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TRIAL CHECK
LIST |
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1. Field or Arena 2. Sheep – Donated or Rented – enough so that sheep do not have to be run more than once, each entry should have fresh sheep 3. 6 panels – for drive, cross drive and fetch, 9x6 pen, handlers post, drop off posts, shedding ring 4. Trucks and trailers 5. Exhaust pen out of sight of the dogs or an exhaust trailer 6. Water and feed for sheep 7. Judge (see Judges list) – meals provided, lodging may be required 8. Judge’s booth, preferably covered – chairs and tables 9. Clerks (two is best) – meals provided 10. Score sheets, pencils, pens, stop watch and calculator 11. Large score sheet/board for posting results and running orders – marking pens 12. Programs 13. Volunteers for releasing and setting sheep, experienced handlers usually help out with this 14. Refreshments for volunteers (water, pop) 15. Dog baths if weather is expected to be warm 16. Cheques for payouts (with envelopes) 17. Prizes (optional) 18. Concession 19. Bathrooms, out house or portapotties 20. Advertising – must be done 45 days before trial 21. Garbage cans 22. Fence between spectators and the trial field, should be easy to see through 23. Road signs/markers – directing spectators and competitors to trial field 24. Radios 25. Tent 26. PA system 27. Spectator seating 28. Notice to Trial Director – details of the trial including starting time, date, judge, type of course and payout 29. Sanctioning fees 30. Results sent to Trial Director within two weeks after trial 31. Signed waiver forms – contestants to sign before the runs are done. These forms are to be sent to the ASDA Secretary/Treasurer |
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1. Current ASDA members will have their trial sanctioned versus a non-member if the two trials occur on the same day. 2. Applications for a trial must be received by the ASDA Trial Chairperson no later than 60 days prior to the intended trial. The ASDA Trial Chairperson will send notice of acceptance within 7 days. |
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TRIAL DATES |
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1. It is strongly recommended to send in a trial application by Dec. 31st. Approved trials will have their dates displayed on the ASDA website. 2. Trial organizers are responsible for contacting the ASDA Newsletter for advertising their dates. 3. If no ASDA Newsletter is available for advertising, or if an intended date for a trial is unable to be published, the ASDA will send out notices of the intended trial up to 45 days prior to the trial. 4. No two ASDA sanctioned trials will be held on the same date. Established trials will have their dates held up to 30 days prior to the trial anniversary. If trial organizers decide not to hold a trial in the following year, other trial organizers may apply for the same date. 5. It is strongly suggested that ASDA sanctioned trials are not held on the same dates as SSDA and BCSDA trials. The ASDA Trial Chairperson will contact the SSDA and BCSDA of approved ASDA sanctioned trials. 6. Points will be accumulated from sanctioned trials for the year-end finals. |
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JUDGES |
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Any ASDA approved sanctioned judge is allowed to judge at an ASDA sanctioned trial. 1.
Percy Cowan, 2.
Ron Gale, 3.
Diana Gauthier, 4.
Dennis Gillings, 5.
Scott Glen, New 6.
Peter Gonnet, 7.
Elvin Kopp, 8.
Denis Nagel, 9.
Darren Pavan, 10. Ken
Price, 11. Jack Reiger, Leader, SK (306) 967-2814 12. Milton
Scott, 13. Earl
Sorenson, 14. Richard Tipton, Lone Pine, AB (780) 584-2458 15. Brian Waddel, Alder Flats, AB (780) 388-2159 16. Shawn
Wells, 17. Stormy
Winters, 18. Ken
MacKenzie, 19. Thad
Buckler, 20. Ian
Zoerb, 21. Michael Jennings, Condor, AB (403) 729-2115 22. George
Stambulic, 23. Randy
Dye, 24. Norm
Close, 25. Grant
Musgrove, 26. Brian
Douthwaite, |
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Sanctioning Fees |
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1. A sanctioning fee of $3.00/dog/run is to be submitted to the ASDA within 4 weeks of the trial. Failure to do so will forfeit the trial dates for the following year, and also prevent any future sanctioning. The fees are to be sent to the ASDA Secretary/Treasurer. Suggested Entry Fees (a) Novice - $15.00 - $20.00/dog/run (b) Intermediate - $20.00 - $30.00/dog/run (c) Pro-Novice - $30.00 - $50.00/dog/run (d) Open - $40.00 - $60.00/dog/run It is strongly suggested that for the Novice and Intermediate classes ribbons (to 6th place) be awarded to the handlers. Suggested payouts (after expenses) 50% / 30% / 20% or 40% / 30% / 20% / 10% |
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CLASSES OFFERED |
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1. It is strongly advised that all classes be offered at an ASDA trial. 2. Junior/4-H classes should be offered at all sanctioned trials. These are to be run within the Novice class. The sanctioning fee will be waived for these classes. The entry fee should be nominal, and left to the discretion of the trial organizer. The ASDA will supply ribbons for the Junior/4-H contestants. Please order the ribbons 4 weeks in advance. |
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INSURANCE FORM |
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Waiver forms must be completed by all participants – failure to do so will void any insurance coverage that is provided from the club. Trial Name _________________________________ Date ______________________ Waiver Form Trial organizers, the Alberta Stock Dog Association and its members, and other contributors of the above trial are not accountable for any injury that may occur to a handler and/or stockdog cause by another dog or individual during the above trial. Date
________________________
Signature
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SHEEP |
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The most important facet of any trial are the sheep. Their handling, care during the trial, management in the set out and exhaust pen will make or break the success of many runs. Availability of sheep is often a challenge, especially for trial managers in the eastern part of the country. If sheep numbers are limited it is often the case that the sheep need to be re-run several times during the day in order to accommodate all the dogs entered. There are limits to the number of times a sheep can be used in a trial. This will be dictated by many factors including: temperature, length of the outrun and of course condition of the sheep (dry ewes being more durable than lambs or recently weaned sheep). There is the conception that hair sheep and lighter breeds are more capable of running several times during a day. This is only true to a point. Extreme heat, large courses are just as tiring for fast moving “light” hair sheep as they are to heavy wool breeds. It is recommended that any sheep not run more than 3 times during a single day. |
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SET OUT |
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Dog trialing is a sport full of “luck of the draw” situations so it falls to the trial manager to try, as best he/she can, to level the playing field; to try to reduce the variations in draw, to make the groups of sheep as uniform as possible. The care sheep receive in the set out and exhaust pen is paramount. There are many possible designs for a set out system. Topography, available equipment, visibility from the post, ease of sheep movement and set out and available help will all influence the location and design. The ideal set out has a couple of pens to hold the waiting sheep, a pen large enough to hold 3 or 4 runs worth of sheep followed by 2 pens in series, large enough to hold a run each. There will be shade, water and hay feeders available. If the pens are designed well then one person will be able to sort and release sheep to the set out person efficiently. Properly designed pens do NOT require a dog to move sheep through them. If the set out post is close enough then often one person can do all the work at the top. The location of the set out post varies between classes and should be far enough from the holding pens to eliminate the draw back to the sheep in the pen. If topography allows it is beneficial to have the set out post out of sight from the holding pen. There should also be a reject/injured/return pen at the set out and exhaust. This will be used for sheep that break back to the set out during the run or at set out, for injured sheep or for sheep that are identified as unfit during the trial. It saves sorting these sheep out continuously during the trial, facilitates treatment, avoids accidentally using sheep that should not be run. Any sheep abused by a dog during the trial should not be run again regardless of whether it shows obvious injury or not. Sheep chased, run off the field, crashed into fences, gripped and knocked down all constitute abuse. Hay and water should be provided. If a sufficient number of sheep are available to run the entire day with fresh sheep for each run then the sheep should be split and the afternoons sheep not brought to the set out until the middle of the day. This means that no sheep will be held in the set out all day waiting to run. In the event that sheep are set from a stock trailer then they should have a sufficient area in which to rest and feed between runs. The set out itself is often a major determining factor in the success of a run. Sheep must be handled in a calm workman-like way both in the pens and during the set out. Sheep that are roughed up, crowded, abused by a dog in the pens, mishandled to load into the chutes and then fought with on their way to the set out post are not “winning sheep” for the handler standing at the post. Set out help is often selected from the handlers attendant. A good rule of thumb is to limit the dog handlers at the top to experienced handlers and dogs. The opportunity to set sheep is NOT a venue for training or to take the edge off a “hot” dog. While Novice handlers are often keen to set sheep at a trial it is not always conducive to have inexperienced help in this job. Rather, have the less experienced volunteers work in the pen, sorting and loading sheep WITHOUT a dog. Given proper guidance and support it is a much better way to use help and to aid in the education of the less experienced handlers. Likewise a crew of kids in the set out pen may seem like a cheap option but is often disastrous to the well being of the sheep. Less is more when it comes to help at the top and properly designed pens and some ground rules as to how the job will be done are necessary to have the job go well and the help stay happy. Some trials have enough budget to hire set out crews. Regardless if they are paid or volunteer be sure to keep them well fed and watered, provide water for dogs and horses and to keep in contact with radios. Several good radios and plenty of batteries are a must. |
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EXHAUST |
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Exhaust pens must consider many of the same details as the set out. Water and hay for sheep, room to rest, multiple pens to avoid re-running sheep too soon. The sheep in the exhaust should not be visible from the field. Cheap plastic snow fencing is a popular choice to reduce visibility. The entrance to the exhaust should be designed as to facilitate removal of sheep from the field quickly. Often a separate gate for the handler and dog is included. Plenty of fresh water for the dogs and sheep is a must. If possible sheep should be given the maximum amount of time to rest between runs. This often is best served by having multiple pens in the exhaust area. Sheep may then be held separately during the running so that the earlier run sheep re-run first, giving the later run sheep time to rest and recover. |
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OTHER
CONSIDERATIONS |
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Water may be provided on the course for competing dogs if humidity, temperature, elevation or a combination of conditions apply. Handlers may send the competing dog to water at their discretion with no loss of points. Time will not be stopped. The judge may call a run, with points held to that point, if they deem the dog or sheep are in distress. Have plenty of marking crayons or spray at both ends of the field. Have a basic first aid kit. On call vet in the local area. Protocol for dealing with injured sheep. |
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