Sheepdog trial
Encyclopedia
Herding dog
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a type of pastoral dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds developed for herding...
breeds move sheep around a field, fences, gates, or enclosures as directed by their handlers. Such events are particularly associated with hill farming
Hill farming
Hill farming is extensive farming in upland areas, primarily rearing sheep, although historically cattle was often reared more intensively.Cattle farming is usually restricted by a scarcity of winter fodder, and sheep stocks, grazing at about 2 hectares per head, are often taken to lowland areas...
areas, where sheep range widely on largely unfenced
Fence
A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...
land. These trials take place in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Chile, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and other farming nations.
Some venues allow only dogs of known herding breed
Dog breed
Dog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock....
s to compete; others allow any dog that has been trained to work stock.
History
Janet Larson in "The Versatile Border Collie," recounts the first sheepdog trials held in the United Kingdom: "The first sheepdog trial was held in Bala
Bala, Gwynedd
Bala is a market town and community in Gwynedd, Wales, and formerly an urban district of the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies at the north end of Bala Lake , 17 miles north-east of Dolgellau, with a population of 1,980...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, on October 9, 1873. It was organized by Richard John Lloyd Price, squire of Rhiwlas Estate and friend of Sewallis Shirley
Sewallis Shirley (MP)
Sewallis Evelyn Shirley DL, JP , was a British politician. He is best known as the founder of the Kennel Club in Britain in 1873.-Background and education:...
, MP, founder of the Kennel Club
The Kennel Club
The Kennel Club is a kennel club based in London and Aylesbury, United Kingdom.The Kennel Club registration system divides dogs into seven breed groups. The Kennel Club Groups are: Hound, Working, Terrier, Gundog, Pastoral, Utility and Toy...
that same year. Ten dogs competed and over 300 spectators attended. The winner was Mr. James Thompson with Tweed, a compact, black and tan Scottish bred dog with a foxy face.
The first Scottish sheepdog trial was held at the Carnworth Agricultural Society Show in Lanarkshire around 1874. It is reported that the winner was James Gardner of Pentland with a black and white bitch named Sly, who worked with 'eye.' The prize was one pound, which was considerable money in those days."
Trials quickly spread in England and Scotland. From the beginning, shepherds realized that show collies, also becoming popular at the time, quickly lost the keen working instincts honed in working collies. In 1876 a trial was organized in Alexandra Park by the sheepman as a challenge to the show fanciers to demonstrate that show collies could still work. There were two judges for work and appearance. The result was a disaster for the show fanciers. Show collies barked, yelped and lost control of many sheep. The winner was a common red coated working collie named Maddie, owned by John Thomas, a Welsh shepherd.
The success of those early trials, led to events in the United States in the 1880s. Today that tradition continues under the aegis of organizations such as the International Sheepdog Society in Great Britain and the United States Border Collie Handlers Association in the United States.
Today the sport continues to be popular throughout the world. In the United Kingdom, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland all host national championships followed by an International Championship featuring the best dogs and handlers from each of the four. Their sanctioning body, the International Sheepdog Society also hosts a World Championship every three years with dogs participating from throughout the world.
Among the most prestigious trials held annually today in North America are the Bank of the West Soldier Hollow Classic in Heber Utah, The Meeker Classic in Meeker Colorado, and the USBCHA National Championship which is held at various locations throughout North America. The Soldier Hollow event, held on Labor Day weekend (a major American holiday) features competitors from around the world and boasts the world's biggest annual crowd with 26,400 attending in 2009. Through 2009 competitors representing 16 countries and 6 continents have competed at Soldier Hollow (a 2002 Winter Olympic Venue).
Event types
In Australia, there are several events, but the key element is the control of three to six sheep by one or two highly trained dogs under the control of a single handler. Both time and obedience play a part, as competitors are penalized if a sheep strays from the prescribed course. Another popular event involves having the dog split six sheep into two groups of three and conducting each group in turn to small pens through a defined course by heading dogs. The group not being led is guarded by one of the two dogs, an eye-dog (from its ability to keep the sheep still by head movement alone). This is more difficult than it sounds because the two groups of sheep invariably try to stay together.
Yard Dog Trials are also gaining in popularity, too. In these competitions dogs have to move sheep through several yards, including a drafting race and sometimes into and out of a truck, with minimum assistance.
The Trial Field
The exact layout of the trial field can vary significantly. Most experienced handlers agree that there are certain elements that are important to ensure that the challenge to the dog and handler is a fair and complete test. These elements include:- The dog must leave the handler and fetch sheep that are some distance away
- The dog must take control of the sheep and bring them to the handler
- It is against the dog's instinct to drive the sheep away from the handler so an away drive is a good test and should be included
- The dog and handler should be able to combine to move the sheep into a confined space, typically a pen but in some trials they are asked to load them onto a vehicle.
Other popular test elements that are often added include:
- The dog must separate the group into two groups in a controlled way in accordance with the instructions from the judge. This may involve some sheep being marked and the dog and handler working together to separate them from the rest or some variation of that. This is known as shedding and is almost always required to be done in a ring marked out on the ground.
- Singling is another test in which the dog and handler combine to separate one sheep from the group.
- Most trials include a cross drive where the dog is required to move the sheep in a controlled way in a straight line from one side of the field to the other in front of the handler but some distance away from them.
In addition there are various elements that may be added to increase the level of difficulty of a trial. One such example is the double lift where the dog is required to fetch one group of sheep, bring them to the handler, look back and find another group, somewhere else on the trial field some distance away. They must then leave the first group and do a second outrun to fetch the others and bring them to join the first group.
In most competitions the dog will be required to do the fetching and driving tests on their own. During these test elements the handler must remain at a stake positioned during the layout of the trial course. During the shedding, singling and penning the handler usually leaves the stake and works with the dog to achieve the task.
Scoring
The most popular scoring system works as follows:- A judge watches each run and assigns a score based on their judgment.
- Each test element is assigned a maximum score. For example there may be 10 points for the cast (outrun) and so on.
- Each competitor is assigned the full amount for each element before they start.
- As they negotiate each test element a judge deducts points for each fault. For example during a drive the judge may deduct points when the sheep move off line. During each element they can only lose as many points as are assigned to that element.
- They must negotiate each element in sequence before proceeding to the next.
- A set amount of time for the whole course, usually around 15 minutes, is decided on before the start of the trial.
- There is no advantage in completing the course in a short amount of time but if the competitor runs out of time then they will lose all the points for the element they were in the process of completing and all those that they have yet to attempt.
- The competitor's score is the sum of their score for all completed elements.
For most elements the judge focuses on the behaviour of the sheep not the dog or handler. Dogs are judged on the efficiency of their work and on qualities of good stockmanship. A dog that needlessly harasses or hurries the sheep will penalized and a dog that bites a sheep may be disqualified.
This points type of system has been in use since at least 1979 and may have been formalized at about that same time.
Popular media
Bob, Son of BattleBob, Son of Battle
Bob, Son of Battle is a children's classic written by English author Alfred Ollivant. It was published in 1898, and went on to become a popular children's book both in the United Kingdom and the United States even though most of the dialogue in the book was written in the Cumbrian dialect.-The...
was a popular children's book centered on the rivalry between two sheepdogs at sheepdog trials, and their owners, set in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
.
Sheepdogs are interesting enough to watch that they have been featured on television and in film. In New Zealand, A Dog's Show
A Dog's Show
A Dog's Show was a New Zealand television series featuring sheepdog trials, presented by John Gordon. It screened regularly on Sunday at 6 pm, before the news...
was a popular television show until the late 1980s, screening just before the weekend news. In the United Kingdom between 1975 and 1999, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
ran One Man and His Dog
One Man and His Dog
One Man and His Dog is a television series in the United Kingdom featuring sheepdog trials, presented by Phil Drabble with commentary by Eric Halsall, and later by Ray Ollerenshaw, Robin Page, and Gus Dermody. At its peak, in the early 1980s, it attracted audiences in excess of eight million...
, which had a large urban audience. The movie Babe
Babe (film)
Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog...
, about a pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
who wants to herd sheep, was based on Dick King-Smith
Dick King-Smith
Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE, Hon.M.Ed. , better known by his pen name Dick King-Smith, was a prolific English children's author, best known for writing The Sheep-Pig, retitled in the United States as Babe the Gallant Pig, on which the movie Babe was based...
's book The Sheep Pig, about sheepdog trials in northern England.
A sheepdog trial is mentioned many times in Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
's Tiffany Aching
Tiffany Aching
Tiffany Aching is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's satirical Discworld series of fantasy novels.Tiffany is a trainee witch whose growth into her job forms one of the many arcs in the Discworld series. She is the main character in The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, and I...
series, although it has never been written about in detail.
See also
- International Sheep Dog SocietyInternational Sheep Dog SocietyInternational Sheep Dog Society was formed with the intention of increasing interest in securing the better management of livestock by improving the shepherd's dog. This remains the intention today. Without a good working dog, the shepherd's work on both the hills and the lowlands would be...
- SheepdogsLivestock guardian dogA livestock guardian dog is a domesticated canine used to defend livestock against predators. LGDs are commonly referred to as "sheep dogs" since they most often have guarded flocks of sheep, but most are capable of guarding other species of livestock. They are classified as pastoral dogs...
- Herding dogHerding dogA herding dog, also known as a stock dog or working dog, is a type of pastoral dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds developed for herding...
- Working DogsWorking dogA working dog refers to a canine working animal, i.e., a type of dog that is not merely a pet but learns and performs tasks to assist and/or entertain its human companions, or a breed of such origin...
- HerdingHerdingHerding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group , maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. While the layperson uses the term "herding", most individuals involved in the process term it mustering, "working stock" or...
- SASDA
- Dog sports
- Championship (dog)Championship (dog)Championships are awarded to dogs who have passed through a process of selection at dog shows. Traditionally, a championship was received at a conformation show, but championships are now offered for dogs who have attained a high degree of perfection in other dog sports as well.-The conformation...