By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer
Sheep handlers from all over
the world will be coming to Cooperstown
for the 13th annual Leatherstocking
Sheepdog Trials that will
be held in a field off Beaver Meadow
Road from Aug. 16 through 18.
The trials will start at 8 a.m.
each day and will run until about 4
or 5 p.m., rain or shine. Admission
charges will be good for the whole
weekend. The cost is $5 a person
and children are admitted free.
The sheepdog trial is put on by
the Leatherstocking Sheepdog Trials
Committee, which is sanctioned
by the North East Boarder Collie
Association (NEBCA). The event is
a competitive dog sport in which
dogs move sheep around a field,
fences, gates, or enclosures as directed
by their handlers. According
to committee member Linda Hotchkiss,
the handler instructs the dog
with a whistle or with voice commands.
For this trial, three sheep
are used and one dog goes through
the course at a time.
Hotchkiss said there are bleachers
for people to sit on during the
event, but she encourages visitors
to bring chairs and blankets because
there is limited seating. She
said the event typically attracts
about 200 people each day, depending
on the weather.
Hotchkiss said organizers are
expecting approximately 70 dogs to
participate in the event each day.
She said the novice class, which
usually is a four-minute course,
will be held on Friday and the more
experienced classes, which can
take close to 10 minutes, will be
held on Saturday and Sunday.
Each test element is assigned a
maximum score, and a judge will
deduct points for each fault made.
For example, during a drive the
judge may deduct points when the
sheep move off line. Competitors
must negotiate each element in sequence
before proceeding to the
next. There is a set amount of time
for the whole course; there is no advantage
in completing the course
in a short amount of time, but if
the competitor runs out of time,
points will be lost for the element
they were in the process of completing
and all those that they have
yet to attempt. The competitor’s
score is the sum of their score for
all completed elements, and the
competitor who receives the most
points wins.
According to Hotchkiss, awards
will be given out at the end of each
day to the top 10 competitors. This
year’s top prize will be a pet portrait
painting by Barbara Armata.
Hotchkiss said the committee tries
to come up with something a little
different to give out with the ribbons
each year.
Hotchkiss said Armata is also
providing the sheep for the event.
She said Armata will lease approximately
80 Scottish Blackface
sheep from her farm.
Hotchkiss said not every breed
of sheep work well for sheepdog trials
because they cannot be too big
or too small.
The event is open to any breed
of dog, but mostly border collies are
used. According to Hotchkiss, border
collies seem to work best, and
are fun to watch because there is
no set standard for the breed.
Hotchkiss said border collies can
be black and white, brown and
white, all white, short haired, long
haired, and look different in many
other ways. However, Hotchkiss
said a German shepherd was used
in the event in the past.
Hotchkiss said the sheepdog trials
are a fun and inexpensive event
for people to enjoy.
``It’s close by so people won’t
have to spend a lot of money to
come have fun,’’ said Hotchkiss.
She said if people grow tired of
watching the dogs they can go visit
the many vendors that will be at
the event. New this year will be
Reiki Master Ellen Sokolow, who
will be providing a form of pet therapy.
Leashed pets are welcome.
To get to the trial, follow the
trial signs in Hyde Park off Route
28 South of Cooperstown. The
event is sponsored by the Farmers’
Museum and Blue Seal Feeds. For
more information, call (607) 293-
8385.
