The increasing numbers of Juniors participating in the various companion dog sports has become exciting to those of us who watch from afar (translate that to ‘old folks’). However, many Juniors who own breeds eligible to participate in the various Performance sports are missing out on a great way to challenge yourself and enjoy watching your dog do what he was bred to do. Some of the performance events are not easy. Herding is not easy to do, and it’s not easy to find a trainer and/or a mentor to help. There’s a long learning curve for both you and your dog, and success and titles aren’t necessarily just around the corner. That’s what makes it a challenge—it’s not easy, and not everyone can do it—and maybe that’s part of what makes it worth doing.

At the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club’s National Specialty herding trials, we make sure that there are trophies for the Highest Scoring Junior Handler each year. Then we pack them up. This year I’ve ordered big rosettes and a large bath towel embroidered with a Corgi herding motif and High Scoring Junior for the Saturday trial, and a nice piece of our engraved pewter for our Sunday trial, and I’m getting tired of packing them up.You need to get out into the herding arena with us and win them!

Our trials this year are near Athens, Georgia, on Saturday Nov. 8 and Sunday Nov. 9, 2008 and are for Pembroke Welsh Corgis only. We’ll trial on ducks, sheep and cattle, and have test classes on sheep. As the trial chairman, I’ll have work for everyone willing to help out, and there will be plenty of food, plenty of accomplished, friendly mentors who would love to help an interested newcomer, and plenty of action! We cheer on the unsuccessful runs as well as the successful ones, and we’re quick to laugh at ourselves and lend a helping hand or encouraging word to others. We’re also dressed in jeans and have every conceivable kind of foul weather gear made in our vehicles—we’re definitely not fancy or fair weather kinds of folks. Sound like your kind of place? Plan to join us, plan to join in, and plan to have a great time discovering what this sport is all about. And then plan to start working with your herding breed or herding-eligible breed and join the sport—I’ve herd you’ll have a great time!