Ystradfellte sheepdog trial report...

Sheepdog trial competitors Jed Watson and Jeff Hudd appear to be the current men on form in south Wales.
In the last few weeks their names have featured in the trials results and they continued with good runs at Ystradfellte sheepdog trial. Also dominating the top positions are father and son team David and Kevin Evans.
Once again vehicles started arriving on the field long before the 8am start. The trial was split into two sessions with Glyn Howells judging in the morning and Glyn Coombes in the afternoon.

Around 90 dogs ran in total, and seven of the open and novice places went to Jed and Jeff. Four more went to David and Kevin Evans.
The sheep, run in packets of four, were testing but better than they have been at Ystradfellte in the past. They needed enough pressure from the dogs to flow, but not too much.
They were particularly tricky to turn around the post where the gap between the handler and the vehicles was quite narrow. By late afternoon, and having already been run once, they were more obliging.
After the fetch it was a left-hand drive towards the field entrance. The position of the second drive gates was difficult to judge, not helped by the downhill slope a few yards before the gates.
There was no shed, so after the drives it was straight to the pen. Penning was a challenge and needed perseverance. Few had a good pen, but Glyn Howells and his bitch Judy got on with the job completing their afternoon run in quick time. This helped them to fourth in the open and second in the novice.
The catering tent saw a brisk trade all day, with the home-made soup and cakes proving popular. Thanks to the fine weather, handlers made the most of the spring sunshine sitting in the picnic seats outside the tent judging the runs from the sidelines.

For the full results click here.
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