ONTARIO BORDER COLLIE CLUB

By OBCC Board of Directors

*Photo credit to Carol Guy

Over the past year, the OBCC Board of Directors did a deep dive on the topic of trialing in Ontario. There is a sense that members want more trials, and is there anything the board could do to help make that happen. Celeste Lacroix and Patrick Gosselin shared their findings with the board, most of which is reproduced here. This paper first identifies issues and then looks at possibilities.

In the past OBCC has had broad handler participation and many more trials offered than there are today.   There are currently 4 or 5 sanctioned trials consistently on the OBCC trial calendar.  There seems to be two main reasons for the lack of trials available in Ontario.  One reason being fewer large flocks available, the second reason being host fatigue and other risks.  OBCC would like to explore options that would enable broader participation and event opportunities.  One option that was discussed at an OBCC board meeting in early 2024 was for the club to provide sheep or subsidise sheep acquisition for trial hosts who may not have enough sheep numbers for a larger trial. The intent here is to provide some information and ideas for further discussion.

Some Issues and considerations that were brought forward

• Effort and cost to host a trial
  • Experienced trial hosts know how much work goes into hosting trials and are not always prepared to commit to the effort given the low financial return and other challenges. 
  • It takes a village to host a trial.  Handlers show up for the event but unless they have hosted a trial before, they are not likely aware of the weeks of work before and after, the hidden/increasing cost, the stress on the sheep flock and the host family.
  • Complaints about high trial entry fees, low paybacks and condition of the flock make it such that hosts have become discouraged.  Conversations under the handler’s tent and poor handler etiquette leaves many hosts wondering why they bother. 
  • Ontario hosts Canada’s biggest sheepdog trial, the Kingston Sheepdog Trial.  It has a community based funding model and additional event revenue / expenses options. It has strong local support, has a trial committee, rents and transports sheep for the event, pays for most positions in trial operations, brings in world class judges, is attended by handlers from all around North America and offers lucrative payback and prizes.  All other trials in Ontario are farm trials hosted by the farm / flock owner who owns border collies and is trying to support the farm.  These trials are often run at a financial loss. Hosts seldom include the costs for their time and equipment in these events. These two types of trials are obviously very different.
• Sheep and geographic location
  • Most Handlers who own a large enough flock are currently hosting trials.   We’ll call these the “Have Sheep, Have Land” hosts
  • Other handlers / potential hosts may own / have access to land and equipment capable of holding trials but do not have enough sheep. We’ll call these the “Don’t Have Sheep, Have Land” potential hosts.
    • Other sheep producers / land owners who are not handlers may be interested in another revenue source and be able to host trials in collaboration with experienced handlers.
    • Most large sheep producers manage a closed flock and have strict bio security protocols.  Sheep could not be returned to a closed flock unless bio security standards are maintained.
    • Transportation and management of over 100 sheep is very different than 20 sheep.
  • Weather in Ontario hinders a year-round trialing calendar.  Most trials are currently scheduled in the heat of summer after lambing or in late fall when lambs are weaned and/or are big enough to use in a trial to increase flock size. 
  • Trial fields are often hay or crop fields and are not available throughout hay or crop growing season of May to September. 
  • There are no field trials throughout winter and OBCC does not sanction or support arena or smaller field trials.
  • The size of Ontario makes it such that attending trials south of the border is often easier that travelling across the province.
• Handler Demographics and opportunity
  • The median age of handlers is increasing while training and trialing opportunities for younger novice handlers does not support filling that gap. 
  • The aging demographics include handlers who have the experience to set sheep but may no longer be physically able which is always a constraint or cost for a trial.
  • There are not enough novice trials to encourage new handlers to participate to the level they would like to.

Consideration for Costs and Constraints for hosting a trial

Possible approaches:

Big Sheep Producers get involved
Some bigger sheep producers may not want to host a trial but may have enough sheep, given some coordination with lambing schedules and sales markets.   They may even be willing / able to host trials on their farm at certain times of the year in collaboration with an experienced handler.   There may be a shepherd like Mike Crellian or the Villeneuves to manage 100s of sheep. OBCC would then run the trial and guarantee a sheep rental fee. 

Sheep Rental
Some handler / hosts may have fields but not the sheep.  A variety of options may be available for sheep rental for an event.   Some scenarios include $ per sheep per day, $ per sheep per run, $ per sheep.  Sheep rental and transportation may vary from $500 to over $5,000 depending on distance.    Agreements could be established with a larger sheep producer where multiple trial hosts commit to the rental giving the producer an incentive to keep ewes out of breeding groups.

Arena and small field trials
As we have seen in recent years, winter events can help to spread the trialing calendar from November to April as well as provide continuous training opportunities for handlers / dogs.  These events tend to be smaller and require fewer sheep.  OBCC could consider supporting more of these events even if they don’t conform to large international field trials.

Subsidies
OBCC could consider providing a subsidy to trial hosts to support acquisition of event sheep or other barriers to hosting trials such as equipment.  This could become complicated and may not be equitable for some of our larger sheep producing / handler / trial hosts. 

Co-op Hosts Buy Sheep for a Group of Events then sell the sheep

This was done in Florida for the Feb/2024 trials.  3 Hosts bought 100 sheep in a 40/40/20 ratio.  The sheep were used exclusively in the first two trials one week apart, distributed to new host owners after trial 2.  Trial 3 used 20 plus the sheep they already owned.  The sheep were either sold after or kept by individual hosts.   Additional costs included the initial transportation, transportation between trials, feed and care of sheep prior to events. 

Combine Flocks

This is a common approach used currently by hosts of clinics, small trials and training trials.  It is an effective way to get a larger number of sheep, though sheep consistency and flocking habits are often sacrificed.  Because these sheep are usually a handler’s training sheep, they are often well dogged and likely to flock inconsistently between sets.    This might also be used in combination with sheep rental where a host might rent Open trial sheep while using their home flock for novice classes.

Establish an OBCC commitment to rent sheep?

At the end of the day, a trial’s success is measured by the quality of the field, the sheep and the judging.  This discussion paper focuses on access to sheep as a particular challenge to hosting a trial.  Sheep consistency is key. The discussion paper was initially conceived after a conversation that went something like “Could OBCC manage a flock to be available for multiple trials?”.

• Each non-shepherd trial host would have to engage in management of flock or have a very small window of sheep custody.
• Group management of a flock becomes complicated.  What about death, meds, vet costs, maintenance, predators, livestock guardian animals, feed, manage over winter …
• How does training fit in this.  We all love training on new or large flocks of sheep.  Do we try to keep them as fresh as possible?
• Who manages the flock?  Who buys / sells?
• Is there a revenue generation option for OBCC?
• Who would be interested in hosting if sheep were available?
• What time of year and for what timeframe would OBCC own / manage the sheep?
• What would the usage / rental agreements look like?

Educate our Handlers and Hosts

Hosts work very hard to maintain healthy flocks, good fields and host respectable events. Hosts are shy to discuss finances because they are made to feel guilty about expecting compensation.   Handlers have invested thousands of dollars in dogs, land, sheep, training, vehicles, campers, etc. but complain about a $35 to $70 entry fee.  Why do handlers think that hosts should do this for free or lose money?  While travelling to an event, a handler thinks nothing of paying $50+ for a campsite or motel room in transit but if a host asks $10/night at a trial handlers are outraged.  We need to change this type of thinking.  No one is trying to become rich by hosting sheepdog trials, but their efforts need to be compensated.  Entry fee for the Ontario Cutting Horse Association start at $160 for an amateur run to $325 for an Open class run.  These are 3 minute runs.

Trial Equipment in a box and other help

The Virginia Border Collie Association has a Trial in a Box concept where they have a stock trailer loaded with trial equipment available for its members.  It contains sheep handling equipment, gates, pens, panels, etc. all the equipment needed to host a trial.   This would enable a trial to be held on fields that are not already setup for hosting a trial.

Expanding the “helping” community would go a long way to helping trial hosts.  There is so much to do to setup, execute and take down from a trial.  A trial host is “excited” the night before the trial, “exhausted” the night of the trial but the feeling as everyone drives away knowing how much work you need to do post trial can be more than exasperating. 

Proof of concept for sheep acquisition

Two different sheep acquisition plans are in play at this time which will help us better understand possible scenarios.

1. Patrick Gosselin – Spencerville
   • Patrick acquired 30 ewe lambs from Villeneuve farms in Spring 2024.  The sheep are rented in exchange for sheepdog training services.  The sheep will be rotated over the year to keep them fresh for Patrick’s training needs.   This will provide Patrick with enough sheep for training and for hosting clinics.  It is expected the Villeneuve's can augment Patrick’s flock when needed for trials depending on his needs and time of year.   Clinics and trials will be conducted on Patrick’s farm with his own equipment which he will purchase over the year.  Sheep returned from Patrick’s will be re-integrated into the Villeneuve flock.  The Villeneuve's have no specific bio security concerns as there will be no other sheep from other flocks on Patrick’s property during the year
2.    Celeste Lacroix – Jasper
   • Celeste has purchased 30 (possibly) pregnant ewe lambs from Drover’s Way farm in Spring 2024.   The ewes and their lambs (~50) will be used throughout the year for training, clinics and trials.  A larger trial is planned for October where these 50 sheep will be used for novice classes while 100 new sheep will be brought in / rented for the open field classes.  Drover’s Way Farm does have strict bio security protocol so will never accept these sheep to come back to their farm even if they do not leave the Jasper property.  The plan is to rent 100 large market ready lambs for the trial and then bring them to auction in batches over the following weeks after the trial from the Jasper location.   The fee for the trial sheep rental will be $4/sheep/run, e.g. $16 per run.  For example 50 Open runs would be $4 x 4 sheep x 50 runs = $800 per day revenue to the sheep producer.   The original 30 ewe lambs will be sold as a breeding flock and their lambs sold as well before end December.  Celeste and Brian go to Florida for the winter and start this all over again next March.

Draft Budget When Sheep Rental is Involved:

 Here is a sampling of the types of line items that support the Host farm/labour fee. Much of this is done by volunteers but it gives the reader a sense of what is involved.

• Deworming and crutching or dagging novice sheep (2 hours)
• Sheep transportation - 2/3 trips  (10 hours)
• Filling ruts on field left by hay wagon (8 hours)
• Taking down barn equipment to setup take pens (8 hours)
• Build / paint pen and panels equipment for trial (4 to 8 hours)
• Setting up trial field / tents (4 to 8 hours)
• Setting up exhaust (2 hours)
• Managing entries, refunds, running orders (8 hours)
• Printing (2 hours)
• Prep and manage volunteers (3 hours)
• Bushhog field and parking area / signage (10 hours)
• Buying feed and molasses minerals for trial sheep (2 hours)
• Move hay for sheep into all areas (2 hours)
• Takedown & return farm to normal (20 hours)
• Data Entry during and for Post trial reporting (4 hours)
• Manage trial during event (30 hours)
• Manage food / beverage for judge / volunteers (4 to 6 hours)
• Equipment time for all above (24 hours)