The National Sheepdog Finals.are Sept. 20-25 in Carson Valley. Photo special to The R-C
The best border collies in North America will be coming to Gardnerville, Nevada on Sept. 20-25 to compete in the 2022 National Sheepdog Finals.
These top dogs will be arriving in Nevada from all over the United States and Canada to battle for the title of National Sheepdog Champion.
There will also be a competition for the National Nursery Champion, for dogs 3 years and under.
All year long, handlers and their dogs travel all over the United States, participating in numerous trials, hoping to accumulate enough points to qualify to be one of the top 150 teams to compete in their ultimate challenge of the year, the National Sheepdog Finals.
This competition is sponsored by the United States Border Collie Handlers’ Association, American Border Collie Association and Purina.
The event is hosted by the local USBCHA & Northern Nevada Finals Committee, in conjunction with Borda Family Ranch and Bently Ranch.
The National Sheepdog Finals are rotated around the United States each year (one year on the east coast, the next year in the middle U.S., and the next year on the west coast). This is the very first time that Nevada will host the finals; it is a huge honor for Gardnerville and for Nevada to have the opportunity to showcase the best working dogs in North America.
The National Finals will be held on a 900-acre field owned by Bently Ranch between Highway 88 and the Sierra foothills.
The sheep for the event will be supplied by Borda Family Ranch. Their purebred Merino yearlings will provide a test for the border collies.
Border collies are widely considered the finest stock dogs in the world, whether herding sheep or cattle.
The finals showcase the abilities for which these dogs were bred.
A sheepdog trial is designed to test a border collie’s intelligence, training and instinct, by duplicating various tasks that a herding dog would do in farm or ranch work.
The trial course begins with the dog leaving the handler’s side, casting out around the field to gather a small group of sheep that are approximately 400 yards away. The dog brings the sheep back to the handler.
The dog takes the sheep around the handler and then promptly drives the sheep away from the handler through a series of obstacles. When the dog eventually returns the sheep to the handler, the team is required to separate the and then put the sheep into a pen.
The majority of the commands are communicated through various whistle sounds; the dogs are also directed with voice. The relationship between the handler and their dog is a result of training, coupled with communication which is perfected after hours and hours and hours of practicing.
From Sept. 20-23, there will be qualifying runs for each team entered in the National Finals. the Semi-Finals competition will be Sept. 24 and the finals are Sept. 25.
As well as seeing first class sheepdogs and sheepdog handling, there will also be a large trade show and food vendors for spectators. For more information on this event, visit https://www.sheepdogfinals.org
