MEEKER | In just a few short weeks, from Sept. 6-10, the 36th annual Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trials will commence, and once again little ol’ Meeker will fill up with visitors excited to belong to our small community if only for a few days. This is an international, world class event, organized by a 15-member volunteer board, and supported by over 375 additional volunteers, in a community boasting a population of only 2,336. While most of these visitors hail from Northwestern Colorado, the Colorado River Basin, and Colorado’s Front Range, spectators from all over the United States, Canada and across the pond can be found in the White River Valley during this event. Over the years competitors from South Africa, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Denmark have tested their skills at Ute Park.
For the last 35 years Meeker has hosted the Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trials (The Classic) at Ute Park. The Classic is incredibly unique to our small community and brings around 10,000 spectators to town every year, filling the hotels, RV parks, campsites, and of course Ute Park. Besides the sheepdog trial itself, you can enjoy the Jammin’ Lamb Festival (a culinary and cultural event), the International Art Show, educational outreach programs, vending and craft fair, food vendors, and artisan demonstrations (spinning, weaving, pottery, painting and leatherworking).
Beginning on Sept. 6, 135 dogs and their handlers will attempt to “fetch” the notorious “Meeker sheep” (we’ll explain that in a minute) quietly and safely through a set of obstacles in the preliminaries. On day four, Sept. 9, only 30 dogs will advance to the semi-finals. During the finals on Sunday, Sept. 11, only 12 dogs and their handlers will remain.
This is truly an incredible demonstration of a dog and handler’s working skills, the same skills they use on the farm or ranch. Throughout the trials, commentary explains to spectators exactly what is going on between the handler, their dog and those sheep. Many spectators leave with a new understanding and profound awe for the sport and the bond an agricultural way of life promotes between man and animal. You will learn how gentle yet intense a border collie can be, how the competition is judged and scored, and certainly just how stubborn a Meeker sheep is.
“If you win at Meeker, you’ve really won,” said Jack Knox, winner of the 1989 Meeker Classic and one of the country’s top trialers, on the subject of just how tough these sheep are to work. Tom Wilson of Gordonsville, Virginia, shares Knox’s feelings on the sheepdog trials and how Meeker has fit into them. “I always knew what I wanted to do and have never regretted working with sheep and dogs, I have met some wonderful and honest people and have seen some great dogs in my lifetime. Traveling to dog trials is just the icing on the cake. I love the trials in the West with their wild-range sheep. They seem to bring out the worst and the best in the dogs that is great to watch. Meeker ranks right up there with the best.”
The Meeker sheep are supplied by the Campbell Hansmire Sheep Operation, run by Julie Hansmire and her children. “They’re no pampered farm flock, these gals know how to fend for themselves. “We don’t feed our ewes,” says Hansmire. “They’re good range ewes and they’ll really search for feed.” This means the sheep at the Meeker Classic earned every stubborn bit of sass they give the dogs and their handlers in that field. In fact, a trending new bit of terminology has originated through these trials, Mee-kered (“mee-kerd”) v.i. [American slang, origin-Meeker Classic Championship Sheepdog Trials]. 1. to be thwarted in the attempt to drive sheep, the consequence being to receive a low score or be disqualified. 2. to be outmaneuvered by a packet of sheep.
Truly though, the most beautiful takeaway about these trials for both handlers, spectators, and volunteers, is the amount of respect and love the handlers have for their four-legged partners.
“It’s just amazing the special people we have met and the places we’ve been all because of a talented little border collie dog,” Jean Gellings, Dawson Creek, BC Canada
Here in Colorado, most of us really like a good dog, but there is a special week at the beginning of September every year in little ol’ Meeker town, when a good dog can fill a community to bursting, and win a championship. If you would love to learn more about the Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trials visit meekersheepdog.com.
“Having lived almost all the living moments of the Meeker Classic I stand and salute the people that continue to work so diligently and unendingly to keep its presence and magic in Meeker. Originally created for the sake of assisting a sickly economy it has taken on additional character and prestige. It is now an institution, known worldwide for a showcase of a small town providing one of Mother Nature’s dramas — the drama of the wolf and the lamb as protagonists on stage in Mother Nature’s simplest but most everlasting settings—the peace and hospitality of the White River Meeker.”
~ Gus Halandras, Meeker
