June...... Well, things have been pretty busy this year. fence to fix, CRP coming out and a ton of other things to take care of. I haven't had the time to work the dogs like I wish I could and results are directly related to the work you put in.

June...... It's getting time to run some trials. I've been using Tater for farm work. He's definitely in shape, but I haven't drilled him on trial stuff for a while.

I've been working some of the young dogs and I'm really happy with how they're coming along. This is some of the best little guys I've had.

We've been having rain like they have in the south. Big rains and often. Never complain about rain.

June 25..... Well, here we go for another year at trialing. I took Tater and Gertie to Farnam Ne. We were full of anticipation but that was about all we had. It rained hard the night before and the day was about 110 degrees hot. The boys had to move the arena to high ground. So we got started late. The cattle were a little testy but not all that bad. On Taters run we picked up the cattle and made it though the fetch panel. The cattle started running for the set out pen. So I gave Tater a come-by command and he took it to heart. And Tater being one who doesn't want to loose his stock grabbed the lead critter by the nose and took her through the fence. Which happened to be the fence around the baseball field. Made a pretty good hole I might add.The judge didn't see that as humorous as Tater did and disqualified our run. So it was back to the drawing board. It was Gerties second try at trialing and she made a good effort but we didn't get much out of it.

July....... Well it sure nuf got warm. Makes about everything you do twice as hard. Have to be careful not to work a dog too long in this stuff. Once they've been heat stroked, they're just never the same. Lots of farm work to do right now.

July 17........ Went to the Stockville trial. Mercy was it hot. Tater worked a little better this time. 2nd through 12 had the same points and it came down to a matter of seconds to decide the placings. Finished 9th in a huge class, so I feel a little better about Tater. As long as they don't quit making Gatorade, I think I might make it through this heat. As soon as I got done, I headed out, so had to wait a couple days to find out how I did. RESULTS - http://www.outbackstockdog.com/Resources/Stockville%20_Res_2.pdf

July 22........ Here we go again, Left for North Platte the evening of the July 21st. Stayed overnight at The Denny McDaniel home in Wellfleet Ne. Tim Gifford from Harrisburg Ne was there also. I am still not sure that those two together is a good thing. You really have to have a tough hide to put up with them. Journeyed on the North Platte the morning of the 22nd . A really nice arena and some pretty good cattle.
  Channel 2 out of North Platte was on the scene producing a segment on the cattle dogs. It's sure nice to see the cow dogs and trialing get some publicity.
  Tater and I ended up 3rd in the open. We had a nice run. Just couldn't seem to get the pen. Tater is showing himself as getting back into trialing mode. (I let him ride in the cab with the air conditioner that could have had something to do with it.) RESULTS - http://www.outbackstockdog.com/Resources/Lincoln_County_11_results.pdf

July 29th, We journeyed To Benkelman Ne. They Had a heavy rain and hail the night before so the arena was a bit muddy but doable. Levi and Stephanie Whipps were the hosts and I think did a very nice job, especially considering the bad weather they had to contend with. The cattle were tough, but Tater liked them. We won the trial with some of the top Handlers in the USA involved in the trial. This was my old stomping grounds before I moved to Akron. Tater is showing some good improvement. He hasn't given up on me yet. I ran Gertie in the Pro Novice she finished 9th and I was really proud of her performance.
  Braden Sampson, a neighbor and student of mine moved up to Pro Novice that day and finished 4th. I was really proud of him, also. He has come a long way in a year. RESULTS - http://www.outbackstockdog.com/Resources/Dundy_County_Fa11_results.pdf

August 5th, Headed out for Saratoga Wyo. Going to attend the very best cowdog trial around. That is my opinion anyway. The Temp there was cool compared to what it has been here. Dammed near froze to death the first night. Lit the furnace the next night but ran out of propane at 4:30 am. Just don't have that camping thing back into perspective yet. Tater and I didn't do to bad but not good enough to get into the Money. We finished about 20th in the two day trial. Some of the guys who brought the lucky charm with them did really well. The cattle were range cattle and fresh but they worked off the dogs very well. I hope I can make it back next year. Torrington Wyo is our next rrial. I hope to do better there.

August 11th, Here we go again. Left for Torrington Wyo. 4:00 AM. The Sunflower cattle dog trial hosted by Stephanie Lofink and the city of Torrington Wy. The support for the trial is outstanding. Tater and I did pretty good again. Finished 8th with a perfect score but was to slow. Those old toughies that come up from Texas and the surrounding area do teach us a little humility. The first place dog with a perfect score did it in 4.02 we finished 8th with 5.13. As you can see it gets alittle tougher. Gertie my pro-novice dog finished 7th in her class. I really like her she is going to be a nice dog. Her thing is she doesn't like my driving. She doesn't like to travel all that much. But as for her experience she has been to 4 trials this year to compete. I hope she catches on. We returned home that day. It gets to be a long day with traveling both ways the same day. Next stop is Imperial Ne.

August 16th. We traveled to Imperial for the Chase County Fair cattle dog trial . The participants had diminished somewhat. We had 11 open handlers and 4 pro-novice handlers. That was a nice trial hosted by Levi and Stephanie Whipps. We need to have more participation at that trial. We are getting more interest in people to compete so I am hoping we can make that a bigger trial. Tater and I ended up 3 out of 11. caused by a dumb ass attack but I won't get into that. Gertie placed 1st out of a field of 4 but her competition was tough anyway. Those handlers know how to keep the pressure on. We will be going to Hyannis Ne next.

The 18th of August my Neighbor, Braden Sampson, and I traveled to Hyannis Ne. That is a very nice little Town if you are ever in the neighbor hood and need a place to sleep look up the ranchland Motel. Really clean and comfortable. Went to the trial the 19th. Do to the inattention of a handler at the Handlers meeting and judging from the sidelines. Tater and I had a mis cue. Lost my cattle and my dog in the confusion so we just quit right there. Gertie however did come in 3rd and saved us somewhat. Braden had trouble with Sadie wanting to be boss so he didn't do as well as he had hoped so all in all it wasn't a good trip as for the Trialing.. Next stop the Ne. State fair. If you haven't been to Grand Island to the New Ne. State fair grounds You need to take a look IT IS GREAT.