The Elegance

Adjective: Pleasingly graceful and stylish in appearance or manner.

I suppose there are many things that are elegant in the world. A beautiful woman in a black dress; a well-choreographed dance; or a piece of music. Watching a sheepdog and it’s handler execute a near perfect run is one of those things that, for me, defines elegance. The moments when I really am in sync with my dog, when everything goes as planned, those are the moments that make me come back for more. They are few and far between for me. Often I am left feeling humbled and demoralized, but that one moment when everything seems to go quiet, when I am unaware of anything but my dog and the sheep and the field. Those are the moments that push me. The moments that cause me to endure the endless hours of training, the humiliation at dog trial after dog trial.

The love and connection to my dogs is one I have never experienced before.

To watch some of the best hands in North America run their dogs in competition is a sight to behold. To watch the dog respond to the whistles, to see the sheep trot around the course, holding my breath when dog and handler execute a perfect turn back, the ballet of a perfect shed. Pure elegance. Elegance in the execution, elegance in the partnership between the dog and handler, elegance in the smooth flow of the sheep. Breathtakingly beautiful.

One of the most memorable of those moments was at the 2007 National Finals in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Daybreak, the final day of competition. The double lift. The sun was cresting over the horizon, an almost surreal mist was rising off of the field. Handlers and dedicated spectators gathered at the trial field to watch the first run of the day. Alasdair Macrae and Star. There was none of the usual chatter, it was dead silent as Alasdair walked with Star to the handlers’ post. He sent Star out on her first outrun. The silence was broken only by Alasdair’s stop whistle, followed by a slow quiet walk up whistle. The sheep lifted their heads, turned toward the post and started to walk. A more perfect lift I had never seen, and may never see again. The remainder of the run was almost equally perfect and ended up being the winning run. Alasdair and Star made it very difficult for anyone to beat them that day although Tommy Wilson came close.

Aside from the beauty of the actual sport there are so many other things that have inspired me, made me take pause and marvel at the beauty of it all. Traveling across Ontario primarily, and into the United States occasionally, I am given the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful countryside. Mountains in Virginia, the changing of the leaves in the fall, snow stuck to the trees silent and still. Stars in the sky, without a city light to tarnish their exquisiteness, continue to make me stop and marvel. I have witnessed, many times over now, the birth of a lamb. Something that never ceases to instill in me a level of admiration for nature that I don’t think I would have were it not for these dogs.

One of my favorite things has always been walking with my dogs. Getting up when the sun is just rising at a dog trial, letting my dogs out and when there is a field to walk in I always enjoy that time with them. Tirelessly running with reckless abandon, stopping when something catches their eye, or their nose. They always seem to be filled with sheer glee no matter what. They inspire me to embrace the joy in my life.