Nov 28-Dec 1 2019
The Greater Atlanta Australian Shepherd Club (GAASC) hosted a Thanksgiving weekend AHBA stock trial and ASCA stock trial. This is the first time that the GAASC hosted an American Herding Breed Association (AHBA) trail so out of curiosity we went to watch. We ended up getting to help the judge by timing and scribing for her and later watch her run her own dog through the cattle and sheep course. There was a ranch trial for cows and an arena trial for the sheep and ducks.
Saturday and Sunday were the days that we actually competed. Saturday was the Course E arena trial for cattle, sheep, and ducks. Nick and Beru competed in the two trials for sheep and just one for ducks. They finished first in both sheep runs and second in ducks. One of their scores for sheep was the highest of the trial for started dogs and they won a High In Trial ribbon. Marshal and I competed in the two trials for ducks. We won second and third place in ducks. Sunday was the Course A arena trial. The stock was difficult on a difficult course on Saturday so we were looking forward to the relatively easy course on Sunday. However the stock decided to be even more difficult. For one judge no one made a qualifying score on cows; the first three runs on ducks had to re-run because the ducks split and hid under leaves; and the wind had the sheep very light on their toes and ready to run. Neither Nick and Beru, or Marshal and I, qualified on our first duck run because the ducks refused to go through the first panel. Nick and Beru had much better luck on sheep with another first place and High in Trial award as well as a close second place. Marshal and I were able to get our second group of ducks all the way through the course to win first place.
Beru got the scores necessary to finish out her started title on sheep and ducks to go with her started title on cattle that she finished in Virginia. She is officially LB’s Beru STDcsd DNA-VP.
Marshal got three qualifying scores on ducks with two different judges so he is an official started duck dog. He is also halfway to his started cattle title.
