Trial by Fire - Nicomodes Gulch

Out My Front Door

Do not be fooled. I'm here to tell you that this bucolic setting is completely at odds with what is taking place on the trial field. There it is mayhem, pandemonium, hell-fire and brimstone, and when you send your dog, there is some place deep inside you that hopes he doesn't find his sheep. This dog trial is one-tough-mothah.

Irrigation

The outrun carries beyond a few bunches of specimen trees, either through a slew or past the exhaust depending on which way you send, and around a nice set of horses working the top. Don't know for sure, but I'll bet there wasn't more than a run or 2 that didn't require at least 2 re-directs. When I left this afternoon, there had only been 2 pens and not all that many completed sheds. My Mirk needed 2 or 3 re-directs, Star only 1, and Buff a whole conversation, but he still crossed over. That is how tough it is. It took me 3 dogs to accumulate a dismal 36 points, and those all came from the one dog I'm running that I don't own. Good dog, Buff!

Trial field beyond irrigation

Mirk required an ATV to remove him from the field. He got all the way to the shed ring, but it was such tough sledding that, when I saw him take a bad step behind, I walked off, called for the ATV and as quickly as possible immersed him in the irrigation ditch up to his eyeballs. The elevation here is 7,400'. Mirk ran out of oxygen, but survived the ordeal, and is just fine now. Buff and I (read mostly I) got confused on the long, tricky outrun, or he would be right in the thick of it. As it is, he finished mid-pack showing his mettle in the spots where the sheep did everything they could to escape. For a dog from Ireland who has never in his life seen sheep like these, he worked 'em well. What a nice dog he is. I keep saying that, don't I?

Irrigation at Dusk

Please visit the Real Time Canine FB page for the scores such as they are. I don't have them all, and the sheep got good late in the day. I didn't watch the last few runs, but either Jim Swift with Zac, or Chuck Riley from Texas with Moss would be leading it with nice runs coming late. I'll post the scores I have, and you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the winners, and the rest. It wasn't me, I can tell you that much. Go to the RTC FB page, click on discussions, then Nicomodes. Mirk isn't the only one who ran out of oxygen. I'm beat, see you tomorrow.