The Trailing of the Sheep Festival is happening through Sunday in Sun Valley. The popular fall festival features a variety of events, including the Sheepdog Trials.
"The Sheepdog Trials are trying to duplicate what natural working conditions would be on a farm or a ranch," Sandra Milberg, a longtime handler from Santa Rosa, California, said. "Our dogs are bred for herding.”
Check out the video to see the border collies herd the sheep —
Border collies herding sheep dates back 200 to 300 years, when the Scots used the dogs for silent gatherings across the English borderlands.
"There is an old story that the English weren't very nice to the Scottish," Milberg said. "So, the Scottish people would come into the night and gather the sheep and steal them."
The competition works like this: It starts with outrun, lift, and fetch. A dog circles the sheep, who wait at a starting point. The lift happens when a dog approaches, then the dog attempts to push the sheep in a straight line through the gates back towards the handler during the fetch.
"We want them to come down in a business-like manner, and we want them to come straight through those panels," Milberg said.
However, the sheep were up in the mountains grazing all summer, and they didn't cooperate easily. The sheep are notorious for going around gates as the dogs get them into position, only to see the sheep run around the panels.
The rest of the competition involves getting the sheep to circle the handler, driving them back through more gates, separating two of the five sheep after reaching a circle, and trying to get the sheep in a pen.
We didn't see any of the handlers or the dogs achieve this before the time ran out, but as the competition continues, the sheep get used to the obstacle course, and the scores will likely improve.
"If you miss panels, the judges are deducting," Milberg said. "If you are wandering all over the field, even if you make the panels, you are losing points."
During the Trials, the sheep are put in a pen, then brought out to the starting position five at a time. Once the sheep do their run, they join up with the flock on the other side, so they only have to do the course once.
Meanwhile, the dogs have buckets of water to help cool them off.
You can watch the remaining Trials as they run through Sunday, and if you do, make sure you bring a lawn chair to sit in. Coolers are not permitted, but there is food and a fair for families to enjoy.
It's just one of many events at the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, which culminates with the Big Sheep Parade through downtown Ketchum. It's living history as sheepherders will take the flock from the high country to lower elevations for the winter.
"It’s gorgeous here and they have good food," Milberg said. "It is a beautiful field. The sheep are a little harder than normal, but it is still fun and so good to see everybody."
