At the 2005 National Specialty Tracking Test, two new TDs and one new TDX were earned:
Beau's L'il Bird Dawg, CD, TD owned by Beth Schofield of Louisville,
KY.
Sandfox Kipchoge, NA, OAJ, TD owned by Jane Glier of Indiana
Fairyfox Sanlynn Ti Joua, UDT, VCD-2, PT,OAP, OAJP, TDX owned by Ann Wallace
of North Carolina
Tracking Judge Terri Everwine's Comments:
PWCCA Tracking Test
I drove to Texas earlier this summer, and this past weekend took part of the
same route to arrive in St Louis to judge the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of
America National Specialty TD, TDX and VST tests. The contrast between my
drives three months apart revealed the true devastation the Midwest has
suffered due to drought. Mile after mile of dry brown fields seemed to go on
forever. Our tracking areas were not spared, and dry conditions at
Robertsville State Park and East Central College were exacerbated by
temperatures in the 90s under a blazing sun.
Carol Ruthenberg and I arrived Saturday to find a small but enthusiastic
crew waiting. Test chair Chris Robinette of Oregon had this test organized
down to a T and richly staffed with people from all over the country!
Raelene Gorlinsky of Ohio was chief tracklayer and a VST tracklayer as well.
These two did an awesome job all weekend keeping things moving and making
sure everyone was where they needed to be when they needed to be there. Our
first task was plotting 2 VST tracks at the college campus. A lovely site
with some steep elevation changes, it made for somewhat challenging
plotting, but the two tracks went in without difficulty.
Sunday morning dawned with the promise of more heat. By the time our two VST
entries were ready to run, temperatures were getting unpleasant, but a light
breeze was blowing. First up was a Weimaraner, starting nicely uphill and
then turning toward a large building with a concrete patio on two sides.
Reaching the patio a few yards downwind, the dog located the first article
easily. The next turn took the team across the front of the building, a
little too far. The team was past the corner and after considerable
searching, the dog took the stairs down off the corner of the building. We
thought he might recover as the stairs were not far from the track's actual
path, but it was not to be, off he went toward a parking lot to hear the
whistle.
Our second VST hopeful told us what he thought of tracking conditions that
day. From the start flag this corgi said he knew perfectly well where the
track went, but then proceeded to tell us in no uncertain terms just where
he thought the track should go: into the shade, where he went and stayed
until hearing the whistle. Many thanks to Raelene and to Vickie Sandage of
Kentucky for their VST tracklaying skills.
Following the VST test we were off to Robertsville for lunch and plotting 5
TD and 2 TDX tracks for the next day's installment of tracking competition.
We arrived to a fabulous lunch of genuine Tennessee Barbeque with all the
trimmings supplied for the occasion by Gerald Kyle in the capacity of
hospitality chair. After lunch we braved 95 degree heat and plotted 7 tracks
for the following day. Carol and I were glad to finally complete the task
and head back to the hotel to cool off!
Monday morning started cool with patches of fog, the thermometer in the car
reading 68 when we met to lay the first of the TDX tracks at 7 am. By 8:30
when the first TD track ran, it was already close to 80 and warming up
quickly under a sunny cloudless sky. Our first corgi did not seem very
enthusiastic about tracking this day, and though he did make it around the
first turn, he quit working shortly before the second.
Next up a Weimaraner kept up a steady pace to the glove for a new title.
Congratulations to Beau's L'il Bird Dawg, CD, TD owned by Beth Schofield of
Louisville, KY.
Another corgi stepped up to the flags at track 3, made a good start but quit
working before the first turn after making several side casts. The rising
heat and dry conditions were not the kind of weather to spend any extra
energy on side tracks.
Track 4 went to another corgi, this one looking like a winner off the flags.
A brief side trip at the start did not seem to wear on his energy stores and
he tracked steadily around the first three turns. Several very hot minutes
later, he got to the last turn, overshot it by a bit, and then just gave up
in the heat.
The original Track 5 was subject to a tracklayer error, and was abandoned in
favor of an alternate. Approaching the last set of flags, our last hope for
a TD corgi looked like he had a plan, and set off down the track at a steady
pace, wasting not an ounce of energy all the way to a TD in the now 90
degree temperatures. Congratulations to Jane Glier of Indiana and Sandfox
Kipchoge, NA, OAJ, TD.
The heat having so obviously taken its toll on the TD dogs, we were
apprehensive about our TDX contestants. The first corgi entrant approached
the flag and barely hesitated before setting off, steady on the track, just
following those footsteps nice as you please. First turn right on the money,
he then checked very briefly and rejected the first cross, made another turn
and ignored the second cross. An article shortly after reassured his handler
he was on the right track. Another turn, then across a wide field to a turn
heading into the woods and another article. What great condition this dog
was in! Already more than half way through this track and barely panting!
After finding his article in the woods and getting past the next turn, an
unfortunate tangle in some deadfall resulted in several minutes of
frustration for dog and handler. This guy had it all figured out though. He
worked his way back and angled himself out of the woods around the deadfall
and through a clearing, and then dragged his owner along as he returned to
the edge of the woods from the field side and picked up the track again. The
next turn took him 50 yards to a brushy clearing and the final turn. No
problems as he made the turn and proceeded across a road into some scrubby
undergrowth on the other side. Through that and we waited excitedly as he
ran the last 70 yards. Gallery at roadside cheered loudly as handler Ann
Wallace of North Carolina waved a lovely glove in the air, signifying a new
TDX title for Fairyfox Sanlynn Ti Joua, UDT, VCD-2, PT,OAP, OAJP, TDX.
Unfortunately our last corgi did not fare as well on the second X track when
she overshot the second turn and could not find her way back to the track.
Many thanks to our intrepid tracklayers whose outstanding help made the long
weekend a pleasure. Our TD tracklayers were Pati and Mike Weidel of
Illinois, Margot McKereghan of California, Vickie Sandage of Kentucky, and
Ellen Perlson from California. Ellen did double duty as a TDX cross
tracklayer along with Bruce from Tennessee, whose last name I neglected to
get. We were saddened to learn that Bruce will be heading back to Iraq at
Thanksgiving for his second tour of duty. We wish him a safe return. Our TDX
tracklayers were Margot and Pati, also doing double duty in the fields.
Thanks also to Carol Ruthenberg, my co-judge with whom it is always a
pleasure to work. And finally, again thanks to Chris Robinette, whose
unflagging enthusiasm and tremendous efforts at organization paid off
handsomely in an exceptionally well run and truly national tracking test.
Terri Everwine
Barrington IL