French Herding: the real thing
I’m sure some of us have had the experience of driving in rural Europe to be stopped suddenly by a flock of sheep being herded across or along a road. Herding trials in France require the shepherd and dog to demonstrate herding that approximates such real life conditions — unlike the Scottish tradition (dominant in the United States) where the trials involve the dog herding five sheep in an enclosed area. On Saturday I had the opportunity to see a rather rare French herding trial here in southern California.
The trial required a dog to herd a flock of sixty sheep out of a pen into a large enclosed field, over a bridge, through a gate onto a road, through a second gate out into the open, where the sheep were herded onto a small grazing area near a crossroads, to hold them there for a specified time, and then herd the flock back to the original pen passing a moving car on the way.
Curiously, in an activity (five sheep herding) dominated by Border Collies, there was only one Border Collie in action. The upside was the presence of European breeds not seen as often in regular trials: a Tervuren (a beautiful brown and black longhaired Belgian dog), an uncommon sable (black overcoated) German Shepherd, a golden Briard, a marvelous ten year old black Australian Shepherd, a Belgian Sheepdog, and an Australian Kelpie. The photographs in the gallery show the herding dogs in that order — with the exception, alas, of the Kelpie, who I missed.
2 years ago • 0 notes