TODAYS
RESULTS: FINAL
RESULTS
OTHER DAYS: THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
SUNDAY |
| Sunday 10 July:
The Enfer ISDS World Sheepdog Trials of 2005
concluded today in Tullamore County Offaly,
Ireland with the awarding of the Enfer crystal
trophy to Gordon Watt of England with York. Mr.
Watt's score of 507 judges points and 62 merit
points narrowly defeated a strong challenge by
Nigel Watkins of Wales and Peg with a score of
505 and 61. |
Mr. Gordon Watt, (ENG)
and York are the new Enfer ISDS World Champions |
| Unusually warm weather under
bright sunshine increased the demands on both
handler and dog on a difficult course on
Charleville Estate. With the gather to the left
pinched by the exhaust pen and partially blocked
by a double fence-line, handlers had to
skillfully redirect their dogs to avoid crossing
the sheep. Most dogs did not flank wide enough to
avoid running a fence line, expending precious
energy in the process, and many dogs had
difficulty finding their sheep on the second
gather. The fetch and drive panels were usually
negotiated without difficulty, but the
cross-drive panel was problematic for some dogs.
All dogs that were not retired or disqualified
shed and penned. |
| Because of a heavy fog that had
descended on Tulamore overnight, the start of the
competition was delayed for more than an hour and
the first to run, Mr. E. Sievers of Germany with
Bod, was awarded a rerun because of visibility
problems. The next competitor, Mr. C.M. Magnusson
of Sweden with Fleet completed the course,
although the dog crossed-over on the first gather
and missed the cross-over panels. Fleet's
difficulties on the first gather, which required
several redirects, foretold the major problem
that was to vex most handlers throughout the day.
|
A large crowd enjoyed
watching the best handlers in the world compete. |
The crowd roared its
approval after Nigel Watkins completed his run. |
Neither Ewan MacKinnon of
Scotland nor E. Sievers in his rerun managed to
direct their dogs to sheep on the second gather
and retired from the field. However, Nigel
Watkins with Peg followed with a solid run that
included a timely redirect on the first gather to
flank the dog to the fence line. After some
difficulty redirecting Peg to the second gather,
most of the fetch and drive work was good and, at
the conclusion of the pen, Nigel tossed his cap
in the air in a mixture of jubilation and relief. |
| One of the most anticipated runs
of the day was Jim Cropper with Sid, who had the
highest score in the semi-final on Saturday. The
dog had to be redirected several times on the
first gather and because of this, was blocked
from the first lot of sheep by the double fence
line. Rather than running parallel to the fence
to find one of the two openings, Sid climbed both
fences to resume the outrun, but still crossed
over its sheep. A brief scatter of sheep on the
second gather, a couple of bobbles on the
cross-drive and an extended shed cost additional
points, resulting in a score of 409 and 48 merit
points, good for fifth place. Serge van der
Sweep with Glen was the last run before lunch.
Again, the dog had difficulties on the first
gather, and negotiated the opening in the fence
line only after several redirects. However, Glen
avoided crossing over the sheep and managed the
second gather. But the dog circled the sheep on
the cross-drive near the panels, causing the
sheep to miss low, and the pen was complicated by
the fifteen un-collared sheep drifting back to
the collared ones. A score of 481 and 56.5 merit
points was good enough for third place.
|
| After lunch, bright sunshine and
high temperatures affected many of the runs.
However, in the second run of the afternoon,
Gordon Watt with York had the best of the day.
Gordon gave a timely redirect on the first outrun
and York managed to find its sheep on the second,
although the sheep came through the second fetch
gate in two packets. The drive and cross-drive
were good until the sheep missed the cross-drive
panels low, and the shed of the last sheep was
made difficult because the rest had drifted to
the exhaust pen. However, the score of 507 and 62
merit points was not to be beaten. |
G. Watt and York work
in the shedding ring |
G. Watt (ENG) closes the gate
on what was to be the winning run
|
Only one other run was completed
in the afternoon, by Duncan Robertson of Scotland
with Cap II during a brief respite from the sun.
Points lost on the first and second gathers and a
split of sheep through the cross-drive panel
resulted in a score of 467 and 52.5 merit points,
good for fourth place. |
| Concluding ceremonies included
presentations and congratulations to the captains
of all participating teams and the presentation
of awards to the top six finalists. A large crowd
was on hand to show their appreciation for four
wonderful days of trialing. The success of the
trial was also reflected in the unanimous
approval of all participating countries to renew
the competition in 2008 in the United Kingdom. |
The handlers all came
out for the awards ceremony. Congratulations to
all the competitors, who were truly "World
Class". |
TODAYS
RESULTS: FINAL
RESULTS
OTHER DAYS: THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
SUNDAY |
