Shedding the sheep
The United States Border Collie Handler Association Sheepdog Finals were held Sept. 9-14, 2008, near Ft. Meade, SD and competitors came from across the United States and Canada to show their dogs on sheep in an open pasture setting. The weather varied from warm and sunny to cold, rainy and windy, but the hardy dogs and their handlers never let it bother them.
This was the third year the Finals have been held in this beautiful location and was well attended by the top sheepdog handlers in North America. Judges for the competition were Alf Kyme of England, Gary Westbrook of Arkansas, Barbara Ray of Virginia and Bobby Henderson of Scotland.
Organizing an event of this size is difficult at best, but was capably done by Laura Hicks of Allen, SD and Rene LaBree of Ismay, MT. Due to the volume of competitors, they needed 800 sheep, which were provided by the Nuckols Ranch from Hulett, WY. The sheep were yearling and older Rambioullet ewes and were range sheep with lots of life and challenged the dogs to work hard, thereby making this an exciting trial to watch.
Laura Hicks and Rene LaBree are both competitors themselves, and showed their dogs in the Open Finals along with doing everything else they needed to do to keep the show running. Both of them said that they couldn’t do a thing without the great volunteers who work so hard to keep it running smoothly, from the set up/tear down crew, scribes, exhaust crew, set out crew, sheep care crew, and water crew, to their families for being patient. They know a difficult job was made manageable by the good help. Also a huge acknowledgement for the Sturgis area organizations, businesses and individuals who supported and promoted the trial was mentioned many times by both women. They both stated that the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sturgis went all out to help make the Finals a success.
The United States Border Collie Handler Association Sheepdog Finals were held Sept. 9-14, 2008, near Ft. Meade, SD and competitors came from across the United States and Canada to show their dogs on sheep in an open pasture setting. The weather varied from warm and sunny to cold, rainy and windy, but the hardy dogs and their handlers never let it bother them.
This was the third year the Finals have been held in this beautiful location and was well attended by the top sheepdog handlers in North America. Judges for the competition were Alf Kyme of England, Gary Westbrook of Arkansas, Barbara Ray of Virginia and Bobby Henderson of Scotland.
Organizing an event of this size is difficult at best, but was capably done by Laura Hicks of Allen, SD and Rene LaBree of Ismay, MT. Due to the volume of competitors, they needed 800 sheep, which were provided by the Nuckols Ranch from Hulett, WY. The sheep were yearling and older Rambioullet ewes and were range sheep with lots of life and challenged the dogs to work hard, thereby making this an exciting trial to watch.
Laura Hicks and Rene LaBree are both competitors themselves, and showed their dogs in the Open Finals along with doing everything else they needed to do to keep the show running. Both of them said that they couldn’t do a thing without the great volunteers who work so hard to keep it running smoothly, from the set up/tear down crew, scribes, exhaust crew, set out crew, sheep care crew, and water crew, to their families for being patient. They know a difficult job was made manageable by the good help. Also a huge acknowledgement for the Sturgis area organizations, businesses and individuals who supported and promoted the trial was mentioned many times by both women. They both stated that the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sturgis went all out to help make the Finals a success.
The United States Border Collie Handler Association Sheepdog Finals were held Sept. 9-14, 2008, near Ft. Meade, SD and competitors came from across the United States and Canada to show their dogs on sheep in an open pasture setting. The weather varied from warm and sunny to cold, rainy and windy, but the hardy dogs and their handlers never let it bother them.
This was the third year the Finals have been held in this beautiful location and was well attended by the top sheepdog handlers in North America. Judges for the competition were Alf Kyme of England, Gary Westbrook of Arkansas, Barbara Ray of Virginia and Bobby Henderson of Scotland.
Organizing an event of this size is difficult at best, but was capably done by Laura Hicks of Allen, SD and Rene LaBree of Ismay, MT. Due to the volume of competitors, they needed 800 sheep, which were provided by the Nuckols Ranch from Hulett, WY. The sheep were yearling and older Rambioullet ewes and were range sheep with lots of life and challenged the dogs to work hard, thereby making this an exciting trial to watch.
Laura Hicks and Rene LaBree are both competitors themselves, and showed their dogs in the Open Finals along with doing everything else they needed to do to keep the show running. Both of them said that they couldn’t do a thing without the great volunteers who work so hard to keep it running smoothly, from the set up/tear down crew, scribes, exhaust crew, set out crew, sheep care crew, and water crew, to their families for being patient. They know a difficult job was made manageable by the good help. Also a huge acknowledgement for the Sturgis area organizations, businesses and individuals who supported and promoted the trial was mentioned many times by both women. They both stated that the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sturgis went all out to help make the Finals a success.
The United States Border Collie Handler Association Sheepdog Finals were held Sept. 9-14, 2008, near Ft. Meade, SD and competitors came from across the United States and Canada to show their dogs on sheep in an open pasture setting. The weather varied from warm and sunny to cold, rainy and windy, but the hardy dogs and their handlers never let it bother them.
This was the third year the Finals have been held in this beautiful location and was well attended by the top sheepdog handlers in North America. Judges for the competition were Alf Kyme of England, Gary Westbrook of Arkansas, Barbara Ray of Virginia and Bobby Henderson of Scotland.
Organizing an event of this size is difficult at best, but was capably done by Laura Hicks of Allen, SD and Rene LaBree of Ismay, MT. Due to the volume of competitors, they needed 800 sheep, which were provided by the Nuckols Ranch from Hulett, WY. The sheep were yearling and older Rambioullet ewes and were range sheep with lots of life and challenged the dogs to work hard, thereby making this an exciting trial to watch.
Laura Hicks and Rene LaBree are both competitors themselves, and showed their dogs in the Open Finals along with doing everything else they needed to do to keep the show running. Both of them said that they couldn’t do a thing without the great volunteers who work so hard to keep it running smoothly, from the set up/tear down crew, scribes, exhaust crew, set out crew, sheep care crew, and water crew, to their families for being patient. They know a difficult job was made manageable by the good help. Also a huge acknowledgement for the Sturgis area organizations, businesses and individuals who supported and promoted the trial was mentioned many times by both women. They both stated that the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sturgis went all out to help make the Finals a success.
The United States Border Collie Handler Association Sheepdog Finals were held Sept. 9-14, 2008, near Ft. Meade, SD and competitors came from across the United States and Canada to show their dogs on sheep in an open pasture setting. The weather varied from warm and sunny to cold, rainy and windy, but the hardy dogs and their handlers never let it bother them.
This was the third year the Finals have been held in this beautiful location and was well attended by the top sheepdog handlers in North America. Judges for the competition were Alf Kyme of England, Gary Westbrook of Arkansas, Barbara Ray of Virginia and Bobby Henderson of Scotland.
Organizing an event of this size is difficult at best, but was capably done by Laura Hicks of Allen, SD and Rene LaBree of Ismay, MT. Due to the volume of competitors, they needed 800 sheep, which were provided by the Nuckols Ranch from Hulett, WY. The sheep were yearling and older Rambioullet ewes and were range sheep with lots of life and challenged the dogs to work hard, thereby making this an exciting trial to watch.
Laura Hicks and Rene LaBree are both competitors themselves, and showed their dogs in the Open Finals along with doing everything else they needed to do to keep the show running. Both of them said that they couldn’t do a thing without the great volunteers who work so hard to keep it running smoothly, from the set up/tear down crew, scribes, exhaust crew, set out crew, sheep care crew, and water crew, to their families for being patient. They know a difficult job was made manageable by the good help. Also a huge acknowledgement for the Sturgis area organizations, businesses and individuals who supported and promoted the trial was mentioned many times by both women. They both stated that the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sturgis went all out to help make the Finals a success.
