Meeker

Three major border collie competitions on slate for next month

Following the Scottish piper around Meeker Classic grounds is just one of many activities set aside for the kids at the event. There will be several educational sessions on border collies and dog trialing as well as saddle making, art, pottery demonstrations, wool spinning and Navajo storytelling and traditions.
Following the Scottish piper around Meeker Classic grounds is just one of many activities set aside for the kids at the event. There will be several educational sessions on border collies and dog trialing as well as saddle making, art, pottery demonstrations, wool spinning and Navajo storytelling and traditions.
MEEKER I The route from the Heber Valley, Utah, through Meeker to Carbondale will go to the dogs from Labor Day through mid-September. Border collies, that is, doing their stuff at three top-notch sheepherding events.

The Soldier Hollow Classic in Park City occurs over Labor Day weekend, followed by the 30th Annual Meeker Classic Sheepdog Championship Trial in Meeker, Sept. 7-11. The 2015-16 U.S. Border Collie Handlers Association (USBCHA) National Finals, held every third year in the West, will take place Sept. 9-13 at the Strang Ranch in Carbondale.
Most spectators—a few dozen at Carbondale, several hundred at Meeker, 30,000 in Utah—will note similarities among the trials, although the venues vary from mowed pasture in Carbondale to uneven rough pasture in Meeker to a hillside with trees in Utah. The sheep, too, are probably flighty yearling ewes just in from remote pastures. Fresh sheep are used for all preliminary runs at Meeker and the national finals.
USBCHA guidelines for work and course layout, patterned after those of England’s 120-year-old International Sheepdog Society, are strictly enforced at Meeker and generally followed at Soldier Hollow.
The work performed for preliminary runs at each trial replicates skills needed on a working sheep operation. The first half of the course highlights the border collie’s unique ability to run out to find the sheep and lift and fetch the sheep to the handler. The second, the drive, shed and pen, illustrates the communication and teamwork necessary for efficient stock handling.
The USBCHA-compliant course layout at Carbondale and Meeker and comparable one at Soldier Hollow will also be familiar. The set-out post and the handler’s post are from 400 to 900 yards apart, and the fetch panels, set in the center of the course between them, must be 200 yards from the handler’s post.
The two sets of gates of the triangular drive course must be 150 yards from the handler’s post, and the combined distance of the fetch and drive should be no less than 850 yards. The shed ring is 40 yards in diameter, and the pen 9 feet by 8 feet with the gate on an eight-foot side secured by a six-foot rope.
The major difference between Soldier Hollow and the Meeker Classic, a critical difference in the sheepdog world, is that Soldier Hollow is an “invitational” trial and the Meeker Classic is a USBCHA “sanctioned” open trial.
Soldier Hollow “invites” 60 dog/handler teams to enter (and pay the fee) based on their prior performance in selected trials. For example, the top two from the prior year’s Meeker Classic are invited.
The USBCHA rules allow anyone to enter and require all trial entries to be accepted, though the total number of randomly chosen competitors is limited.
The USBCHA, formed in 1979 to ensure the preservation of the Border Collie as a working stock dog, sanctions two classes of sheepdog trials throughout the United States and Canada, one of which is the “Open” for experienced dogs and handlers. The three days of preliminary run at Meeker constitute an open trial.
The top 20 percent of all dogs at a sanctioned open trial earn USBCHA qualifying points, and the top 150 qualifying dogs may compete at the national finals. For the dog to earn points, the handler must be a USBCHA member and, regardless of residence, must have competed in a USBCHA-sanctioned trial in the past two years.
Meeker will host 140 competitors this year, as opposed to the 60 or so at most open trials. The winner of the open portion of the Meeker Classic will earn 28 points (20 percent of 140). The runner-up will earn 27, on through the 27th team, which earns one point.
Twenty-six of the 109 points held by current top-ranking Amanda Milliken and Howell were acquired by winning the 2015 Meeker Classic. This high number of points is a major draw for competitors and enhances the excitement for handler and spectator alike.
Semi-finals at Meeker and the national finals feature the top 30 and 40 preliminary competitors, respectively, and championship runs will feature the top 12 semi-finalists at Meeker, the top 17 semi-finalists at nationals and the top five from each day of preliminaries at Soldier Hollow.
All three final runs will involve a double lift—fetching two separate bands of sheep. Meeker and the national finals require the difficult international shed. Soldier Hollows eases the shed requirements. The pen concludes the run.
The preliminaries culminate in the championship runs at Soldier Hollow and the national finals, with the winners sharing $30,000 and $40,000 in purse, respectively. The semi-finals and finals at Meeker are a trial separate from the open.
Winners share a $20,000 purse, and competitors over all five days have a shot at winning another $10,000 in special prize money.
Meeker is special in other ways as well.
As veteran trialer, Bud Boudreau puts it, “A win at the finals assures prestige and money. A win at Meeker also assures the possibly of retiring on stud fees and puppies.”

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  • Results are not guaranteed, unfortunately! Read all the Rio Happenings in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
  • Pictured with awards from the Triple Crown Series (#3 and #4) from bottom left Hudson Hummel (4th and 2nd), Lee Kirkpatrick (3rd and 4th), Heath Bennet (2nd and 2nd), Sawyer Hummel (1st and 3rd), Eli Bennet (1st), David Murray (Coach), Auri Murray (2nd and 1st), Taylor Bain, and Dawn Arnold (2nd). Story online at ht1885.com.
  • Bailey is our first Marketing Mixology partner and we are excited to help her promote this fun event along with the Meeker Colorado Chamber of Commerce!

Bailey and Real Estate West will host the second annual Easter Egg Hunt March 25th-29th. Go follow her page so you don't miss any clues!
@bailey_waldref_rew 

💚💚💚

Marketing Mixology is a FREE promotion where we spotlight one lucky local business across print, digital, and social channels each month! 

#locallove #locallovespotlight #lovemeeker #marketingmixology #shoplocal #superchargeyourmarketing
  • More freudenfreude, less schadenfreude… Hear from our Editor in her column this week online at ht1885.com.
  • 🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Herald Times! 🍀 According to the Census Bureau, over 31 million people - or 9.5%! - in America claim Irish ancestry! Everyone have a safe and fun Patty's Day celebrating your Irishness, real or honorary!
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“For 50 years I’ve waited to see Meeker’s greens come out this nice,” said Jim Cook, who is returning to help at the course.” Hats off to Hunter and Matt Fellows who did an excellent job applying the snow mold preventative last fall which has made all the difference this year.”
Board members and volunteers are very hopeful that this will be a turnaround year for the local 9-hole course which plans an early April opening, weather permitting.
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Results are not guaranteed, unfortunately! Read all the Rio Happenings in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
Results are not guaranteed, unfortunately! Read all the Rio Happenings in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
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Pictured with awards from the Triple Crown Series (#3 and #4) from bottom left Hudson Hummel (4th and 2nd), Lee Kirkpatrick (3rd and 4th), Heath Bennet (2nd and 2nd), Sawyer Hummel (1st and 3rd), Eli Bennet (1st), David Murray (Coach), Auri Murray (2nd and 1st), Taylor Bain, and Dawn Arnold (2nd). Story online at ht1885.com.
Pictured with awards from the Triple Crown Series (#3 and #4) from bottom left Hudson Hummel (4th and 2nd), Lee Kirkpatrick (3rd and 4th), Heath Bennet (2nd and 2nd), Sawyer Hummel (1st and 3rd), Eli Bennet (1st), David Murray (Coach), Auri Murray (2nd and 1st), Taylor Bain, and Dawn Arnold (2nd). Story online at ht1885.com.
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@bailey_waldref_rew 

💚💚💚

Marketing Mixology is a FREE promotion where we spotlight one lucky local business across print, digital, and social channels each month! 

#locallove #locallovespotlight #lovemeeker #marketingmixology #shoplocal #superchargeyourmarketing
Bailey is our first Marketing Mixology partner and we are excited to help her promote this fun event along with the Meeker Colorado Chamber of Commerce! Bailey and Real Estate West will host the second annual Easter Egg Hunt March 25th-29th. Go follow her page so you don't miss any clues! @bailey_waldref_rew 💚💚💚 Marketing Mixology is a FREE promotion where we spotlight one lucky local business across print, digital, and social channels each month! #locallove #locallovespotlight #lovemeeker #marketingmixology #shoplocal #superchargeyourmarketing
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The Cowboys played in their first golf tournament in the spring at Chipeta, “it was a bit of a cloudy and windy day but it was awesome to see some grass and a golf course,” commented head coach Amanda Back. Vivian Brown, pictured on the left, broke 100 and shot a 94 and Jayda May second from right shot a 99. From the far right, excluding those that have been mentioned, Averee Woodward, Joelle Soler, Mia Pinzon, Aurora Stalling, and Kailynn Watson all played scramble. This was Pinzon’s, Stalling’s and Watson’s first tournament as Meeker High School girl golfers. “It’s going to be a great season,” ended Back.
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View on Instagram |
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Mountain Sage Therapeutics held a grand opening and ribbon cutting for their new business at 640 Main St. in Meeker. Owners Teresa Wilde and Justin Noller offer movement, energy, and massage therapy for animals and their human companions. They are pictured here with the Chamber of Commerce and local citizens who attended. View their service on their website at www.mountainsagetherapeutics.abmp.com and contact them for an appointment 970-706-8445.
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View on Instagram |
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“For 50 years I’ve waited to see Meeker’s greens come out this nice,” said Jim Cook, who is returning to help at the course.” Hats off to Hunter and Matt Fellows who did an excellent job applying the snow mold preventative last fall which has made all the difference this year.”
Board members and volunteers are very hopeful that this will be a turnaround year for the local 9-hole course which plans an early April opening, weather permitting.
Members of the Rio Blanco Golf Association got a jump on spring this past week as volunteers shoveled and blew the snow off the greens. The winter’s snow and ice layers suffocate the fragile bent grass putting surfaces and getting the snow off allows Mother Nature to start her healing process earlier. “For 50 years I’ve waited to see Meeker’s greens come out this nice,” said Jim Cook, who is returning to help at the course.” Hats off to Hunter and Matt Fellows who did an excellent job applying the snow mold preventative last fall which has made all the difference this year.” Board members and volunteers are very hopeful that this will be a turnaround year for the local 9-hole course which plans an early April opening, weather permitting.
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View on Instagram |
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The 2024 Colorado State Champions hosted their annual awards banquet Sunday. Head Coach JC Watt and Assistant Coach Carl Padilla commented on this year’s team’s success as a product of work in the room, dedication by wrestlers and coaches, and a champion mentality. Read the story online at ht1885.com.
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