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fiveAussies, plus all the gear we needed for<br />
our trip. I was glad I had packed for every<br />
type of weather, since over the five days we<br />
experienced everything from near freezing<br />
at night to over 70° some days. The people<br />
were wonderful and the potluck lunches<br />
incredible, and we really had a good time<br />
visiting and meeting new people.<br />
Piling out of the<br />
mini van, we must<br />
have resembled a<br />
clown car with two<br />
adults, one child,<br />
and five Aussies,<br />
plus all the gear we<br />
needed for our trip.<br />
Instead ofsheep, they had goats—and<br />
ofall the livestock in the world. Pup dog's<br />
least favorite are goats. The first day we<br />
ran in post advanced goats, and one of the<br />
little homed beasts butted her and gave<br />
her a nasty cut under her eye. She did<br />
manage to straighten him out and go on<br />
to a 110 score. She also had some trouble<br />
at the first panel when she wouldn't take<br />
my directions and we argued a bit before<br />
she finally got them through the panel. I<br />
thought I had messed up on the daylighting,<br />
but this time the judgment fell in our favor<br />
and the course points counted. There was a<br />
post advanced PM trial also, where we had<br />
the exact same problem on the first panel.<br />
None of the goats were grumpy this time,<br />
but something about the draw of the field<br />
was making Pup very reluctant to take the<br />
direction she needed to go to make that<br />
first panel. We ended up with a 99—oh-so<br />
close. After the post advanced was finished<br />
there was another trial where we had just<br />
a duck run, which went pretty well. The<br />
trial finished up after dark under arena<br />
lights, and since I didn't have any goat<br />
runs I helped out a little in the stock pens.<br />
Another day, another goat: Saturday<br />
we did Course B and had very nice smooth<br />
runs, getting a 119 (2nd place—there<br />
were some really nice dogs at this trial,<br />
too) and in the PM trial a 115. In ducks<br />
I really don't remember what happened.<br />
Finally, Finals!<br />
but we didn't score all that well.<br />
Sunday moming, uh oh, a take pen and<br />
the same goat from the first post advanced<br />
run. The goat immediately went on the<br />
defensive and rammed Pup-dog into the<br />
back wall a couple of times. I tried a few<br />
things, but couldn't really do what I would<br />
do at home, which was to whack him with<br />
my stick or drag him out by the homs. Pupdog<br />
was willing to fight with him, and bit<br />
him a couple of times, but she then would<br />
pop out of the spot she needed to stay in<br />
(but also where she could be cornered for<br />
anotherbutt, so I couldn'treally blame her).<br />
None of that was making him any easier<br />
to move, and I ended up calling the run<br />
on myself after three minutes. I was pretty<br />
discouraged, and not looking forward to<br />
our PM goat run, which would also be<br />
on Course A with the take pen. The run<br />
came anyway, and I sent her in the pen and<br />
stepped way back out of the way, crossing<br />
my fingers. Good dog, all the goats came<br />
out the first time and we made it-around<br />
the course pretty well for one more Finals<br />
point, although Pup-dog was not her usual<br />
over -eager self. Ducks also went well<br />
that day—we had one run in the morning.<br />
Monday was Pup-dog's day offsince it<br />
was all ranch trials, which I had not entered.<br />
Instead, I offered to work in the stock pens,<br />
so I kept busy and had a good time sorting<br />
cows. Plus, I had a really good up-close<br />
view of the pen section of the course.<br />
ASCA-L<br />
ASCA-L^is your official Internet list<br />
for ASCA and is for discussions about'<br />
t<br />
^SCA and ASCA programs.<br />
Members (in good standing) can subscribe<br />
j by sending an e-mail to:<br />
listserv@apple:ease.lsoft.com<br />
with anysubjectline<br />
(you mightwant to put your<br />
membership number here asy<br />
youwill be askedfor it later) and<br />
the following message inthe body:<br />
/<br />
SUBSCRIBE ASCA-L first name last name.<br />
(Example: /<br />
SUBSCRIBE ASCA-L.L'inda Gray)<br />
Tuesday I hadn't entered anything<br />
either, having planned to head home,<br />
but there were still runs available and<br />
we decided to stay the extra day. That<br />
turned out to be a good decision since<br />
we got a good score on goats with<br />
confidence regained, and even better on<br />
ducks—120 and High Scoring Duck dog.<br />
And that is the end of our Finals<br />
attempt year-what with having a baby I<br />
won't be able to make any more trials in the<br />
spring so we'll wait and see if we qualified<br />
for the Finals. Either way, I love my little<br />
Mystery Dog and wouldn't trade her for<br />
any other. Hopefully, we will be down in<br />
Georgia with two little kids and as many<br />
dogs as we can pack in a mini van—oh boyI<br />
It's that time again<br />
and not too soon to<br />
donate to the finals of<br />
your choice.<br />
Just send your check<br />
(made out to ASCA)<br />
to the<br />
Business<br />
Office and tell them<br />
which finals<br />
you would like to<br />
donate to.<br />
If donating to the<br />
stock finals<br />
also say if you want<br />
your donation<br />
to go toward<br />
winner payout<br />
or expenses.<br />
Thanks,<br />
Linda<br />
AUSSIE TIMES 1 <strong>July</strong>-<strong>Aug</strong>ust <strong>2005</strong> 91
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