Daddy's and Mommy's first sheepdog trials too. Shelley happened to see a notice of this multi-day event going on at a nearby farm, so we decided to check it out.

We watched a number of competitors and their people work the sheep, with the people blowing on whistles to send commands to them at long range.

The dogs had to run *way* up on a hillside and bring down three sheep in a straight line through a pair of gates, drive them around the handler standing at a post, then drive them up toward and between another pair of gates, then across the field to and between a third set of gates, then back to the handler and into a pen; then the sheep got let out and driven a little ways, and the last one to arrive had to be cut out separately.

All this in eight minutes.

The action isn't exactly going to make ESPN any time soon but certainly the level of training and competence shows off some remarkable talents of real working dogs.





Full-zoom shot of a dog and sheep about halfway down the hill





Close enough for Kelley to see.





Cooling off after a real workout.





Meeting the next generation.





Exploring a nearby creek after watching the dogs.