheep were lively and the tree colours were at their peak around the field. Norma had the chance to take some beautiful pictures with the magical background. We ran Nursery, 2 Novice Novice, 2 Pro Novice and a Ranch class on Monday. The trial was a bit smaller but it was a mighty crew and had a great relaxed vibe. Since a lot of the handlers had attended the first Jenovic trial, there was time to catch up with the friends we made in the spring and meet some new people who came to compete.
I had a few conversations during the day and many commented that herding is very different from any other dog activity. They thought being able to sit and scribe for the judge allows you to learn a lot, the judges are happy to answer questions (when the time is appropriate) and the seating arrangement under the handlers tent is unique! Being able to sit in some unknown person's chair to chat with a friend (or stranger) feels weird but people do it without thinking in herding. Personally, I think it is wonderful that everyone is interested in supporting all levels and gets up early to come and watch!
After the day's runs, we had the chance to talk to Stacey Rember for the very popular Q and A. The Learning and Development Committee came up with this great idea and they host a different person for the handlers to ask whatever questions they wanted. It has been very well attended and people have asked about many different things. Stacey talked about how she got into sheep farming. Mike and Stacey started with 4 ewes (of which they kept 2) and grew the farm into over 400! She was very open and answered many questions about her dogs, how she moved up from a novice handler to open, what it’s like running a farm and how they do it. We also had a trip down memory lane remembering times before the internet, email and youtube. Herding, and life, was different then. There were newsletters, phone calls, CDs and learning how to herd was a lot less accessible. After the Q and A, we were treated to an amazing dinner in Jennifer and Ladovic’s beautiful post and beam home.
Tuesday started a bit cooler with sunshine but as quickly as the Nursery and Ranch classes progressed, the weather changed into more seasonable weather. It started raining slightly during the last Novice Novice class and in the middle of a run there was a bolt of lightning, boom of thunder and the rain just came down! There were a few people racing for their cars for rain gear and rubber boots and we had a 40 minute rain delay while the thunder and lightning raged overhead. The Pro Novice and Ranch classes were still to run but I had gotten soaked so said my good-bye’s and headed back to my air bnb for dry clothes and headed for home. I was sad to miss the ribbon ceremony but the results are posted on the OBCC facebook page.
On my ride home I reflected on the year that was. It was especially exciting to see handlers and dogs doing well as they move up and as the season moved along. There was lots of advice and interesting ideas shared during the Q and A's. There was time to catch up on how everyone was doing, meet new friends and trial in new locations. I finally reflected on how blessed I am to be able to do this with my dog. Being outside in the fresh air, the open fields and good company? What more does one person need.