The Stock Show, Mutton Bustin', and Sheep Dog Trials

The last weekend in January through the first weekend in February is the Black Hills Stock Show. It's the biggest thing in Rapid City every year with the exception of the Sturgis motercycle rally. For a week ranchers and other interested people come from all over the region to check out the latest and greatest in ranching. There are lots of fun things to do over that week from rodeo, to bull riding, to sheep dog trials, to sales/shows of cows, bulls, steers, and horses, an animal nursery, to mutton bustin', to a giant trade show, to the Cowboy Bar, to....

This year the kids, my friend Denise, and I decided to check out the sheepdog trials. The first event has nothing to do with dogs but more the sheep. Kids from ages four to seven took turns trying out mutton bustin' (riding a sheep like it was a buckin' bull). I had thought about seeing if Evan would want to try it but hadn't followed up on the thought and gotten him registered. He loved watching it and can't wait to try it. Since the rodeo in August he has decided he's going to be a cowboy when he growns up and now he wants to practice by riding sheep. It's a "kid rodoe" according to him. All three of the kids thought it was just great to watch. The second picture shows one contenstent about Evan's age and size. We might just have to find some mutton bustin' in WI or come back for a visit next year about this time.

For Denise and I the highlight of the night was the actual timed trials. They were amazing. These dogs are highly intelligent and highly trained. They have to start in the chalk cricle on one end of the arena (pic. #4) while the sheep are released from the pen at the other end. They then race to the sheep and, following voice or whistle commands from their trainer, get the sheep to make a figure 8 around the barrels (pic. #3). Next they have to get the sheep to pass through the funnel gate and go into the pen that the trainer closes. The fastest time we saw that night was 1:18. By the end of the night the kids were getting restless but it was fun and I'm glad we took th time to go when we had the chance.