sheep dog trials at Longshaw Estate

I've always wanted to see a sheep dog trial, ever since I moved to the North, and ever more after having read 'Where Species Meet'. We set off with a bus from Hunters Bar on Saturday late morning, got out at Fox House and took the path to Longshaw Estate. It was busy with kids and adults, big four by fours parked on the grass, some perhaps working vehicles, but I suspect not all of them. A whiff of tea and fruitcake could be felt in the air, coming from the direction of the marquees. The sun was hazy but warm, and the atmosphere relaxed.

Turned out that before the dogs run in the national championship, people show off their cross country running. We got there in time to see the winner of the 5-mile fell race, across the moors, stony paths and boggy fields, come working hard up the hill, to gracefully collapse on the other side of the finishing line.

The winner at the finish line...

...and just after.

Recovering runners.

I was really impressed by how many 'mature adults' there were in this run - the overwhelming majority were over thirty, and around half was over forty, and the over-fifties, who had their own prize, were also very strongly present. One after another men and women were emerging from behind the crest of the hill, muddy up to the knees. I felt inspired to do this race next year - it looks like fun! We shall see if mind prevails over matter.

The sun-sedated public.

A happy and relaxed non-participant.





Dogs and shepards.

Before the sheep dog trials could start, in the good traditions of British socialising speeches had to be made, distinctions awarded, Most Distinguished Colleagues named etc. Men and women proudly displayed gold-lettered pieces of leather on their jackets. As Kate Fox notes in her infinite wisdom, 'sports and games do not only provide the props we [the English] need to initiate and sustain social contact, they also prescribe the nature of that contact. This is not 'random' sociability, but socialbility hedged about with a lot of rules and regulations, ritual and etiquette, both official and unofficial. The English are capable of interacting socially with each other, but we need clear and precise guidelines on what to do, what to say, and exactly when and how to say it. Games ritualise our social interactions, giving them a reassuring structure and sense of order. By focusing on the detail of the game's rules and rituals, we can pretend that the game itself is really the point, and the social contact a mere incidental side-effect.' (Fox 2004:241)

Important men.

The contestants pose for a picture.

Ready to go.

The trial is not easy. The shepard stands in the top section of a big field (400 m x 200 m I'd say), in the middle, and suggests movements to the dog by whistling. The first challenge is to collect two lots of four sheep, released in two opposite corners of the field. The dog is released and approaches the left-hand-side group first, running on a wide arch, hiding in the tall grass. The first contesting dog takes a long time to bring the sheep near the shepard; both the dog and the sheep have to make it to the upper part of the field. Once the sheep are there, the dog has to turn around, go back to the left bottom corner of the field, and collect another group of four. Again, with the first pair of contestants, it takes a very long time. The shepard(ess) is not allowed to move from her post, and she has to try and make the dog see the other group using whistled or shouted commands only. The frustration grows - the dog looks back, but does not see the sheep because of the high grass. After at least three minutes of desperate whistling, shouting and running around (on the dog's part), it finally notices the other group, and darts off. Uff, such relief!

The first trial, gathering the sheep from the back of the field.

After both groups have been gathered together, they have to be herded around the shepard, and then through two gates in the middle of the field, at a considerable distance from the shephard. Whistling pierces the air as the tells the dog (at least it seems to me that's what she is communicating): left! right! forward! lie down! slow! go! Each shepard-dog couple seem to have their own variation of the language, and each dog interprets the signals differently. Her dog, it seemed to me, needed the most controlling of all three we saw, as if it had little experience of handling the sheep itself.

A moment later they're in!

The final three tasks are: separating the sheep into two groups, herding one of the groups into the pen, and then shedding one sheep, ie separating it from the rest of the group, which is extremely tricky as the sheep gather together into one stubborn wooly mass. It seemed that being closer to the shepardess made things easier for the first dog, because, now working as a real group, with the shepardess free to move around, they went through the last three challenges very quickly and efficiently. It was impossible not to clap when the sheep where in the pen, even though a moment later we were all rebuked by the loudspeaker, and reminded that it is inappropriate to clap before the trial is officially over. Ups! Faux pas.

The second pair of contestants.

In the second trial, I start noticing the role of the sheep. They are not just a group of dumb animals to be moved about as the dog and shepard please. The first two groups of four had a leader - once you get the leader moving, the others follow. But the groups the second pair is struggling with are fragmented, and each sheep seems to have its own idea of where to go. This makes things very tricky, especially when it comes to penning - in the end, three go in, but one refuses to follow! Not a proverbial sheep, this one!

They had a bit of trouble getting them into the pen!

The stand off.

In the end, after some hard eye to eye staring, the sheep grow meek in the face of the wolf-like appearance of the dog, and allow themselves to be penned.

And off again!

The third pair; their sheep were quite defensive.

The third pair was very effective; the distance between the sheep and the dog was much bigger than with the first contestant. A wolf-like shadow, it would control the movements of the sheep with the simple suggestion of its canine presence, rather than getting up close and sopoking them constantly, and zig-zagging accross the field after a panicky group as a result.

Very effective shedding.

We left after the third show, although I could have stood there watching them all day. There is a book to be written here! If only studying sheep dogs did not involve studying their class-ridden owners too...