2011 International, 8th -10th September (Thursday-Saturday) at Fearn Farm, Tain, Ross-shire, IV20 1TL, Scotland |
Reports from the field and pictures from Sine Robertson, Kim Gibson and Austin Bennett.
2011 International Brace Champions Richard Hutchinson's Wenndale Roy & Sweep Pic: Suzy Woolston
This, the final day of the 2011 International, is dominated by the Supreme Championship, where the top fifteen from the two days of Qualifying trials compete in the double gather final. The list of competitors and the running order are below. In terms of countries, there are 7 for Scotland, 3 for Ireland, 3 for Wales and 2 for England.
In addition, during the lunchtime break, a young handler from each of the four home countries will compete for the International Young Handler title, and after the last Supreme run, the Driving Competition, again, one handler from each country, concludes the competitive part of the day.
Then, the result of the Supreme Championship will be announced. Although those that have been watching all day will have a fair idea of who is likely to be in the running for the Supreme title, it is always a dramatic moment as the countdown from fifteenth place reaches the last three or four.
Congratulations to Scotland, this year's team winners - 4109 points, well ahead of Wales on 3740, almost equal with Ireland on 3733, and England on 3534.
The running order for the Young Handlers is to be England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland. Apologies to Sean Corrigan. The breeding details of his dod, tex, in the programme are incorrect, and should read A J Corrigan's Jim x R T Hughes' Bess. The course will be a little smaller than for the Supreme, with a single of one uncollared sheep. Congratulations to Ireland's Sean Corrigan, who has won the Young Handler title this year.
Jock Welsh with Tanhill Nap. Excellent first outrun, which is to the right. The sheep are lively and pulling hard, so they missed the fetch gate. Excellent look back, but a bit too deep into the field and had to be whistled onto the second packet. Very good until the cross drive, which is as hard to judge as during the qualifying trials, and the gate was missed. The shed was good, and although the sheep were not keen to be penned, good work by the dog allowed them to complete their run.
Norman MacDonald with Jake. A good outrun, lift and fetch, a bit of a delay on the look back, with a couple of commands needed. Missed the gate on the second fetch, and also the cross drive gate. Shed well down to the last two, but in trying to get rid of these two, the collared sheep left the ring, and the shed had to be restarted. Out of time at the pen.
Bobby Dalziel and Spot. The first of Bobby's two runs today. A single command for an excellent first outrun. The sheep are still pulling heavily, so the fetch was missed. Instant look back, straight to the second packet of sheep without stopping. The sheep were spreading, but were covered well. The first packet of sheep threatened to join the second packet, but the fetch gate was caught without incident. Lovely driving, steady unflustered shedding, right down to the last sheep, and a good pen. Best run so far.
Michael Gallagher and Cap. After three runs for Scotland, this is the first for Ireland. Single command on a beautiful first outrun. Trouble on the look back, as Cap tried twice to go back to the first lot of sheep, but once found, the second packet brought nicely down the field. Good start to drive, but high on cross drive and missed gate. Shed well down to the last 7, but a collared sheep fled out of the ring and the shed had to be restarted. Last two taken well, good pen.
Meirion Jones (Llanelli) and Joe. Now for the first run from Wales. A couple of commands on the outrun, but then a good route to the back of the sheep. The turn back not instant, had to be commanded out a couple of times, then a good fetch. Good positive driving. The sheep the trickiest in the ring so far, in particular a couple of collared ewes. Good shed in three chunks - 9+2+4, but ran out of luck at the pen.
Neil Gillon and Bhoy. The first of the competitors from Day 2. An early command and another a third of the way up on the first outrun, but went well after that. The look back instant and on a good route, faltered briefly and commanded near the top. The sheep took on a bit of speed on the fetch and drive, and all but three missed the cross drive gate. Good work in the shedding ring, but the first big chunk taken off included a collared sheep, so had to start again. Much to the amusement of the spectators, the uncollared sheep all seemed desperate to leave the ring, so the rest of the shedding was not as difficult as it might have been. A decent pen to finish.
John Maginn and Mozz. Ireland's second run. The outrun was very wide to start with, but went well once corrected. An instant turnback; just one command to the top. The sheep again came down the fetch at a pace, and the dog nearly hooked them by the fetch gate, but was corrected and they went though. A little trouble at the away drive - the handler appearing to think the sheep were through and the dog almost turning them inside the gate, but the situation was retrieved, and the cross drive and second gate went well. Again, shedding was tricky, but managed well, and the pen was very good. Not as good as run as Bobby's, but not that far behind.
Michael Shearer and Cap. Several commands on the first outrun, nice lift. Cap was reluctant to go wide enough on the look back despite several commands. Fetch and drive were fine. The shed started reasonably well, but the last four refused to cooperate and time was up before they could be prised out of the ring.
The Young Handlers now follow, with the Supreme resuming around 1pm.
Eirian Morgan and Spot. A square start to the outrun, but corrected quickly, and then on a good route to the sheep. Instant lookback, a very good second outrun. No problems with the fetches or driving. Shed started well with 12 off in one go, and continued without incident. Pen nail biting but completed well. A good run overall with no major faults.
Jim Cropper and Max. First run for England. A couple of widening whistles on the outrun, nice smooth fetch. An instant turnback in a continuous looping movement, but started to come in and down the field. Took the correction straight away and then to the sheep. Second fetch also nice and smooth. A good pace on the drive, quietly handled with Max working nicely. Sheep again difficult at the shed, and time up with two still to shed.
Seamus Gallagher and Glen. The last run for Ireland. One whistle on outrun, and another as the sheep had moved off their spot. Instant turn back, tightened a little but the broadening command taken straight away. Very good round the course. Took a long time to get started in the shedding ring, was taking them off steadily, but time up before they could complete the shed.
Ian Brownlie and Mo. They had a tremendous run to win the Qualifier. A square start to the outrun, but soon put on track and good thereafter. Took the look back command, but started to come back down the field and it took quite a lot of effort to get her to the sheep, but lifted nicely. Second fetch gate missed, drive good. Hard work both in the ring and at the oen, but Mo coped well and completed without mishap.
Tim Longton and Bob. Last to run for England. One command on the outrun. Took the look back straigtht away, but needed several commands to get onto the right path for the second batch. Fetch gate and cross drive gate missed. Took ten off quickly in the shedding ring, but a collared ewe joined them, and had to restart. Time up with two still to shed.
Bobby Dalziel and Joe. Bobby's second run of the day, and the first of the two National captains to reach the final. One command on outrun, excellent turn back and second outrun. Joe did his best but four sheep slipped the gate on the second fetch, The shed began well with 8 off quickly, then despite a lot of hard work, the sheep became a lot less easy to work and the run came to an end before the shed was completed.
Kevin Evans and Greg. Two commands on the first outrun, good fetch, and excellent look back and good driving. Eight off in the shed, and once again the sheep started to become harder, but they managed to complete the shed without incident, and penned with one minute to go.
The result - Eirian Morgan is the 2011 Supreme Champion! Congratulations! Pictures tomorrow.
14= Meirion Jones (Llanelli) (W) JOE DIS
14= Bobby Dalziel (S) JOE DIS
13 Timothy Longton (E) BOB 274 judges' points 12 merit points
12 Norman MacDonald (S) JAKE 375 16
11 Michael Shearer (S) CAP 405 20
10 Neil Gillon (S) BHOY 441 26
9 Jim Cropper (E) MAX 437 26½
8 Ian Brownlie (S) MO 454 32½
7 Seamus Gallagher (I) GLEN 467 38
6 Jock Welsh (S) TANHILL NAP 467 39
5 John Maginn (I) MOZZ 478 42
4 Michael Gallagher (I) CAP 531 48
3 Bobby Dalziel (S) SPOT 564 54
2 Kevin Evans (W) GREG 570 55
1 Eirian Morgan (W) SPOT 583 59
Scores and merit points to follow
Saturday's competitors run in the original catalogue order:
9 Jock Welsh (S) TANHILL NAP
13 Norman MacDonald (S) JAKE
17 Bobby Dalziel (S) SPOT
24 Michael Gallagher (I) CAP
30 Meirion Jones (Llanelli) (W) JOE
33 Neil Gillon (S) BHOY
36 John Maginn (I) MOZZ
41 Michael Shearer (S) CAP
42 Eirian Morgan (W) SPOT
43 Jim Cropper (E) MAX
44 Seamus Gallagher (I) GLEN
53 Ian Brownlie (S) MO
55 Timothy Longton (E) BOB
57 Bobby Dalziel (S) JOE
58 Kevin Evans (W) GREG
1 Sophie Holt (E) BLACK
2 Ross Games (W) TESS
3 John Ramsay (S) GLEN
4 Sean Corrigan (I) TEX Winner - 2011 International Young Handler
1 Neil Gillon (S) BHOY 2011 International Driving Champion
2 Gwyn Owen (W) ZAC
3 James Howard (E) WISP
4 Aiden Gallagher (I) JIM
1 Scotland 4109
2 Wales 3740
3 Ireland 3733
4 England 3534