Carreg Cennen Castle

Carreg Cennon Castle viewed from the circular trail that we walked.

Update from Tuesday Sept. 16:

On Tuesday, we had a lovely 4 hour hike around Castle Carreg Cennen. It only rained a little bit. The dogs got wonderfully muddy and attempted to work sheep at every turn. I wish North America had so many public footpaths and right of ways! They had some really neat gate systems too - which John will design and build for Creekside (eventually).

Tap and Pat on the alter of the chapel.

Posing on the ruins - yes the Muck boots got a lot of wear on this trip!

This was a secret cave / tunnel that was underneath the castle. We didn't have flashlights and Pat wanted NOTHING to do with going down that dark hole...

Bragging rights of this particular castles were "indoor latrines". Basically a chute lead to a hole on the outside of the castle wall, probably designed to empty onto oncoming enemy knights...

Seen one, seen 'em all? No. Definitely not.

The sign says "Lord's Chamber". He had a great view over the land to spy his (probably) many enemies. I hear old lords were a cruel lot...I know this because I am reading Ken Follet's "World Without End" right now.

A neat looking forest...Could be in any Hollywood movie, perhaps about medieval witches...

Walking again.

These Mountain Ponies are basically wild and share the mountains with the sheep. Many of the mares were heavy in foal, or had foals by their side. They were beautiful.

We found a nice, clear stream by a series of ancient caves - all posted with warning signs about the dangers of caving. No warning needed here. We stayed safely in the open.

Another view of the castle, high up on the cliff. If I were the leader of an invading army, I would be turning around at this point. Guess what Tap and Pat are looking at? Baaaaa.

You would think the sheep on these mountains, leading a hard existence, would be small and thin and weathered. Nope. They pretty much all looked like this.

And then it was time to pack...Pack up all the muddy dog towels and blankets, bathe the dogs with the cold garden hose, clean their muddy crates...Ick. And WHY do suitcases never close properly on the way back? We hardly bought anything (everything there is double the price), except some Welsh cheese and Scotch. And it's not like I was coming home with any big trophies or anything...

Update from Wednesday Sept 17:

We packed a lunch an headed off early for London, as I thought we could stop in Bath on the way there (I am a Jane Austen fan!). We forgot that there is rush hour in other countries so were left with only 15 minutes in Bath - not enough time at all! The dogs had a bathroom break, their 2nd breakfast and then it was time to head out again. But I did capture the dogs in the park in front of the Royal Crescent. I bet Jane Austen walked on this grass too...At least most of her characters did! Pat and Tap enjoyed a roll on the lawn. The Crescent doesn't look as nice as it does in the Jane Austen films.. At Heathrow it was pretty hellish with the dogs, but we got them all checked in and loaded. The flight home was long, but not so bad. Good movies make all the difference! I can't tell you how happy the girls were to get back to Creekside.

I am not sure I would ever fly my dogs half way around the world to compete in a trial where the level of competition is so much higher than what I normally see. Next time I would be less nervous, and know more what to expect...And we met some great people over there...

And now the blog comes to an end...THANK YOU for reading and THANK YOU for your support - I am only sorry we didn't do a bit better, so that our generous sponsors would feel they invested in something worthwhile! I will be writing an article for DogSport Magazine, over the next couple of months, but really - everything is on this blog!

Signing off now...Until the next adventure!

To Breed or Nor to Breed? That is the Question.

Again, sorry for the cluster updates! Since I am home now (and am wide awake at 3 am!) internet is widely available!

Monday September 15, 2008

So, yesterday I spoke with Mr. A Ll Jones of Bala. He came 2nd at the International with his split faced bitch, Bet. I asked him about the sire of Bet, Sweep, as a potential for Tap. Here’s the scoop:

Sweep has been on the Welsh team several times, and has sired several “great dogs”
He was qualified to run at the World’s (and to make the Welsh team was VERY difficult) but didn’t – not sure why. Never got round to asking…
Sweep is a son of Bobby Dalziel’s Jim and the Jones’ lines go back 50 years, with doses of Bwlch Taff and (of course) loads of Wiston Cap. (Apparently, Wiston Cap would be outside the pub while his master had a few and many people secretly brought their bitches to him as he was unsupervised! The old timers here say there is even MORE Wiston Cap out there than the ISDS stud books ever recorded.)

Anyways, didn’t get much else for now. Eyes are clear, but they don’t test for hips, unless they are exporting to us fearful North Americans…That doesn’t bother me much. If you saw the hills that these dogs had to work…Well, no dog with bad hips would last a day. And Sweep is 9 years old and still working the hills, apparently.

I also spoke with the 27 year old Kevin Evans with Mirk and Spot (a refresher: Mirk is the 2008 Supreme Ch., Spot is a littermate). Kevin got both of these dogs into the Finals yesterday but didn’t have winning runs that day.

I know nothing about these lines…He told me they were “very well bred”, with “a bit of Wisp in there” as well as Stuart Davidson’s Hope and Merion Jones’ stuff (It was very difficult understanding the accent over the phone !) However, several people told me they have been eyeballing Kevin's dogs for years, and the sire, Jaff almost won the Supreme - I think he needed a one point shed, but he gripped a testy ewe and was DQ'd in the shedding ring. But all who I spoke too said it was an amazing run.

The other factor is that our new friend Hywel (the farmer from the North) is taking his hill farm bitch to Mirk, so he really sees something in the dog. Generally, farmers don't like "Trial Dogs" as they tend to be "weak"... He also mentioned that Sweep might be a bit “hot” and I did see Bet (daughter) come off the field after her 2nd place run in the Finals at the Supreme looking for a scrap - she was definitely a hot little thing!

I really want to meet both before I make ANY decision, but time is against us – Tap is on day 15 of her heat today and we leave on Wednesday morning. Sweep is 4-5 drive hours north and Mirk is about 40 minutes.

Tap, you are making my life complicated!

Tap and ##Mirk !!

Sorry that all this cluster updating seems to be getting out of chronological order - sorry!

Update Tuesday Sept 16:

We drove back to the Evans' place on Tuesday evening...One last attempt for Tap and Mirk as we had to begin our drive to Heathrow at 6 am the next morning.

After a disappointing start, when it seemed that Tap was more interested in biting Mirk's nose (and he was such a gentleman about it!), success! A 15 minute tie. Now we wait and see if pups show in a few weeks.

Here are some pics of Kevin's Mirk, the 2008 International Supreme Champion. As you can see, I may finally get my smooth coat, prick eared pup! He is traditionally marked, quite small and very well put together. His movement is fluid and his style is very eye catching. His head and alert expression reminds me of old Jess when she was a young sprightly girl....

For more on Kevin Evans and Mirk:

http://www.worldsheepdogtrials.org/new/index.php?page=kevin-evans---wales

http://www.peze.net/somollis/svenska/svindex.htm (from Lisa Hansson's site: photos only - text in Swedish!)

Also, after Monday the 22nd - the semi finals and finals runs will be shown in full here:

http://ffermio.tv/en/world-sheepdog-trials-2008/world-sheepdog-trials

I do have more castle pics, if ANYONE is still interested after reading this exciting news???

Sunday Finals Day

Another good day weather wise – the organizers are thanking the sheepdog gods for the 3 days straight of sunny, warm weather – there were a ton of spectators over the weekend – and at 8 pounds ($16) to get a ticket to watch, I think they made a profit!

More hiking with the girls. Today we found a path to an old church and graveyard. Pat and Tap were more impressed with the quality of the grass than the old gravestones and buildings. They are in Veggie withdrawal, and ate a lot of lovely grass in the graveyard.

I have no idea how old this church is...It is not in use. The windows were all lead pane and the rain gutters were cast iron, the roof slate with lots of moss and even shrubs growing in between the shingles. it was a beautiful spot.

Tap waiting to confess her sins?

I bought all my ISDS paraphernalia today too…Grace, your cute picture of Click poking through the fence is in the 2007 calendar, and I bought you a copy.

Pat contemplating an empty Field 3. Possibly reflecting on her grip here 2 days ago.

So, you all probably know who has been crowned 2008 World Cahmpion already, but I am pretty happy to have some nice bragging rights:

Aled Owen and ##Roy won.

Roy also is the 2007 International Supreme Champion and is a son of Aled’s ##Bob. ##Bob is Fen’s (2008 Tap x Imp. Chip) granddad. ##Bob won the International Supreme in 2000 and the World’s in 2002.

Fen, it is all up to you now...

THE FINALS COURSE…

…Was a double gather, not as big as the International last week, but several dogs had trouble with either or both outruns. There were several missed fetches – mostly due to the draw from the first packet of sheep, which wandered up the field after they were dropped at the 1st fetch post. There were also several missed cross drive panels. We think there was possibly a dead spot in the field as we saw some dogs slow to take commands at this point. The international shed was generally well done, but there were lots of points lost here too. Aled and Roy lost only 2 points out of 80 on this phase! His pen only lost 1 point out of 40 as well. Nobody could touch Aled & Roy on the close work; it was the best I’ve ever seen.

I took videos of Kevin Evan’s Spot (littermate to the 2008 Supreme Champion, Mirk), Mirk’s first part (stopped tape after the fetch, which he unfortunately missed so I would have room for more runs) and my all time favorite dogs of both the International and World Trials, Becca. Maybe I can get my hands on a pup/dog from these Irish lines someday….Did I say how much I drooled over her? Anyway, I will not even attempt to upload the videos until I am home – look for them here (hopefully) by the weekend. Rumor has it I have a hellish 2 days of work ahead of me until then!

The closing ceremonies…Well we kind of missed them. Apparently we were supposed to show up with our flags and stand on the field while prizes were being given out. Oops. We went for another hike instead.

Finals Results (points out of 660):
1. Aled Owen and Roy (Wales) – 583 points and 2008 World Champion (son of Aled’s ##Bob, sire of Lynn Deschambeault’s Imp. Chip and granddad to the Tap x Chip litter) A spectacularly tidy run!
2. Ron Snoeck and Nell (Netherlands) – 583 points and 2008 Reserve (only 1 Merit point behind Roy!)
3. Stuart Davidson and Jim (Scotland) – 567 points
4. James McGee and Becca (Ireland) – 551 points* (My FAVORITE dog!)
5. Aiden Gallagher and Bill (Ireland) – 548 points
6. Merion Jones and Joe (Wales) – 544 points (Merion was the main organizer of this event – how he could keep his head on and run so well I have no idea!)
7. Karin Mattson and Sammie (Norway) – 533 points (the only female handler in the finals!) Another more loose eyed worker but totally obedient and biddable.
8. Tony Ottessen and Bob (Denmark) – 532 points
9. John Wood and Moe (England) – 527 points
10. Kevin Evans and Spot (Wales) – 519 points
11. Gethin Jones and Eira (Wales) – 514 points (This guy is only 23 years old!)
12. Kevin Evans and Mirk (Wales) – 484 points* (A missed fetch put him out of the top – bummer for Kevin)
13. Nigel Watkins and Floss (Wales) – 479 points
14. Richard Millichap and Taddymoor Cap (Wales) – 441 points
15. Ged Watson and Eryi Rock (England) – 375 points*
16. Jim Wilson and Tweed (New Zealand) – 332 points (very interesting style of work, more loose eyed and upright)

* Finalist at the 2008 International Supreme

There are probably LOADS of pics up on the internet already of the finalists and prize giving. Try the World Sheepdog Trial site, http://www.bordercollie.eu/ or the ISDS website...

Bye World Trial....See you again someday - as a spectator only !

Tap and ##Mirk ??

On Monday, we drove to Penclyd Farm in Brecon to meet Kevin and his dogs. I worked Tap and Pat and both Kevin and his father David, commented on Tap's naturalness on her sheep. Whether they were just being polite, I don't know! The sheep are SO light - you can see how our doggy sheep that we trial on here in the Northeast can spoil a dog - your dog needs to be correct to get anything done with the Welshies!


They also commented that Pat was a very flashy worker - not sure if that is good or bad!


Kevin then worked Mirk for us. We learned that Kevin is not a farmer, but a contractor, but they "keep 300 sheep for the dogs". A bit different that our 30 sheep we "keep for the dogs!". Plus, they graze their sheep in the Brecon Mountains (a National Park) so the dogs get lots of experience on the hills. For a refresher on what I mean by "hills", please refer to this photo again:

I wanted to see Mirk really push sheep, so Keven set up a situation that definitely showed Mirk's power. He will just keep walking in, and he is not afraid to take a fair grip on the nose. This is what is missing in Tap - that extra step in on sheep that are facing her up and stamping their feet. Mirk is also a very stylish worker, and his temperament seems A1 - he came to greet us (briefly - he is all about the work) and was friendly to both us and our dogs...Well especially Tap!


So, deciding that going to meet Sweep (sire of Bet) in the North was pretty much out of the question at this late day and time, I decided that Mirk would be our boy. Too bad Tap was NOT standing just yet. Was all lost?

The Obligatory Dinefwr Castle Photos

View of the trial from the hill trail up to the castle. You can't see, but they are running the semi finals in the far field (Field One). The rest is trade stands, and there are tons more that are out of view. This was a HUGE event.Approaching the castle - sorry you can't read this sign. Basically the castle dates back to the 12th century, but most of what is still standing today was constructed from the 14th to the 16th century (still older than Canada).
A view showing some of the architectural details. How I wish I was a talented photographer with a decent camera!
The trial field viewed through an arrow slit. I thought this was kind of neat...
Posing on the remains of the kitchen (?) wall.
The view from (almost) the top of the tower.

These two horses and riders could have looked very much in place if they were wearing armour...Unfortunately, the girls were taking photos on their i-phones, which did NOT fit in!
Beginning the hike down.

View of the Keep (?)
I got down just before dark - and my little point and shoot camera actually took a nice silhouette shot of the castle.

Old Trees

New tree...
Old tree...

Tap on stump of very old tree. So old that it’s dead. Some of the oak trees at Dinefwr Park are reported to be 700 years old! That’s older than Canada.
A very knarled old oak.

Sorry, my time is up - will have to finish updates another day - probably not until Wednesday when I can get online at the airport!

Day Two & Three

Are you ready?
THE SUN CAME OUT AND IT HARDLY RAINED!

Pat ran in the early afternoon on field 3, a tricky field with a strange shape and lots of muck where sheep did not like to go. Of course, the worst of it was right on line for the last leg of the drive….

Pat had an OK outrun (for getting pulled up by her sticky eye), a decent lift and a decent fetch, despite not listening to me AT ALL. I can’t remember the last time I had to yell at Pat. Sure enough, the drive got her (she wasn’t the only dog to get beaten by the drive and the wet) and she gripped off when the sheep turned to face her up.

What an anticlimax.

Friday Qualifying Results – points out of 220:

Top 7 who proceed to the Semi’s (in order of placements):

Field 1:
Richard Millichap and Taddymoor Jen (Wales) – 203
Karin Mattsson and Lyn (Norway) – 198
Nigel Watkins and Lad (Wales) – 196
Jim Cropper and Fleet (England) – 196
Aiden Gallagher and Bill (Ireland) – 195
Kevin Evans and Mirk (Wales) – 194
J Pluta and Killibrae Jake (Netherlands) – 194


Field 2:
E Groot and Eryi Nan (Netherlands) – 210
Merion Jones and Joe (Wales) – 208
S Hindenes and Wisp (Norway) – 206
Bernard Arends and Macca’s NZ (Australia) – 204
Alistair Lyttle and Spot (Ireland) – 200
Bobby Dalziel and Joe (Scotland) – 198
FB Petersen and Roy (Denmark) - 198


Field 3:
RV Hughes and Black (Wales) – 202
Nigel Watkins and Floss (Wales) – 202
B O’Brien and Mist (Ireland) – 200
T Ottesen and Bob (Denmark) – 200
Hefin Jones and Sam (Wales) – 198
Ron Snoeck and Mitch (Netherlands) – 198
Aled Owen and Roy (Wales) - 197

USA handlers:
Gene Sheninger and Jess – RT
C Balliu and Ben – 96
Joyce Geier and Jim – 167
Jennifer Maginnis and Bay – 176
Maria Amodei and Cato – 157
Alisdair MacRae and Star – 196
Chuck Dimit and Rex – 118
Don McCaig and June – RT
K Wessinger and Lill – 150
Dawn Boyce and Juno – 147

SATURDAY SEMI FINALS DAY:

Another good day for weather! 2 days in a row – unheard of!

The girls and I enjoyed lots of hikes in between watching the top 42 dogs (7 from each field each day) in Field 1 in the semi finals. It was the same National course. The sheep came over, I believe, from Field 3 and were a bit fat and slow. What separated the men from the boys was the work in the shedding ring and at the pen. One woman from Norway got 2 dogs in – she was the ONLY female handler to get that far. Sheepdog handling is very much a man’s sport here, and the old timers still wear ties and jackets when running dogs.

Still humming and haa-ing over whether to breed Tap...If she’s still standing by Monday. I have a few dogs in mind – including Kevin Evan’s International winner Mirk or his littermate Spot. There are some wonderful bitches whose sire might prove to be good matches too…Two of my favorites were a split faced dog called Bet, who was 2nd behind Mirk at the International and Becca, an Irish bred tri color bitch who is just dreamy. Fast powerful flanks and wonderful sense. I am going to hopefully speak to their handlers tomorrow and see whether I can visit their farms on Monday and see the potential sires.

Semi Finals Results:

Top 16 who proceed to the Finals (in order of semi final placement) – Points out of 440
Aiden Gallagher and Bill (Ireland) – 410 points
Nigel Watkins and Floss (Wales) – 406 points
Merion Jones and Joe (Wales) – 395 points
Aled Owen and Roy (Wales) – 395 points
James McGee and Becca (Ireland) – 392 points
Kevin Evans and Spot (Wales) – 388 points
Karin Mattson and Sammie (Norway) – 382 points
Stuart Davidson and Jim (Scotland) – 372 points
Gethin Jones and Eira (Wales) – 366 points
Kevin Evans and Mirk (Wales) – 364 points
John Wood and Moe (England) – 359 points
Ged Watson and Eryi Rock (England) – 359 points
Richard Millichap and Taddymoor Cap (Wales) – 359 points
Jim Wilson and Tweed (New Zealand) – 359 points
Ron Snoeck and Nell (Netherlands) – 354 points
Tony Ottessen and Bob (Denmark) – 349 points

USA handlers:
Alisdair MacRae and Nap – called to Standard (had a really BAD draw of sheep!)
Tom Wilson and Sly – called to Standard

Here are some pics from our walks. We hiked up the hill several times to Dinefwr Castle, which dates back to the 12th century and was quite breathtaking. The girls didn’t want to climb to the top of the tower though, but I got some pics from the top of the wall and keep - those will be in the next post...

Pat on a walk.Pat and Tap “I see no sheep for the cars” Here is the parking on Semi final day. The crowd of spectators was huge. Again, they love their sheepdogs.

Pic 2429 Pat and Tap waiting to go through a gate to a “public footpath”. Signs said “Dogs must be kept under control”…Not “No dogs allowed” as we would see in North America. Did I mention there are sheep everywhere? Try walking two frustrated sheepdogs through these fields…”This group? This group? Do you want me to work this group?” Pat and Tap were very optimistic. See? They have thistles too!

Floods and Mud

Just to give you an idea of the amount of rain:

Cars had to be towed IN to the parking lot, as well as out.

This is not a lake. Yes the sun came out briefly.

Day One of the World Trial

Ok, now what you’ve all been waiting for – update from the World Trial!

Don’t hold your breath – I did very poorly, but will give you the post mortem nonetheless…

On Thursday, it rained. But a bit less. Tap and I ran 3rd. I was terrified…And as a result, ran my dog like a beginner. In hindsight, I know how I would have handled her to get a decent fetch and drive score (missed both the fetch and the drive away gates and was hammered for it). Running later would have helped, as I could really get a feel for the sheep and how to handle the top as I watched several runs. I wanted the wild mountain sheep, didn’t I? Well, I wasn’t expecting them to be as light as birds. Tap couldn’t touch them and reacted by running fast and wide, which upset them more. The best dogs had them walking like docile pet lambs around the course. Maybe we had a bad draw, but more likely it was just bad handling and Tap not knowing how to fix it.

Tap’s outrun was ok, and we got a decent shed (only 5 points off out of 20, which was good as far as the North Americans or Europeans went – we just can’t shed like the Handlers from the UK, who get it done quickly, effortlessly and smoothly). I also had not a bad pen, even with a bad ewe trying to break; Tap was a good girl there. Alas time was called just as I called her in for the single so we didn’t get the points. I have the run on video. I will not be posting it!

Tap on her outrun to the right. Me looking very small on the stand. Can you see my knees knocking together? Well, they were.

Thursday Qualifying Results – points out of 220:

Top 7 who proceed to the Semi’s (in order of placement):

Field 1:
Ged Watson and Eryi Rock (England) – 204
Alasdair MacRae and Nap (USA) – 190
M. Lebang and Coon (Germany) – 189*
Tom Wilson and Sly (USA) – 189*
Mr. GR Powell and Gwen (Wales) – 187
Mr. WI McConnell and Craig (Dan) (Scotland) – 186
Ron Snoeck and Nell (Netherlands) - 186
* Not sure who had better outwork, so these scores may be reversed.

Field 2:
S Gallagher and Glen (Ireland) – 207
AD Carnegie and Lark (Scotland) – 206
M C Shearer and Cap (Scotland) – 205
Karin Mattsson and Sammie (Norway) – 200
Ll Evans and Caddy (Wales) – 200
JD Wood and Moe (England) – 195
Gethin Jones and Eira (Wales) – 195

Field 3:
James McGee and Becca (Ireland) – 204
Kevin Evans and Spot (Wales) – 201
Stuart Davidson and Jim (Scotland) – 199
Jim Wilson and Tweed (New Zealand) – 198
A Ll Jones and Max (Wales) – 196
Richard Millichap and Taddymoor Cap (Wales) – 193
Ian MacKay and Abe (Scotland) - 193

USA handlers:
Chuck Dimit and Luke – 147
Ann Mock and Jan – 132
Dawn Boyce and Tink – 132
Don McCaig and Luke – RT
Gene Sheninger and Jen – 136
Haley Howard and Ross – 172
Joyce Geier and Clue – DQ
Nancy Obernier and Nick – 185
Maria Amodei and Rhyme – 152

Proud of their Sheepdogs

On Wednesday evening (in the rain) we were paraded down main streets of Llandeilo with our dogs. I was not keen on participating (as, did I tell you that it was raining?) but felt that I should, as the lonely Canadian. All I can say is – WOW. These folks really love their sheepdogs. Townspeople lines the streets and we were lead, alphabetically by country, by a team of horses and drums, the town mascot (which happened to be a very nice looking white goat, dressed to the nines in a gold threaded blanket) and a police escort. There were lots of people cheering for the Canadian contingency, including the nice ladies from the laundry. Sorry to let you down…

The parade in the rain.

Most all store windows displayed some kind of sheepdog theme in honor of the World Trial.

Pic 2407 here’s the Canadian flag – the streets were lined with the flags from the 23 countries competing.
And sheep dogs are EVERYWHERE! Here’s one outside a shop, waiting for his shepherd.