Extend the dog days of summer this weekend at the Fourth Annual Open and Ranch Field Trials at Centennial Stanko Ranch in Steamboat Springs.
Forty handlers and 80 working dogs from throughout the U.S. and Canada will compete, choreographing voice and whistle commands with herding techniques to handle 280 sheep.
Have questions about how the handlers train the dogs to herd, shed, drive and pen the sheep? The handlers are available to respond and chat about their dogs and their work. (Warning: Not everyone is willing to entertain questions about the authenticity of “Babe,” Dick King-Smith’s beloved story and later a 1995 movie about the mythical sheep-herding pig.)
Spectators also can explore this working sheep ranch, and discuss wool-related topics with local historians and ranchers.
The competition concludes at 5 p.m. Monday at Centennial Stanko Ranch, 3 1/2 miles west of Steamboat Springs on County Road 33.
