Sandhill Lea Ranch, owned by Lynn and Lorne Landry, hosted a BC Stock Dogs Association-sanctioned sheep dog trial near Abel Lake, Sept. 8-9.
Using a combination of instinct and training, the dogs demonstrated their skills at herding sheep through a number of obstacles, and were judged on speed and accuracy.
Dawna Warner of 70 Mile House and her dog, Smoothy, were winners in the Novice/Novice division. Gord Lazzarotto of Windermere, with his dogs, Oakley and Tug, took second and third place in Novice/Novice.
Lee Lumb of Coldstream competed with Gus and Cass to take first and second place in Pro/Novice, and Chris Hanson of Armstrong took third with Sadie.
Lorne Landry worked with his dog, Nel, in Pro/Novice and with Cassie and Jace in the Open division, but did not place in the top 4.
The winner in the Open division was Pam Boring of Pink Mountain with her dog, Mirk. Second place went to Tess Davidson of Cecil Lake with Dawn, and Gayle Cochlan on Loon Lake took third with her dog, Leah.
There were 55 runs made during the two-day event, with each taking approximately 11 minutes to complete.
Landry says herding dogs are in their prime between four and seven years of age, and for his nine-year-old Cassie, this was the last run of her career.
“It was a challenging course and she had trouble keeping up. She also had a hard time hearing commands from the field, but she’s had a great career and done well.”
