Terv Herding
By Sean Hathaway
So far it's been a quiet year for herding. Alison is working her way up the herding ladder with Maggie doing a wonderful job. It's important to note that Alison and Maggie have learned to herd by watching. After three years of observing they walked out onto a course with a minimum of instruction and ire doing 'very nicely. Maggie now has her PT and one leg on her HS.
Barbara and Mishka are also coming along nicely. They finished the PT in fine fettle and are now absorbed in competing in the HS course. If Barb and her partner can become a little more consistent in their work I can see this pair going far.
My personal news is about Utah. At 18 months Utah just finished his HX (Herding Advanced) and became the youngest Terv in AKC herding history to achieve that status (or so they tell me). Even I was amazed with him since he got his title on sheep, which could best be described, as difficult. He took a 3rd, and a 4th place plus an insurance leg with Sharol working him.
The performance events committee is working on the GLBTC's next trial for this fall. It is scheduled for October 5th and 6th. It will be a normal open trial with forty runs available. This trial will also have something new there will be available exhibition nuns for those of you that want to run a dog but aren't quite ready to step up to that next level. If you have any questions about it don't hesitate to call or write. The premium lists will be going out to GLBTC members with this Terv Talk mailing; don't forget that we can't accept entries until the opening date, August15.
In the last couple of months for some reason I've had a lot of questions about the herding venues available. The GLBTC centers most of it's energies around the AKC (American Kennel Club). Sharol and I started our herding with the AKC and we both feel most comfortable with it. Also, I believe, this is where the Tervs find the most congenial atmosphere to trial. The AKC has three different courses, A' B, and C.
The "A" course is what you see most often since it can be easily set up in a relatively small area. Next the "B" course offers a trial similar to the old Border Collie trial course. And last, but not least the "C" course which is designed to recreate an actual farm situation right down to a passing automobile.
Another association to trial with is the AHBA (American Herding Breeds Association). This is simply a group formed to create another sanctioning organization. The courses offered are similar to the AKC but are more adaptable to local standards. One course, which is offered, the "ranch" course, can be altered according to how an individual farm operates. The trial giver just needs to follow some simple guidelines but they can be as artistic as they like. This organization puts more trust and faith in
it's judges to control the integrity of the system.
Since the AHBA was created and is controlled by herding people (the current president is a Terv owner) the venue often seems more sensible than the AKC versions. Also, depending on your herding objective, the AHBA can a lot more fun.
The next organization is ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club of America). This is basically the parent club for the Australian Shepherd just like our ABTC is for Tervs. Their club decided to create their own trial courses and license their own judges. The result is a standard system that works well and since they also allow non-Aussies to trial it gives us another opportunity to herd with our Tervs.
Next come the traditional Border Collie type trials. The ISDS trials offer the standard, large field trial with various levels of competition. Generally, non-BC type dogs are allowed to enter although depending on the trial givers you might find yourself being abused and degraded for not having a standard black and white canine.
And finally comes the fun trials. These are trials, which erupt at any given time or place. The rules are usually simple and the scoring often falls back to a given task being timed; the fastest dog wins. No titles are awarded and the 'jackpot' is usually just enough to buy everyone dinner. But, by far, this is the most enjoyable of all the venues. All of the elements of the "real" trials are there but the main objective is for both you and your dog to have fun.
To find out more about any given venue it is best to find a herding professional who specializes in that organization. Go to one of the trials and 'ask questions. And from then on it's just pure fun.
