Retired cattle rancher Bill Myers gazed to the far side of a vast pasture at the Strang Ranch one morning this week and chuckled as a border collie scrambled to herd five plump, skittish sheep through an open gate.
The Carbondale man and his wife, JoEllen, attended the 2011 National Sheepdog trials out of curiosity and for entertainment: “I just love to watch the dogs,” Bill Myers said. “I think it’s fascinating.”
The Strang Ranch hosted the preliminary rounds of the sheepdog contest Tuesday through Thursday. The finals of the nursery field, the young dogs, began at 8 a.m. Friday.
The final preliminary round in the open field, the more experienced dogs, also took place Friday. The top 40 dogs from 150 competitors in the open division will move to the semifinals today. That will be whittled to 17 finalists for Sunday.
Scott Condon, Aspen Times
