Herd mentality — Sheepdog competition is next weekend at Soldier Hollow

Six or seven years ago, Karen Stanley and Donna Eliason went to watch some sheepdog trials in Meeker, Colo. "We fell in love with it. We walked away totally committed," says Stanley.

She came right home and bought a trained dog, Nan. "She taught me everything I know. Now I'm working with Meg, the first dog I've trained myself."

Working the dogs in competition, she says, "is about 50 percent dog and 50 percent handler. If you have a good dog, but your timing is off or your ability to read stock is off, you're not going to get it. The flip side's true, too."

As long as there have been domesticated sheep, there have been dogs to help herd them. And as as long as there have been sheepdogs, there have been bragging rights over who has the best one.

Formal competitions testing the skills of sheepdogs started in Great Britain more than 125 years ago. Within 20 years or so, the events had gone international, making their way to the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Five years ago, they came to Utah, and already the Soldier Hollow Classic has emerged as the premiere sheepdog championship in the world, says Mark Petersen, director and founder of the event. In 2005, the International Sheepdog News, published in Bedford, England, called it "the foremost trial in the world."

"With Soldier Hollow providing the perfect venue, the level of competition, and a purse at over $20,000, we are expecting this year to be even larger than years past," says Petersen.

The Soldier Hollow Classic will take place this weekend, with events beginning today and with the finals on Monday. It has become the largest annual sheepdog trial in the world. Competitors are expected from Scotland, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, South Africa, Canada and the United States.

And Stanley and Eliason will be among them, as will a number of other local competitors. Petersen is excited that the sport is growing locally and pleased at the quality of competition here. And what's also fun, he says, is that there are now two competitions. The traditional hillside event is still only open to Border collies, but arena trials allow other dogs with herding instincts to compete.

New last year, and continuing this year, are competitions featuring duck-herding. Ducks make it possible for more urban dog owners to get involved, he says. "Ducks have the same flock instinct as sheep. If we used chickens, they'd go every which way. But dogs can round up ducks and herd them into the pens just as they do with sheep. The ducks are a fun addition to the competition."