Tunbridge
“I couldn’t catch them when I needed to, so someone suggested I get a border collie,” said Wetmore, of Strafford. So he visited the Quechee Highland Games to see a sheepdog demonstration. “I did agree that’s what I needed,” he said.
“All of a sudden, I was in a whole new kettle of fish.”
Since the late 1980s, Wetmore has been competing at sheepdog trials around the region. Since 2001, he has run the sheepdog trials at the Tunbridge World’s Fair. He is one of many in the region to become involved in the sport.
“There’s some excellent handlers in the Upper Valley,” said Debbie Donahue, of South Woodstock, who took lessons from Wetmore about 15 years ago.
“I always wanted to have a border collie,” Donahue recalled. Now, she has four — and six sheep.
“The biggest challenge is to read the sheep,” she said.
This means looking at their heads and how they tilt their ears. Usually, sheep move in the direction their head faces. Once handlers read the sheep, they can then instruct their dogs. “So when you’re competing you really don’t keep your eye on your dog as much as on the sheep.”
A love of dogs is what first drew Mike Nunan, of Thetford, to compete in sheepdog trials. He got his first dog in 1994 and went to his first trial in 1996. He now has five dogs, 25 sheep and goes to about 10 competitions a year. His dog Cap placed third at Tunbridge, and Kip placed fourth.
Wetmore has six dogs, two of which will be competing in the United States Border Collie Handler’s Association National Sheepdog Finals, coming up this week in Middletown, Va.
“It’s kind of a vicious hobby, because if you want to be competitive at a sheepdog trial, you need to have a succession of (dogs of different) ages.” Wetmore’s youngest is seven months old and his oldest is 10. “It’s always good to have a couple of young dogs coming along,” he said.
Gile, age 10, and Floss, age 8, will compete in the nationals. Five-year-old Stu won the Tunbridge trials.
“He had a perfect score,” Wetmore said. The next day, Wetmore took Floss to a competition in Lincoln, N.H., where she placed second. “It was a pretty exciting couple of days for us.”
Donahue will be going to the nationals as a volunteer, while Nunan will be working to set out the sheep for the nursery class competition for dogs age 3 and younger.
“It’s a humbling sport. There’s some days you wonder why you ever took it up. But on the flip side, there’s some days where you think you’re the best dog trainer in the world,” Nunan said.
He continues to be inspired by his dogs. “There are other days when the dogs do things you have no idea how they ever got there,” he said. “It’s just amazing to no end.”
Editor’s note: For more information about the area’s sheepdog community, email Wetmore at swetmore51@gmail.com. James M. Patterson can be reached at jpatterson@vnews.com or 603-727-3230. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
