Belle the stock dog added to her already impressive resume when she and handler Steve Rosvold won the championship trials at Canadian Western Agribition Nov. 26.
Belle manoeuvred three sheep through a chute and into a pen in just 1:55. Competitors are allowed four minutes.
She received a meat-filled bone for her efforts.
“That was her buckle,” laughed Rosvold, who will keep the buckle he won for his part in the competition.
He figures the prize money has already been spent.
Belle is just three but has already made her mark on the competition circuit.
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“She’s going to defend her title at the Denver Stock Show in January, and she’s the reigning National Cattle Dog Association nursery champion, which she won in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in June,” Rosvold said.
She will defend that title, too.
Rosvold has been attending Agribition for six years, and the win fulfilled a dream, he said. He brought three dogs this year and wasn’t surprised that Belle did well.
“Of the three, she probably has just a lot more feel and read on her stock,” he said. “That’s what these sheep needed.”
Belle works with cattle and sheep on Rosvold’s Floating S Ranch near Ethelbert, Man., where he breeds dogs and custom trains them, but Belle prefers cattle.
She will be the female foundation of the operation but is still young and is more valuable in competition.
“I’m a big believer in not breeding something until they’ve proven themselves,” Rosvold said.
“There’s lots of run-of-the-mill dogs out there. We have a waiting list and when I feel she’s ready, (she will breed).”
Rounding out the top placings at Agribition were Forsyth Campbell and Meg from Eriksdale, Man., in 3:36, and Peter Gonnet and Bob of Outlook, Sask., and Norm Sommer and Lexi of Pleasantdale, Sask., both in four minutes.
karen.briere@producer.com
