As I head into trial season with my dogs, I couldn’t help but re-watch Welsh handler, Angie Driscoll’s run with Kinloch Sioux at a steep hill trial called Defaidty. Would I ever love to try this trial someday! Angie & Sioux placed 4th in 2014 and won in 2015!

It really is worth the watch - maybe over breakfast or lunch? Here in North America, we call this type of trial a double lift event - meaning the sheep are dropped off at a post (a white post in this video) and then the dog is asked to turn back to complete a second outrun and gather - hence the name "double lift".

Once both sets of sheep are brought together on the fetch, they are brought around the post and usually the handler and then move off to complete a drive. The drive ends in the shedding ring where an International shed (sort) is completed. The sheep wearing collars (usually 5) are sorted out from the rest and then penned.

The time for these types of courses is usually 25 -30 minutes.

I have to say, these are truly my favourite courses! Often, competitors qualify for the double lift finals after a couple days of running.

For me, having the opportunity to run these types of courses is really the icing on the cake! There are so many challenging nuances to the terrain, the turn back and shed. The dog also has to be really fit and capable. The handler needs to be detail orientated and focused!

I truly believe these courses really showcase the partnership and working ability of these dogs.

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