ARLINGTON — Dark, keen eyes focus on a cluster of four sheep as white paws blur across the grass. A sleek black and white border collie flanks to the left of the sheep and the flock veers right, trotting toward a wide gate the dog aims to herd them through.
Sharp, high-pitched whistles pierce the air. The dog handler’s different whistle tones carry different commands, telling the dog to circle to the left or to the right of the sheep, to move in or slow down, to lie down or charge forward.
The dog moves with quick confidence. He steers sheep through the gate, around a marker and through two more gates, then separates two from the rest before herding the flock into a pen. The penning ends a breathless 12-minute run on an uneven 450-yard herding course.
The Ninety Farms Northwest Classic sheepdog trials are under way in Arlington this weekend. They started Thursday and preliminaries continue through Saturday. The final round is Sunday, when the top 15 dogs and handlers from the first three days come back to vie for the highest scores. About 150 dogs are competing throughout the four-day event. There are 75 handlers and each is allowed two runs with different dogs.
Sheepdog trials are a high energy dog sport that many people know nothing about, event coordinator and dog handler Lorri Schubert said Thursday, the first day of the trials. Schubert’s friend Linda Neunzig has hosted the Northwest Classic at her working sheep farm for three years. This year’s event grew from two days to four days and it’s the first time scores from the Arlington competition can be used to qualify for the Soldier Hollow Classic Sheepdog Championships, an international competition — complete with big prize money — held in Utah.
Neunzig opens her farm to the dogs, handlers and public during the trials.
“I think it’s cool for spectators because they hear about it but they have no idea what to expect,” Schubert said.
She recently moved from Arlington to Marysville. She’s been raising sheepdogs for her own flock and doing trials for 23 years. It takes time and patience to hone a dog’s natural herding skills and build a bond between pup and handler.
“It’s about the partnership and the relationship,” she said.
Bob Stephens, a retired dog trainer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, understands that bond. He’s been working with sheepdogs for 25 years and has traveled around the world to herding trials.
“I don’t like to call it a sport,” Stephens said. “It’s a way of life. It’s a game of trust. You train your dog and you don’t try to change the way he works, you work with it.”
Stephens came to the Northwest Classic from Kamloops, B.C., with his wife and their 10 border collies, two of which are in the trial. Working with a dog to herd sheep takes finesse and trust, he said. The dog and handler have to strike the right balance of strength and tact to steer the sheep without scaring or stressing them.
“It’s a dance,” Stephens said. “You don’t want to be doing a jitterbug. This is a waltz.”
The trials are set up to test tasks that working sheepdogs perform on a daily basis, Schubert said. The dogs need to be able to retrieve sheep that are grazing out in the field, herd them through gates into other fields or pens and separate one or two sheep from the herd when the farmer needs to treat sick or injured animals.
Competitors start with 110 points and the judge knocks down the total for flaws in the run. They can lose points if the dog and sheep don’t take the shortest route between obstacles, if the sheep get wild or distressed by the dog, if they miss a gate or if sheep leave the “shedding ring” where the dog is supposed to separate two of the four from their companions.
“We’re basically looking to see which dog is being most efficient with the sheep,” judge Patrick Shannahan said.
He’s been involved with dog trials as a handler and a judge for 25 years. This is his first time judging the Ninety Farms Northwest Classic.
“There’s top handlers from all over the West here,” he said. “The course and the sheep are a nice challenge for the handlers. It’s looking to be one of the nicest trials in the Northwest.”
Sheepdog trials stand apart from other animal competitions because there are so many variables at play, Stephens said. The sheep, like the dogs, have distinct personalities, moods and behaviors that can affect the run. The layout of each course is different and weather is unpredictable. It’s impossible to say how a run might go until the dog takes off, bolting in the direction his handler’s whistle tells him to so he can round up four wandering sheep.
That’s where the trust and training come in.
“You can’t do anything about the weather, you can’t do anything about the sheep and you can’t do anything about the judge,” Stephens said. “The rest is up to you.”
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Trials
The Ninety Farms Northwest Classic sheepdog trials continue from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 22912 67th Ave. NE in Arlington. Admission is $5 per person, free for children younger than 12.
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