Mar 24

Dedication to sheepdog trials

Published in Untagged  by lisa |

Sometimes it's easy to take for granted the hard work and dedication of the people who stage sheepdog trials year in, year out.

Since 1987 Colin and Mary Evans have held their annual Coedkernew charity trial with the sole exception being the year of the foot and mouth outbreak.

On March 8th they marked their 21st event by raising an impressive £1,000 for Macmillan Nurses. Over the years they have raised around £15,000 for good causes.

As Mary said: "We don't take a penny out of the pot it all goes to charity."

On the day, the Evans' praised the continued support and generosity of the handlers, saying without them it wouldn¹t be possible. That is true, but it's worth remembering that without their dedication there would be no trial in the first place.

And I for one am grateful to them, and their helpers, for giving us the opportunity of attending this trial, which is always well organised, has a great atmosphere and gives everyone a chance to catch up after the winter break.

Mar 14

A new dawn

Published in Untagged  by lisa |
For me, Coedkernew trial has always signalled the long-awaited start of the new trialling season.

Finally, it seems, the long dark months are over and it's time to get back on the field to catch up with fellow competitors and their sheepdogs.

Wales may be one of the most keenly contested areas to compete in the country, but very little takes place in winter.

In the summer it's not unusual to have more than 100 dogs running at a trial. I've often wondered why other parts of the country seem to hold more nurseries and even open trials in the winter, and Wales doesn't.

The Welsh counties play host to their nurseries and the hardy handlers among us venture to the nursery championships, but other than that it's all quiet on the trialling front.

If I'm honest, I'm a bit of a fair weather competitor. Even now, after more than a decade of travelling to sheepdog trials, I never seem to wear enough layers.

Maybe it's because I'm from Pembrokeshire that I'm always shocked by the chilly climes when we venture away from home.

As Dai Jones Llanilar commented at the recent indoor trial, as he was announcing Pembrokeshire competitor Stan Harden to the ring: "It's already summer down there boys."

Or maybe it's because when you have to leave home still blurry-eyed at the crack of dawn, you just don't know what the day's weather will bring.

Either way, come rain or shine, the prospect of returning to the trials scene is a time of eager anticipation when anything is possible.

 

Mar 06

Thanks for coming-bye

Published in Untagged  by admin |
Hi and thanks for visiting my website.
I’m Lisa Soar and I will be updating this blog regularly throughout the hectic sheepdog trials season. 
Everyone who is anyone has a blog these days, so I thought I’d better join the flock on www.k9tales.co.uk ¬ a new site aimed at bringing you all the latest news from the world of sheepdogs. 
As an introduction here’s a little bit about me…
I have been involved with dogs all my life. From a young age weekends were spent travelling to championship dog shows with my nan, where I’d wander around the show rings fascinated by the diversity of dog breeds. 
As a teenager I competed in obedience and agility classes with my border collie cross old English sheepdog bitch Poppy. We achieved a place in the Welsh team at Crufts in the KCJO’s obedience competition and travelled the country to competitions. 
My interest in sheepdog trials began thanks to my mum. She’d had a small flock of Kerry Hill sheep for a couple of years but we didn’t have a working dog. On numerous occasions they had run us ragged as we’d tried to get them in and out of fields, so mum bought a border collie puppy to train in 1995 - realising a lifelong ambition to work a sheepdog. 
Flint became her first trials dog and consequently I became hooked. 
With university and starting out in my journalism career it wasn’t until 2001 that I bought my first sheepdog pup, Corrie, hoping she’d turn out to be good enough to compete at trials. 
Fortunately she did, but we hit a major hurdle when she was diagnosed with canine lymphoma at the age of four (read Corrie’s story in the k9tales features section).  
It was a heartbreaking time when the odds were stacked against her and she underwent an intense course of chemotherapy. She finished her treatment at the start of 2007 and has been in remission since. She has regular blood tests to check for any abnormal cells and I’m still firmly keeping my fingers crossed.
After the long winter months when all is pretty quiet on the Welsh trials scene, I’m looking forward to getting out and about again.
Hopefully I will get to know many of you, if I don’t know you already. 
If you have any suggestions for stories, or would like to see anything in this blog or on the k9tales site contact us.