Sheepdog Trials at Soldier Hollow

  I drove down to Midway yesterday morning for one of my favorite events of the year – The Soldier Hollow Classic Sheepdog Championship. If you've never seen a sheepdog work, this is your chance to watch the best of the best. They come from all over the United States and Canada, sometimes from across the ocean and they are a wonder to behold!



  At least 90% of the sheepdogs in the trials are border collies, but they don't have to be any breed at all. They take a year or two to train, then another few years to get really good.

The youngest dog I saw competing yesterday was four years old.

I visited a sheep ranch in Montana a few years ago with one of my professors. The rancher was showing us his dogs. 

He let out three or four of them, and left one in the kennel. She was recovering from a broken leg. That poor dog was just dying in there, watching all of the other dogs do her job. He finally walked over and let her out. “She's my best dog,” he told us. 

She was off like a shot and she beat all of the other dogs on her three legs. Clockwise on the low whistle, counter-clockwise on the high whistle, short means lay down, long means go get 'em. There were probably 50 ewes out there, but she was in control. He finally called her back and put her away again, her tongue hanging out and her leg trailing. But for a moment she had transcended the definition of “beast.”

 

Splash Dogs – this has gotta be one of the funnest dog sports out there! They just throw a toy in the water, and see how far the dog will jump. 

They said their record was a 28 foot long jump! I asked a lady how she got started doing it. “Oh, we just came and tried it one time before the show started. My dog loved it, so we entered the contest.” Well there you go. So if you have a dog that loves to swim, come try it out!

The Wild Wonders Animal Show

The Raptor Show