My friend and work colleague, Liz Blaylock, called the other day to see if I would be interested in going to a Sheep Dog competition in Soldier Hollow, near Heber. She knew I had lived in New Zealand and had been amazed at the ability of sheep dogs and their handlers in managing and controlling herds of sheep. I had heard of the competition and had wanted to see it, so readily accepted the offer.
What a fun day. It was raining in the early morning as we left, but the weather ended up being perfect. There were beautiful clouds in the sky. The weather ended up being comfortably warm but not hot - mediated by the cloud cover. We watched sheep dogs and their handlers move groups of 5 sheep around, through gates, into enclosed areas, separated into separate groups, and finally herded into a small holding pen. The dogs were amazing and the handlers just as amazing. It reminded me of an experience I had in New Zealand when I was a Mormon missionary for 2 1/2 years. We were friends with a man who had been converted to Mormonism and, as he tried to clean up his foul language, found that some of the commands that he used with his sheep dog had to be changed, which was confusing for his well trained, and conditioned, sheep dog.
In addition to the competition with the sheep we were also able to watch a "Splash Dog" competition, where dogs competed in their ability to jump horizontally and vertically into a water pool We also met a man who had his Alaskan Husky dogs there on display. He provides a service in the winter to go on sled rides in the snow and also has a sled with wheels that he uses to provide rides in the summer time.
An added gift was that the fall colors are already apparent in the Heber area. Fall is clearly my most favorite time of the year in Utah. My pictures will show some of the Fall colors.
Thank you Liz for the invite. I'm sure I will go again in future years.
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