The HGH -- the Dog and the Trial
Judge Manfred Voigt , an SV Leistungshüten judge, watches the flock flow across the bridge.
First Annual HGH Trial in North America
by Tom O'Dowd
The HGH Trial in New Jersey was a very solid first time effort by all involved, especially Ulf Kintzel, the host. (Webpage author's note: the first time effort refers to the trial, not the first time running in a herding trial.) On Sunday, his run was near perfect (91 points out of 100) but more importantly it demonstrated clearly what the HGH is all about- the teamwork of a well trained dog who knows the job and a handler who has the confidence in his dog to let him do that job- moving 200 sheep calmly and as a flock from the pen, across a bridge, thru narrow gates into the grazing fields, and back to the pen safely. Done correctly, nothing happens that isn't in the script. Some other competitors showed that the script is seldom followed by the sheep, the dog, or even the handler. I think you all would have enjoyed the event- all GSD's except for 1 Belgian Shepherd, a Groenendael; all women handlers except for Ulf. The gallery was large and enthusiastic; many came for both days in beautiful sunny weather and colorful autumn splendor.
The HGH is a serious test and a wonderful event to watch. HGH '98 will certainly attract more competitors and feature improved performances. I'll post a summary of the results tomorrow, but Sue Sullivan was the Outstanding Handler of the event, earning both 1st and 2nd Place with her two GSD's.
This first American HGH Trial was held on Oct.11-12, 1997 at White Clover Sheep Farm in Branchville, NJ, hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Schutzhund Club. Under sunny skies and warm temperatures, 12 handlers and their dogs were tested for their herding skills according to the herding rules of the German Shepherd Dog Club of Germany, the SV. A score of 60 or higher is required in order to get the HGH title. The results as announced (unofficial as yet):
Susan Sullivan/Luther-Canterbury CT- 87
Susan Sullivan/Jazz-Canterbury CT- 82
Ellen Adomelis/Jubel-Wolcott CT- 70
Susan Sopranzi/Ace-Augusta NJ- 69
Carol Weigand/Bear-Bozrah CT- 67
Sue Sternberg/Vinnie-Accord NY- 60
Jean DeNapoli/Jetta-Southboro MA- 56
Dori VanderWilden/Suki-Roslyn Village NY- 55
Best Dog Handler Award went to Susan Sullivan.
In addition, host Ulf Kintzel ran two of his dogs, scoring 60 points with Viska and also a textbook run with Treu, scoring 91 points. The enthusiastic gallery was shown the standard of excellence that the HGH title indicates.
Viska vom Kirschental, handled by Ulf Kintzel, patrols the border of the wide graze while the sheep spread out to eat grass. Ideally, such a grazing task would last for at least 20 minutes even in a trial. And of course, in real life, this is the time the sheep eat their fill for the day, so the dog would patrol the edges of the graze for hours every day.
The flock re-enters the pen with the dog guarding the fragile upright post so that the 200 head of sheep do not bump against it and damage the pen.
Questions? E mail Ann Garner at Herdenhunde vom Weiher
Contact Tom O'Dowd, the videographer and graphic artist who produced these wonderful illustrations.
Daily Work of the Tending Dog
More Stories of the Tending Dog
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