Cattle Dogs Trials held at fairgrounds

The Nuckolls County Fairgrounds went to the dogs Saturday and Sunday. Literally.

For the first time a sanctioned cattle dog trial was held in Nuckolls County. The event was organized by Superior area resident, Tony Jetensky.

Cattle dog trials are highly competitive events. Many of the handlers and their dogs follow a loosely organized circuit of trials. Prize money is awarded to the best dogs in certain classes.

The Nuckolls County trial attracted handlers and dogs from across the country. More than 40 handlers entered their dogs in different classes. There were handlers from Oregon, Texas, New Mexico, Missouri as well as Kansas and Nebraska.

The area near the main arena was filled with pickup trucks and trailers with local and out-of-state license plates.

The trials began with the open class. This is the class for experienced handlers and dogs. The class is open to handlers and dogs of all ages.

The dogs compete for points and time. The top 30 percent of dogs in a class earn points. There must be a minimum of four dogs for points to be awarded.

Each trial is conducted by the trial host and may not include all classes.

Nursery class is for dogs younger than 30 months at the beginning of the qualifying year (April 1). Open and nursery class dogs which earn points are able to transfer those points to a new owner. This is not the case in the intermediate class where the dog and handler are both awarded points. The dog may compete in any class except the open class.

The intermediate class is open to any handler not competing in the open class. There are no age restrictions on dogs in this class.

Handlers range in age from teens and twenties to the higher reaches of double digits.

Trials are conducted across the country. There are several sanctioning bodies.

The National Cattledog Association is the primary group. Their mission is to educate ranchers as to the value of using well-trained dogs for low-stress cattle handling. They offer assistance to ranchers in obtaining well-trained cattle dogs and how to utilize them. They also sanction and sponsor trials to develop and showcase the abilities of cattle dogs at all levels.

The association is divided into regions. Nebraska is part of the High Plains region along with Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. The south central region has Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Other regions are Canada with five provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitobia, Ontario and Saskatchewan represented. The south east region is represented by Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The west coast region is comprised of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The largest region is the north east with the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Some may be surprised by some of the eastern states, many have large cattle and dairy cow populations where the dogs earn their dog chow.

Each region conducts trials where members are able to compete.

The association holds a national trials championship each year. Champions and reserve champions are named in the following classes: open, nursery, intermediate, novice, open horseback, intermediate horseback and open rookie. Prize pay-outs at the national finals can be substantial.

The dogs are put through their paces by their handlers. The dogs work with three heads of cattle. The cattle for this trial were furnished by Jetensky.

The dogs herd the cattle through gates as well as in the open. They have six minutes to complete the course.

The handlers utilize whistles, voice or a combination of the two to relay their commands to the dogs. The whistles are the same type used by sports officials. They can also use their natural whistles. The handler must stay behind a barrier in the open class. In the other classes, the handlers are allowed certain degrees of freedom of movement as they work their dogs.

There are judges overseeing the course. They award points based on a number of criteria the dogs must exhibit. The next factor is time. The dogs have six minutes to finish the course.

The maximum number of points awarded at Saturday's open class competition was 180. If more than one dogs acquires 180 points, and several did, the time required to complete their tasks becomes the deciding factor.

The dogs can compete in more than one run.

The Nuckolls County trial is one of three in the Good Life series being held in central Nebraska. The majority of the handlers and their dogs will take part in all three. Upon completion of the three trials, the results will be compiled and prizes awarded. Some handlers will run more than one dog in the open class.

Many of the dogs work regularly on ranches. One handler mentioned that one of her dogs routinely moves up to 600 head of cattle by herself.

The working life for a cattle dog varies between eight and 12 years.

The dogs average between 40 to 50 pounds in weight.

The predominant breed at the trials were Border Collies. They are originally from the English-Scottish borderlands where they traditionally worked sheep.

They easily adapted to herding cattle as well. Border Collies come in the familiar black and white as well as tri-color and all black. They are highly intelligent and energetic dogs who are happiest when working.

Australian Kelpies are the other breed used for herding and share the same behavioral characteristics as border collies..

The dogs compete in different classes. The best of best enter the open class. Other classes are nursery, for young dogs. Novice for beginner dogs and handlers. The ranch class is a step above nursery and serves as a school for inexperienced dogs.

The novice class is limited to handlers who are not competing in the open or intermediate classes.

The majority of dogs competing in the trials are working dogs. Some handlers have dogs who are used exclusively for trials.

Some dogs are confined to outdoor quarters while others accompany their handlers everywhere, including the foot of the bed, once they have been trained to separate work from play.

This reporter failed to ask if any handler had attempted to herd cats.