2017 July August

Finally, Finals!
Thomas Morarre • Lolo, Montana
Good-bye. And hello.
Farewell for now
I am not quite sure how to begin this except to introduce to
everyone a new columnist, Tom Morarre, who will be taking
over for me . . . for as long as we both can take it, I guess!
I am grateful to Tom for agreeing to help me out as family
obligations have dictated that I step away for a while and
attend to things without having to meet deadlines. I am so
thankful to all the Mystery Pup people that have continued
to support this column as well as the Mystery Trainers that
answer the questions sent in to them. Please, everyone that
participates in Finals, don’t forget that we want you to send in
pictures of your dogs along with any write-ups that you would
like to accompany those pictures. Any time you feel like you
want to, please contribute! It is your column!! Thank you for
all of the support and good wishes these past many years, and
I hope you will all support Tom in his efforts to continue the
column in my absence.
~ Linda
My name is Tom Morarre and I have been trialing Aussies in
ASCA events for the past twelve years. For some reason Linda Bell
has trusted me to take over the shepherding of the Finally Finals
column for a while. I am going to give it my best try and with a
little help from regular contributors and perhaps some that have
not contributed before, I hope to keep this column interesting and
informative.
Before we leave thoughts of the 2016 Finals in Albany
behind and look ahead to 2017 Finals in Bryan, a
moment to recognize the special achievement of
Sherry Baker and Oakley in earning the 2016 Supreme
Champion Stockdog award seems appropriate. I’ve included a few
photos taken at the Finals’ awards ceremony in Albany on the next
few pages. Notice how different the buckle produced in 1995 looks
when compared to the buckle designs we currently use. My own
favorite photo here is the one of Oakley, feet on the awards table,
looking at her buckles. I think it is likely that she is hoping that
there may be a treat there somewhere in the midst of all that silver!
It’s July and those of you going to Finals have received or
are eagerly waiting your dog’s invitation. Plans are being made,
budgets figured, routes and lodging arranged. And, of course, we
are all practicing and honing our skills. But you have to figure you
are pretty much ready to go or you would not have made the cut –
right? Well, I don’t know about you, but I must admit, I hardly ever
feel truly ready. My dogs and I can always use a bit more polish
before appearing on the big stage of finals.
It will be interesting to see how folks accept the format for
Nationals/Finals this year. I am looking forward to running in pretrials
and Nationals before the Finals since it provides opportunity
for Finals handlers and dogs to adjust to the environment and get
a few runs in so that they are really ready when their finals runs
begin. On the other hand, I am hoping that I am not totally worn
out before I start my Finals runs. You younger folks probably don’t
have to think about that yet, but it can be an issue. Send me your
thoughts on the new format and I will try to compile them and put
them in one of the coming issues. Post-event thoughts probably
carry more weight, but if you are compelled to speak up before
hand, by all means do so.
The venue in Bryan is excellent. I don’t think anyone disputes
that. The cattle last time were very nice – quite appropriate for
Finals. I think the committee and the course director work very
hard to make the event enjoyable, which in the end is the true
measure of success. The only thing that concerns me is that this
event is so late in the calendar year that it is often full-on Winter
in the Northern Rockies by November 1, and I still shiver a little
when I recall my last return trip from Texas which involved being
stranded in a blizzard and then driving over one thousand miles
on snow packed and icy roads to get home. But that is not an issue
for everyone.
It is always strange to me at this time of year to realize that any
Finals points that I earn at a trial are actually for an event that will
occur over a year in the future. Participating in Finals is definitely
a long-range activity. Whether I plan to go to Finals or not, my
trialing patterns are about the same unless for some reason I need
additional points come May. Then I might hit an extra trial or two.
But I really don’t like that last-minute rush, so I try to attend a
trial per month from May to September and I have been fortunate
enough to earn enough points to meet the cut. I really think it takes
the joy out of trialing to rush to get points or make this activity into
work. I would be interested in hearing from others on this topic,
and I hope to include the perspective of other finals competitors,
both new and old in future columns. Just email your contributions
to me if you want to participate.
As I was writing this, some decisions were being made about
sites for future Finals – decisions that will affect all future Finals
locations and, therefore, the Finals participants. The situation, as
I write this is still in flux, but a new rotating format with three
AUSSIE TIMES May-June 2017 77