Dawson Creek Sheep Dog Trial
July 23-25, 2010
Dennis & Jean Gellings hosted yet another beautiful trial in Northern BC. The challenging Open course consisted of a 450 yard outrun to the left the first day and close to the same distance but to the right the second day. With plenty of undulating ground and big Suffolk x ewes, both dogs & handlers had their hands full! The top 3 from each day went to the double lift final with only 1dog/handler allowed. The final was a 30 minute course with 20 sheep of which 5 were collared. The Pro Novice/Nursery course had about a 250 yard outrun and was a challenging for most young dogs as was the Novice course of about 100 yards.
Bobby Henderson judged the trial and designed practical courses. As the handler’s post was fairly close to the trees he set a post ahead of the handler and the sheep were fetched in front of the handler between the posts. The drive was also offset from the fetch line to best use the field. The course worked very smoothly if the handler & dog worked well! Julie Simpson, also from Scotland gave some private lessons and shared the “Training the Natural Way” method. Her experience as a shepherd and trainer has given her superb reading of both sheep & dogs and she is very willing to share ideas.
And last, but definitely not least, thanks to the Gellings family, neighbours, and anyone else I missed for the fabulous dinner on Friday night. I am looking forward to next year!
Jennifer L'Arrivee
Open #1 - 18 dogs
| Handler | Dog | Score | Place |
| Dennis Gellings | Jake | 88 | 1 |
| Jean Gellings | Star | 84 | 2 |
| Dennis Gellings | Jan | 83 | 3 |
| Carol Nelson | Jess | 79 | 4 |
| Bob Stephens | Pete | 77 | 5 |
| Luanne Twa | Rob | 77 | 6 |
| Ken Price | Creed | 72 | 7 |
| Louanne Twa | Isla | 71 | 8 |
| Wendy Schmaltz | Fly | 65 | 9 |
| Jenny Glen | Lad | 64 | 10 |
| Corey Perry | Jill | 63 | 11 |
| Wendy Schmaltz | Gin | 54 | 12 |
| Jenny Glen | Hemp | RT | |
| Lisa Wright | Hope | RT | |
| Jennifer L’Arrivee | Spot | RT | |
| Bob Stephens | RMS Pat | RT | |
| Ken Price | Reg Winters | RT | |
| Carol Nelson | Cal | - |
Open #2 - 18 dogs
| Handler | Dog | Score | Place |
| Ken Price | Creed | 85 | 1 |
| Jenny Glen | Hemp | 84 | 2 |
| Bob Stephens | RMS Pat | 83 | 3 |
| Wendy Schmaltz | Fly | 82 | 4 |
| Jenny Glen | Lad | 81 | 5 |
| Dennis Gellings | Jake | 79 | 6 |
| Jennifer L’Arrivee | Spot | 75 | 7 |
| Bob Stephens | Pete | 73 | 8 |
| Wendy Schmaltz | Gin | 70 | 9 |
| Dennis Gellings | Jan | 70 | 10 |
| Jean Gellings | Star | 67 | 11 |
| Carol Nelson | Jess | 67 | 12 |
| Carol Nelson | Cal | 64 | 13 |
| Corey Perry | Jill | 62 | 14 |
| Ken Price | Reg Winters | 56 | 15 |
| Lisa Wright | Hope | RT | |
| Luanne Twa | Rob | RT | |
| Louanne Twa | Isla | RT |
Double Lift Final
| Place | Handler | Dog | Score |
| 1 | Ken Price | Creed | 140 |
| 2 | Carol Nelson | Jess | 121 |
| 3 | Bob Stephens | Pat | 110 |
| 4 | Jean Gellings | Star | 107 |
| 5 | Dennis Gellings | Jake | 104 |
| 6 | Jenny Glen | Hemp | 101 |
Pro Novice #1- 8 dogs
| Place | Handler | Dog | Score |
| 1 | Tess Davidson | Dell | 69 |
| 2 | Tess Davidson | Dawn | 63 |
| 3 | Jennifer L’Arrivee | Mint | 61 |
| 4 | Carol Nelson | Zip | 58 |
| 5 | Bob Stephens | RMS Tim | 57 |
| 6 | Holly Crichton | Zeke | 49 |
| 7 | Rose Mary McAleney | Pip | 45 |
| 8 | Carol Nelson | Taff | 40 |
Pro Novice #1- 8 dogs
| Place | Handler | Dog | Score |
| 1 | Bob Stephens | RMS Tim | 66 |
| 2 | Carol Nelson | Taff | 62 |
| 3 | Holly Crichton | Zeke | 61 |
| 4 | Tess Davidson | Dawn | 57 |
| 5 | Tess Davidson | Dell | 55 |
| 6 | Jennifer L’Arrivee | Mint | 46 |
| 7 | Carol Nelson | Zip | 43 |
| Rose Mary McAleney | Pip | RT |
Pro Novice Overall
| Place | Handler | Dog | Overall |
| 1 | Tess Davidson | Dell | 124 |
| 2 | Bob Stephens | RMS Tim | 123 |
| 3 | Tess Davidson | Dawn | 120 |
| 4 | Holly Crichton | Zeke | 110 |
| 5 | Jennifer L’Arrivee | Mint | 107 |
| 6 | Carol Nelson | Taff (& Nursery) | 102 |
| 7 | Carol Nelson | Zip | 101 |
| 8 | Rose Mary McAleney | Pip | 45 |
Nursery #1 - 7 dogs
| Place | Handler | Dog | Score |
| 1 | Wendy Schmaltz | Creed | 33 |
| Dennis Gellings | Gin | RT | |
| Corey Perry | Spot | RT | |
| Lisa Wright | Kate | RT | |
| Wendy Schmaltz | Floss | RT | |
| Wendy Schmaltz | Syd | RT | |
| Corey Perry | Cally | DQ |
Nursery #2 - 5 dogs
| Place | Handler | Dog | Score |
| 1 | Lisa Wright | Kate | 69 |
| Dennis Gellings | Gin | RT | |
| Wendy Schmaltz | Creed | RT | |
| Corey Perry | Cally | DQ | |
| Wendy Schmaltz | Syd | RT |
Nursery Overall
| Place | Handler | Dog | Friday Score | Saturday Score | Overall |
| 1 | Lisa Wright | Kate | RT | 69 | 69 |
| 2 | Wendy Schmaltz | Creed | 33 | RT | 33 |
| Dennis Gellings | Gin | RT | RT | ||
| Corey Perry | Spot | RT | |||
| Wendy Schmaltz | Floss | RT | |||
| Wendy Schmaltz | Syd | RT | RT | ||
| Corey Perry | Cally | DQ | DQ |
Novice 1 - 4 dogs
| Place | Handler | Dog | Score |
| 1 | Matt Crichton | Tank | 27 |
| Donna Stewart | Smoothy | RT | |
| Laurie Wedler | Splash | RT | |
| Holly Crichton | Glen | RT |
Novice 2 - 4 dogs
| Place | Handler | Dog | Score |
| 1 | Matt Crichton | Tank | 33 |
| 2 | Donna Stewart | Smoothy | 26 |
| Laurie Wedler | Splash | RT | |
| Holly Crichton | Glen | RT |
Novice Overall
| Place | Handler | Dog | Friday | Saturday | Overall |
| 1 | Matt Crichton | Tank | 27 | 33 | 60 |
| 2 | Donna Stewart | Smoothy | RT | 26 | 26 |
| Laurie Wedler | Splash | RT | RT | ||
| Holly Crichton | Glen | RT | RT |