29/10/2025
We're home from an amazing week trialing at two of my favorite trials!
Thank you to Thad, Kelly, Donna, Russell, and Rachel for all your hard work for the PLM trial! It always runs smoothly and the ewes were so forgiving.
Thank you to Kathy, Jack, Cheryl, and Mary for hosting the Ettrick trial. This should be a "must do" trial for every handler. The field is amazing and sheep are the perfect amount of forgiving but challenging. Thank you Andrew for judging and Frances for scribing over 200 runs with a smile on your faces for every one.
Now for the dogs...
Coal showed some of his inexperience on his outruns this trip. These have been by far the most tricky fields and furthest outruns he's seen, but he found his sheep every time! He had scores of 81 and 75. His two other runs I screwed up, can't blame him.
Tripp was on point and had some respectable runs with a 71 and 73 at PLM. He then blew me away with what felt like our best run to date with an 85 in Open 1 at Ettrick.
Placement wise, little Wren-y is the star this trip. Out of a very competitive 30 dog PN class she placed 6th, bringing home her first check. I also surprised both of us by throwing her in Open 2. While we got a bit lost on the drive leading to a RT, she had an absolutely gorgeous outrun, lift, fetch. She's such a fun little partner and I can't wait to see how she matures on this next part of our trial adventure.
This trip concludes our 2025 trials, with the exception of a few novice trials.
Overall we've learned a lot, improved in a few areas, and now can hopefully train this winter to get ready for 2026 💕
