Work, clinics and qualifications

NextStep -coaches Minna and Anja (c) Jessica Saukkonen& NextStep

NS Anja and Linda, training Bryns flanks
(c) Jessica Saukkonen & NextStep

NS Protect your "sheep"
(c) Jessica Saukkonen & NextStep

After an article about our work in Wales 2014, in the magazine Sheep and Goat, I have been offered two different jobs on farms. It´s a big decission, I would have to move nearby the farm (2 hours from family and friends) and quit my work on TeliaSonera, where I have been working for the last 18 years... A third alternative is to move abroad, that´s my dream, so we´ll see where I´ll end up...

In late May me and Minna gave our first NextStep -clinic in Rönnäs at Samulis farm. NextStep is a training group, which includes 4 clinic days and online training in a facebook group, It was fun but hard work. There is also a plain Online -group (without clinic days). The Online includes theory documents, questions/answers and training videos, the students are also posting their own videos for comments and to get instrutions.

NS First day in Rönnäs
(c) Next Step

Me, Jessica and Leena, spent the Midsummer at Minnas and Santeris farm in Kitee, almost Russia ;-) Jonna joined us on Sunday. Great training with superb facilities. I let little Vixey go once, well she had forgot the style and feel for sheep home...she chased and gripped like a troll, I like her

Watching Jonna and Rhos training

 In middle of June, the last qualifications for the National team was held at Kotikoskis farm, judge Ned O´Keeffe from Ireland.

The trial field, crossdrive was behind the tree island (c) Kari Kotikoski

The trial was on a new field, outrun 400m. The crossdrive was behind an island of trees, there were also dips behind the island...so pygmes like me couldn´t see much and had no idea in what direction the sheep went if (=read when) they did go offline.



First day. I started to let out sheep with Sin for the first 8-9 dogs. Sin is the perfect dog for it, she keeps control without upsetting one sheep. The rest of the day she worked there with Jessica, doing a great job.

Relaxed sheep waiting in the top for the dog, Sin in the background

Sin relaxing at the outletting pen

Elisa 2:nd, Rhy 1:st, Ned the judge, Hessu 3:rd

Jessica  as number 2. Dew went out wide, both her and the judge thought he had gone out on the road so they were disqualified. Later people who had been on the road, told us he had not been at the road at all, the ditch confused the perspective.  Dew found his sheep easily on his longest outrun ever, nice lift and fetch, before they went off.

Rhy did an okey run, even if I totally lost sight of the sheep in the middle of the crossdrive...whistled haphazard because I had no idea of their direction...had been offline for some meters but managed to get them trough the second gates too.Close work was good.
Rhy ended up winning the first day, and rised a lot on the team qualificationlist.
Coel and me drove the sheep all too fast, I tryed to drive the crossdrive fast so the sheep wouldn´t turn offline with me loosing sight again...heh, bad strategy. This ruined the run and the sheep were totally distressed and I couldn´t get the shed done, time out.

Second day. On the first runs it was raining, after the rain had stopped there was a huge ecco. A lot of dogs were totally lost, most of the dogs took the sheep all over the course, handlers paniced and whistled harder which confused the dogs even more. Rhy´s run was a massive disaster, should have retired.
Coel run quite late when it had started to rain again. Huge diffference, he had a better run even if it was not good, ended up 6th.

The final result for the National team was a total surprise, Rhy had climbed up so he was 6th (which all didn´t like too much) . This meant that we were in the national team again, which means representing Finland in the Continentals (European Championships) and at the Nordic Championships in Denmark.
Because I´m not made of money and me and Leena are going to UK for three weeks in August, I had decided I wouldn´t go to Italy for only one  trial... But, with so many good friends in the team, I changed my mind after I got green light form my work.
The National team for the Continentals
1. Kapteeni, Leena Jussila - Spot
2. Juha Moisander - Shine
3. Heikki Teittinen Peppi
4. Jonna Paasila - Magda
5. Mici Wikberg- Börje
6. Anja Lehtiö - Rhy

Coel was on place 16. Leena and Jessi were 7th, but because she wouldn´t go to the Nordics, Coel got in the Nordic -team, he´ll also compete in the Nordic Nursery (dogs under 3 years)  for the second time in Norway in November.
Later on it showed that a lot of handlers chose to not go to Denmark, so also dogs placed 24 and  25 got in.

The next two days we participated on a clinic for Ned O´Keeffe, at Kotikoskis.
Ned is very good, like his way of training and thinking and he is very free spoken, suits me. This time there were 9 dogs on the clinic, so there weren´t much time for talking or discussions, as there were last time. Like always at Kotikoskis, brilliant sheep and fields, food super as always.

Samu

Samu has started at his summer job, he goes there with his motorbike










The second NextStep -clinic was at Putkisalo -farm in Rantasalmi. Me and Minna as instructors, Jessica and Leena helping out.
12 students,  divided in two groups. In our opinion 6 (or max 7) is the utmost number of dogs on a clinic/instructor, otherwise the instructor gets too exhausted and there is no time for discussions  or time for him/her to relax a bit between the dogs.
One group was with me in the morning in a smaller training field, while the other group were with Minna on a bigger field,  then we swapped in the afternoon.
Between these instructed training sessions, the students had the opportunity to train independently; in a training area, on a big biotope and on a field with 270 sheep (ewes and lambs). Those who wanted also had the opportunity to try racing the sheep to be weighed and checked. So in the end of the day, both dogs and handlers were totally knackered, but many experienced richer.
It was really rewarding to see how many, especially the beginners pollets had dropped down and progressed a lot.

Susannas Inka racing sheep
(c) Jessica Saukkonen

NextStep
Ninka and Morri practising shedding

NextStep coach
odd weather, hot -rain - sun...

Me, Jessica and Leena stayed until Sunday. An absolutely perfect sunny and warm day! Fun outrun trainings, checking sheep on pastures, with boat to the island checking sheep, cider, hamburgers.

Ewes and lambs gathered by Coel

Coel enjoying after work, it was a very warm day

On our way to the boat, waiting for Ilkka...

On the way to the island....

Coel was the lucky one who found the sheep on the island

Tnx Susanna, we´ll be back (again ;-) )!