I felt tired this morning and found it very difficult to get up. My fabulous former sheepdog trainer Jackie had encouraged me to come to Thornton le Dale Show, but I could hardly motivate myself to get ready. Travelling is starting to take its toll. However, had I known what was going to be in store for us today, I think I would have jumped out of bed!
One of the things I worried about was that I would have to leave Aramis in the car while visiting the show. I knew that dogs were allowed on the showground, but I think such a busy venue like this, particularly when it is packed with dogs, must come pretty close to Aramis’ vision of hell.
My preparation for the show had consisted of a lot of worrying: I worried that I might not find a shaded parking spot and that Aramis would get too hot in the car (despite open windows and a lock, which would keep the boot ajar). I worried that people might bother him, feed him or even let him out of his crate. I worried that other visitors thought it cruel to keep the dog in the car and make a fuss…
But it turned out that being there was not going to be the problem. Getting there, however, was. I spent more than an hour stuck in traffic on the ring road. My friend had been quite right in saying that it was very easy to figure out traffic in York. You had all the time in the world, as it wouldn’t move anyway. Thank you for this valuable piece of wisdom, James.
Anyway, once I got to Thornton, parking – and leaving Aramis in the (open) car – was not a problem. As the weather was still quite hot, I even left the boot open. The sheepdog trial had been interrupted for a lunch break, so I took a look at the show first.
I made my way back to the sheepdog field and found Jackie straight away. This day’s run had not gone so well for her, but a few weeks back she qualified for the Internationals and gets to go to a very prestigious trial in Ireland in September. It was great seeing her and her first question was whether I had brought Aramis. ‘There’s a Working Sheepdog Beauty Contest coming up in a few minutes, you know,’ she said and I nodded and thought that this was a sweet idea, but that I would much rather see the dogs work. ‘You’re in it!’ she said, upon which I replied ‘I don’t think so.’ ‘Oh yes, you are,’ she insisted, ‘I put your name down – now go and get Aramis, quick!’
The competitors had already formed a circle around two ladies. The first of them was the judge whereas the other was the steward. I could not quite believe that this was happening, but then I thought that nobody knew me here anyway. Except of Jackie, of course, in front of whom I had already made a fool of myself plenty of times though. I had nothing to lose and so I ran as fast as I could to get Aramis out of the car. He was happily snoozing when I got to him, but was up in no time and ready to join me as soon as he felt my excitement.
I ran back and just got back in time to get in line with everybody else. Despite the surprised looks of the handlers around me, wondering where this stranger had come from, nobody could possibly have been more astonished than I was. On top of this, Aramis and I stuck out: I was not dressed for farm work and Aramis was the only dog in the competition who was not black and white.
As soon as I had positioned Aramis and myself in the circle, one of the handlers observing the competition said, ‘That’s a Welsh Sheepdog, innit?’ The fact that it sounded more like a conclusion rather than a surprise, confirmed that I was surrounded by people who were truly knowledgeable about dogs and could tell the difference between the two breeds. You may have noticed, by the way, that I refer to Working Sheepdogs, rather than Border Collies. Working Sheepdogs are working Border Collies. Nobody would call their sheepdog a Border Collie around here though, as the term is used to describe show, rather than working dogs.
I have found that, sometimes, Working Sheepdog owners tend to look down on anything that is not a Working Sheepdog. Nothing of the sort was to be felt here: people did ask whether he was any good with sheep, but I never got the impression that it could possibly have been anything other than a genuine question. My sheepdog trainer did her best to confirm that Aramis is a skilled worker and that he has all the right instincts. More than once did I hear people say: ‘If Jackie thinks he’s good, he really must be.’
Aramis was very excited: so many people, so many other dogs and… sheep! I was so busy keeping him quiet that I could not believe when, after a short period of contemplation, the judge came towards us and awarded Aramis first prize! We received a beautiful red ribbon, a prize, a 15kg bag of dry kibble and a huge, silver cup!
The cup will be passed on to next year’s winner, so I will have to leave it here in England. Both our names will be engraved on it, however, and immortalise our terrific achievement of… just showing up.
To calm down and enjoy our (not particularly well-deserved) victory, I watched some of the trial. The sheep were very difficult and flighty, not prepared to stick together when put under too much pressure. It took a lot of skill (and luck!) to manage them.
I still cannot quite believe the incredible amount of good humour, with which this community took the win of a girl with her dog who were no locals and who had just come running up (quite literally). The sheepdog handlers were extremely friendly and interested in Aramis and I spent a good one and a half hours answering questions, asking some myself and just generally chatting to people I had never seen before in my life.
I met a couple with whom I sat and watched the trial for quite a while. I made friends with them and we promised to stay in touch. In the evening, I received a message from them, saying that they had really enjoyed meeting me. The feeling is absolutely mutual. Meeting all these lovely people, being welcomed with so much warmth and being met with so much interest just made it perfect.
Then I found the tent where the most incredible competitions were held. Some of them were too good to be true, but see for yourselves:
Before so many ‘Best in Shows’ started putting Aramis’ own ‘Best Working Sheepdog in Show’ title in perspective, I left the tent and had a look at some of the stalls. As a reward for his achievement, I bought Aramis a giant Tweed dog bed.
I found a little Working Cocker Spaniel. I am in love with this breed and they are very strong contestants for a potential second dog. They can be quite a bit smaller than the show type, have none of their exaggerations (look at those clean eyes and very moderate ears!) and have excellent work attitude. A true working dog, but in a very small package.
There was also a dog race, in which mostly terriers chased after a lure. The determined little chap below was one of the winners and just would not let go of the short piece of rabbit skin used as a lure.
What followed in the main ring was the fancy dress competition. There was, in fact, a difference between the ‘Mounted Fancy Dress Competition’ and the ‘Fancy Dress Competition on Foot.’
In the ‘Fur and Feather’ section, where small animals were kept and exhibited, I felt sorry for the poor beasts sitting in bare and very small cages all day, not being able to hide.
The day ended with the Derwent Hunt Foxhounds, a pack established in 1808. Note the rough (or ‘broken’) coated dogs in the pack. Apologies for the flood of pictures – I just could not get enough of them!
Afterwards I drove over to Jackie’s farm, where she had kindly invited me to spend the night. There was another visitor staying with a Boxer, and we soon made friends. Jackie cooked dinner for us and we had a lovely chat. Later on, I also met Bob, her partner, and a very skilled handler and sheep farmer. We spent a wonderful evening together, talking about the show, dogs and working sheep.
Jackie insisted that I take the cup into my room overnight. It proudly stands on the desk, illuminated by the bedside lamp and throws an almost gargantuan shadow on the opposite wall. Aramis has gone to sleep, very much oblivious to his smashing victory and the impression he made on many people today.
The Adventures of Aramis 