Episode 2 One Man and His Dog

Last time on One Man And His Dog, the sheep were very tricky.

-Oh, there's a breakaway.

-They've come out the pen!

'The shepherds held their nerve.'

-This is where you could do with a 12-foot crook.

-And a 12-foot gate.

Well done, that man! And dog.

'Now, it's neck-and-neck.'

Ireland need this pen if they want to catch Wales.

-So, let's bring on the dogs.

-WHISTLES

Welcome back to Balmoral Castle,

where our four teams are battling it out to become the champions

of One Man And His Dog 2011.

Our 35th anniversary competition is proving to be fierce.

We've seen some fantastic trialling.

As always, our trialling expert Gus Dermody joins us.

From the Young Handlers and the Brace round we've seen,

-this course is proving to be tricky.

-Yeah. It's rather compact.

Any minor mistake becomes exaggerated. It is difficult.

-What do you make of the sheep?

-They've been very consistent.

They're good in the field but they don't like the close work.

-There's been a few little tinkers!

-There certainly has. They don't like being split in the shedding ring.

Then they don't like the confines of the pen, so they are difficult.

We did finish the last trial on a tie...

There's only 33 points between top and bottom.

There's a lot of points available today.

Any country could win this.

They're all in with a chance.

One lady who was particularly fond of Balmoral was Queen Victoria.

She spent many holidays wandering around the grounds with HER collies,

no doubt to this very spot here.

I'm sure she would have loved a go at our Singles round.

Here's what's in store for them.

This time, one dog has to deal with two flocks of sheep,

and there's a massive 150 points.

The first group of five sheep are in the right-hand corner of the field.

The handler sends his dog out to the right on the first outrun,

for a possible 20 points.

The dog gets them to move towards the handler with the lift

for ten points.

There's 20 points at the fetch.

The sheep must be driven in a straight line through the gates.

-The handler must remain at the post.

-Now things get exciting.

The handler sends his dog out to the left on the second outrun

to collect the second group of five sheep, another possible 20 points.

The dog gets them to move back towards the handler

with the second lift, ten points.

These sheep are taken through the fetch gates.

Both sets of sheep are regrouped.

Not as easy as it sounds, depending on where the first group has got to.

Once together, they're brought to the handler's post. 20 points.

The next hurdle is the drive, worth 30 points.

They're taken on a triangular drive through two sets of drive gates.

The dog must drive the sheep at a steady pace

or they'll miss the gates and lose points.

The drive ends in the shedding ring.

One of the three sheep with red collars must be singled off

and held until the judges are satisfied, for ten points.

For a final ten points,

all ten sheep must be penned and the gate closed.

The course must be completed in 18 minutes for a shot at the title.

Let's get our Singles round under way.

Our judges are on their tower, Barra O'Brien and Arthur Roberts.

They'll award points to each section of our competitors' rounds.

As it stands, Scotland are in fourth so they'll be going first.

There are 150 points up for grabs,

so they could still win it for their country.

Let's meet our Scotsman and his dog.

I'm Scott Renwick. I'm from Loch Broom in Wester Ross.

I'm running Roci in this year's competition.

Loch Broom is a very bonnie part of Scotland.

There's plenty to see. There's some lovely mountains, hills.

The Corrieshalloch Gorge, which is quite spectacular, a 200-foot drop.

My grandfather was here in this valley. My father was here.

I've been here all my life, also.

We run 2,000 north country cheviots

and also, we've got 85 head of luing cattle.

My two boys help about the farm. They help work the dogs.

I'm very happy that they're following in my footsteps.

Roci's just a natural dog, trained in everyday work,

not playing with sheep in a field.

This is my first time on One Man And His Dog.

It's a real honour to represent Scotland.

No doubt, a real honour for him to be competing

in front of the beautiful Balmoral Castle.

Roci's set up to go out to the right.

Away.

Away goes the dog, breaking into the rough giving nice room. That's good.

Stopped a bit short.

He's got to angle these sheep towards the fetch gates not himself.

-It's a good start, a good lift.

-They had a good little trot on then.

-They slammed the brakes on and turned round.

-To weigh up the dog.

WHISTLES AND COMMANDS

They could break sharp left, but the dog's covering very well.

The judges were very happy with the outrun. 19 scored. One point lost.

Full marks for the lift.

Now the dog should be asked to look back. He's going back well.

Three points lost on the first fetch.

This is a brilliant start for Scotland.

That's the second outrun completed, and good lift.

Wow! Top marks for the second outrun and top marks for the second lift.

They're nicely on line for the fetch gates again.

Very nicely through.

The other sheep are bang on line, so things are going extremely well

for Scott Renwick and Roci. Brilliant.

19 points for the second fetch.

He's only dropped five points.

He's off to a brilliant start.

Will they sneak out through the back?

Interesting that it was a collared ewe that tried to break.

What would be going through my mind,

"Maybe she'll break for me in the shedding ring."

That's a fair way off. Let's get on with the drive.

WHISTLE COMMANDS

That's beautiful. A dog that really knows what he's doing.

All the Scots dogs are trained on everyday work.

This is a good cross drive.

WHISTLES

They go behind the first hurdle and then pulled back through the hurdle.

-SHOUTS COMMAND

-Oh! And he's rung them.

COMMANDS WHISTLED

The judges will be penalising that.

And...what have we got?

Four or five have gone the wrong side of the second drive gate.

There'll be quite a few points lost.

That's been the worst part of the whole trial.

It's been tremendous.

The sheep have got to come into the shedding ring

before the handler goes in himself.

16 scored for the drive. That's 16 out of 30.

Got to get one of these three collared ewes away from the rest.

Oh, yes! Come onto the dog.

Are the judges going to accept it? They've accepted it.

Nine scored for the single.

Now, can we get ten sheep into that small pen?

-They're looking.

-This would be a delight if they trot in there now.

Yes, it'd be a great run for Scotland.

Scott slowly coming round.

The dog poised, on its feet, ears pricked,

waiting to come in or go left or right.

Moving gently towards that pen.

Is there one going to go down the side?

Come-bye. Come-bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

Come-bye, Roci. Come-bye bye bye.

Bye, Roci. Bye. Bye. Bye.

-Roci, here...

-It was extremely close.

It could have been a great finish, but anyway.

-Oh!

-The collared ewe on the outside. What's she going to do?

-Spin round.

Is she going to go down the side? There's room for her now to go in.

-The other one's come out!

-Oh, no!

Oh, dear, oh, dear. What do you do now?

He mustn't let go of the rope, the only thing he mustn't do.

If the sheep jump over the rope, that's all right.

If they go under the rope, it's all right.

Now he's in with a chance.

She may well meet that open gate.

In she goes, and that's it. Round complete.

APPLAUSE

Let's see what the pen has scored. Just four.

We were impressed in the commentary box.

Let's see what Scott made of it on the field.

Not too bad. There was a few mistakes here and there.

The best part was Roci's second outrun. She took that well.

I'm quite happy, ay.

There's a lot of good handlers to come, excellent handlers.

No doubt the other competitors will have been watching Scott and Roci's round very closely.

Second up in this Singles round, it's Matt Watson and his dog Milo.

Last time Matt was on One Man And His Dog, he only lost four points.

I'm Matt Watson from Tadcaster near York.

This is Milo that I'll be running in this year's competition.

I went to watch my first sheepdog trial, encouraged by somebody else,

and thought how easy it looked and that I could probably do better.

How wrong I was!

I live here with my wife, Kate, and my sons, Harry and Adam.

They get involved in all aspects of all farm life - lambing,

looking after the dogs, feeding the chickens.

Yeah!

We have all Welsh breeds of sheep.

Balwens, the rare breed black sheep,

beulahs and Welsh mules.

We also have a handful of cattle. MOOS

Milo is seven years old.

He is very much work-orientated.

He's a workaholic. I hope I can be reasonably confident with Milo.

Although when you're working with sheep and dogs

you never quite know, and that fills you with a bit of apprehension.

On we go with the English National Champions from 2010,

Matt and Milo.

Stand.

So, the dog's away to the right,

giving nice room.

It'll be interesting, how the sheep react to a red and white dog.

Stopping him short because they've got to lift at an angle.

Wow! A gentle start but the pace has suddenly picked up.

-Ooh! Went through one set of gates, but not the right set.

-Yeah.

No bonus for that. He's getting them towards the official fetch gates.

WHISTLES COMMANDS

-Lie down!

-Now he's going to ask him back.

That was good. First request and he goes back.

11 scored for the fetch.

These are on course now for the fetch gates again.

He's got them nicely in line, right in the centre.

20 points for the second outrun.

Seven out of ten for the second lift.

The sheep don't seem to be bothered with unusual markings on the dog.

Looking for a tighter turn here than Scott had with Roci.

Looks like it could be the case.

Come now. Come.

Lie down.

-That's a good turn.

-Off on the drive then.

Try and get a drive through those gates on the left of the course.

Three points lost on that second fetch. 17 out of 20 scored.

He's having problems getting them to go down this first leg of the drive.

They're not wanting to go straight.

That's how some of these blackface sheep can be.

If they go down that dip, the sheep have tended to break to the right.

They're leaning towards the gate, but nicely through.

And turning them now on to the crossdrive.

-He's holding the dog well back.

-A good distance there.

Milo has to get the pace on. Just edging up now.

He's in a good position now to turn them up towards the gate.

-Coming round.

-That's good.

Is he slightly over-flanked? Will he get all ten through the gates?

Holding toward the left-hand gate.

Nicely through, so that's good.

All the sheep through all the gates.

SHOUTS COMMAND AND WHISTLES

Bit of anxiety on his face there as he was whistling.

Into the shedding ring, looking for a collared ewe to single off.

WHISTLES

23 out of 30 for the drive.

The points are totting up nicely.

Out!

-Lie down.

-Trying to keep him out all the time.

So he doesn't pressure these sheep. Now lying absolutely flat.

-There's one here at the back.

-Hm.

-But facing the wrong way.

-Yeah.

Lie down.

Get out, Milo. Come out!

Get, get.

-Come. Lie down.

-Here's a chance coming.

Coming off the front.

Gone to the back.

Get out! Lie down!

Come out of it! Come-bye.

Here, here. That'll do.

It really is the luck of the draw with these sheep.

Scott had a very nice time with one that was quite keen

on separating from the bunch.

But these girls don't want to leave each other.

And the clock is ticking by.

This is about the first time that they've started to string out.

-See what he can do.

-Way out! Out!

The sheep on the other side, they could...

-Are they going out?

-They're right on the edge. Oh, dear.

Sometimes, half a point would go per sheep that gets out of the ring.

Lie down. You!

Come out! Lie down.

There's an opportunity here on the left...

-Yes!

-Lie down! Lie down!

Have the judges accepted it?

Oh, come on! They've GOT to accept it!

The dog came through but didn't hold the sheep.

They haven't accepted it.

Lie down.

Time must be getting very close.

It doesn't look as if it's going to happen, does it?

Oh, dear.

Lie down. Get! Lie down!

There'll be a call from the judges. It's time up.

Matt and Milo retire in the shedding ring.

Let's see what they make of it all.

Milo worked OK. He was a little bit sharp on them.

Maybe caused them to run on a little more than I'd have liked.

Wasn't the first time I've not managed to single one off.

I just couldn't really get a good opportunity. Just how it goes.

We're getting close to finding out who this year's champions will be,

with two of the 12 handlers left to run.

We're going to make you wait a bit,

as we find out some more about these beautiful surroundings

and one of the collie's original fans.

Nestled in the dramatic landscape of the Cairngorm National Park

in the shadows of Lochnagar, lies Balmoral.

This great estate covers just over 50,000 acres of mountains,

heather-clad moorlands, ancient Caledonian forests,

lochs, streams and the River Dee.

Balmoral has been the Highland home of the British royal family

for over 160 years.

For generations, they've enjoyed this Scottish haven,

retreating yearly to its rugged beauty.

It all began in the autumn of 1842,

when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made their first visit to Scotland.

Enchanted, their passion led them to lease the Deeside estate.

Queen Victoria noted in her diary,

"So clear and so solitary, it did one good as one gazed around,

"and the pure mountain air was most refreshing.

"All seem to breathe freedom and peace."

Prince Albert bought the land for his wife in 1852,

and began to rebuild the castle to house their growing family.

Queen Victoria herself

laid this very foundation stone on 28th September 1853.

But they would only share a few precious years here together.

After Albert's death, it became a retreat of a very different sort,

as Queen Victoria would escape here in her grief.

Often by Victoria's side in those years were two collies -

Sharp and Noble.

Of the many dogs that Victoria owned these were among her favourites.

They were her constant companions and frequent visitors here.

One of Noble's special roles was to guard the Queen's gloves.

Victoria described him as "the most biddable dog I ever saw,

"and so affectionate and kind.

"If he thinks you're not pleased with him, his puts out his paws

"and begs in such an affectionate way."

Border collies have always had a special place in MY heart.

They're such loyal companions, both at home and working on the farm.

Queen Victoria's affection was captured with this loving tribute.

It reads, "Noble by name. By nature, noble too.

"Faithful companion, sympathetic and true."

Our next handler is from Ireland. He has 42 years of sheepdog trialling experience.

Judging by the fun that Matt and Milo had in this shedding ring,

he's going to need every minute of that.

I'm Frankie McCullough from Ballynahinch in County Down.

I'll be competing with Craig in this year's One Man And His Dog.

We're farming 700 blackfaces here.

It's typical blackface country so dogs are a must.

Craig, he loves his work.

He loves being on that quad with me from morning till night.

It's just a perfect partnership.

I won the Irish National last year with Craig.

It was the best feeling I've had in my life.

This is my first time on One Man And His Dog.

WHISTLES

It's a team event, so I hope I don't let the rest of the team down.

I'll just give it my best shot and hope everything goes well.

I'm always a wee bit nervous before I go out to the post.

Once it gets started and the thing gets flowing, the nerves leave.

Unless everything goes totally wrong.

That stake can be the loneliest place in the world when things go wrong.

Just a reminder, Ireland are tied with Wales.

Neck-and-neck, 181 points.

So they'll need all the points they can get here.

Frankie and Craig.

-Off Craig goes.

-He's off to a wide outrun.

Stopping him short because he doesn't do a straight lift.

Craig is now seven years old.

Frankie said that he was very strong when he was younger

and is starting to mellow out a bit.

Maximum points for the outrun.

Maximum points for the lift.

Look at this. Nice and steady. Right in the middle.

They come towards the fetch gates.

WHISTLES

Look back! Stand!

He's asked him to look back for the second lot of sheep.

18 points for the first fetch.

-Just two points dropped so far.

-We've got a two and a three!

They've rushed through.

At least they're going to run to the other sheep.

He's got the obstacle.

18 scored for second outrun.

Seven out of ten for the second lift.

Stand. Come. Stand.

He's got them nicely under control.

Come. Stand! Come.

That's a nice fetch.

Now then, the sheep are facing Craig.

He doesn't seem the slightest bit worried of these sheep.

-No.

-He's not backing off at all. And away they go.

On the drive.

Dropped four points on the fetch. 16 scored.

For Wales, this will be the score to beat.

-Come on, Craig!

-Little bit of milling.

The judges will be taking points off here.

Come-bye. Stand!

WHISTLES AND SHOUTS COMMANDS

Nicely through.

I think he'll probably keep a bit more pressure onto them.

Stand, Craig! Stand!

They're on a good line on this crossdrive.

Maybe just a little bit too high.

Craig's turning them down that little bit.

They're not far out at all.

WHISTLES

Craig comes round. He's got to get all ten sheep through those gates.

Stand!

He's stopped them on the right-hand side. He's got them bunched.

And through they come. All ten through the gate.

-It's going well for Ireland.

-It is.

The delights of the shedding ring await them.

Everything under control as they come into the shedding ring.

It may be that these sheep will spread out under no pressure at all.

22 out of 30 for the drive.

He's got a collared ewe on the one end.

Is he going to be able to prise her off?

Gently does it.

Ah! She's turned in.

Lie down.

GENTLY: Good dog. Lie down. Lie down, Craig.

Sit down. Sit down.

Oh, no! The dog shouldn't make contact with the sheep.

No doubt he'll have to lose a lot of points for that.

Graham, who's running for Wales will be watching this incredibly closely.

He certainly will.

Lie down. Come-bye.

Lie down. Come-bye.

Lie down. Lie down.

Here's a chance.

He's come through and they've accepted it.

Stand!

Stand.

Just one point for the shed.

At least he's in with a chance now

of getting ten points if he puts all ten sheep into this pen.

Come-bye. Stand. Away to me.

That'll do, Craig.

He's got plenty of time,

as long as he takes it steady and doesn't take any risks.

Oh, they're stubborn! That row at the front. Look at them.

Ah! Bit of temper being shown!

Away to me, Craig. Stand. Stand.

Come-bye. Come-bye.

You only need one to lead them in. He's got some movement there now.

Craig watching his side. Frankie closing the gate slowly.

He mustn't touch the sheep with that gate or with the rope.

It looks like they're going to go in.

-That'll do, Craig.

-That WILL do.

-That'll do, Craig.

One point for the pen. Let's see what that does to the total.

Will that be enough for Ireland to take the title?

I usually have wee butterflies before I go out.

Once we get away good, things settle down

and I forget about everything and concentrate on Craig.

He done most things I asked of him.

He's been in the vehicle and hasn't seen sheep for a few days,

so he was bursting with energy.

I was happy enough.

The last country to grace the podium

in this year's One Man And His Dog is Wales.

They need to score over 113 to be crowned champions.

Let's meet Graham Powell and his dog, Gwen, the team faced with that task.

I'm Graham Powell, I live in Gladestry in Powys

and I shall be running Gwen in this year's One Man And His Dog.

I live on the border between Wales and England.

It's an upland area with mostly agriculture

and rolling countryside.

At this time of year, there's plenty to do on the farm.

There's the shepherding of the sheep and maintaining the grassland.

Gwen is seven years old. She's been here since she was nine months.

She's a vital part of the farm. I trained Gwen myself.

I spend a lot of time in the evenings training and keeping her in tune.

The more you put in, the more you get out.

This'll be the second time I've been on One Man And His Dog.

'I appeared in 1989 on the Junior Young Handlers.'

Stand!

'I was running Gill. It was very nerve-racking.

'A lot of scary moments, but we managed to scrape a win.'

They were a bit stroppy, weren't they?

Yes. You just had to keep them on line as much as you can.

I'm really looking forward to being on One Man And His Dog,

to compete against the best handlers and hope that we rise to the challenge.

The pressure's on, but doing their best to remain calm

are Graham and Gwen.

-WHISTLES

-She was coming in a little bit.

Graham gave a whistle and she immediately took it.

So the judges may just knock one point off.

But she's coming in nicely now and that's good.

-Coming fast up this field.

-Ooh, dear.

-They're off line.

-WHISTLES

-Just saved it, I think.

-She may well have done.

-Out!

She's there. He's got it. He's kept her out.

Remarkable!

Now, he's got to send her back to the left-hand corner.

-Look!

-He's asking her to look back.

She's gone. Going nice and steady, but he did ask three times.

It'll be interesting to see what the judges do.

19 for the first outrun.

Seven for lift number one.

12 for the fetch.

The five sheep are from the second lift, towards the fetch gates.

Again, coming at speed, but they've come through.

Look!

Now he's asking the dog to gather the first group of sheep again.

Look at them jumping away!

This is the liveliest packet that we've seen up till now.

17 for the second outrun.

Eight for lift number two.

He's certainly got an unruly bunch of sheep here.

He's having a job to keep them on line.

They've sneaked through between the judges and our commentary box.

Gwen's working away, bringing them back onto the course.

Obviously, points are going to be tumbling here.

What sort of a drive are we going to have?

Nicely bunched, going in a straight line.

She looks like she takes no prisoners, Gwen.

15 scored for the fetch. Five points lost.

All through the middle.

Starting the crossdrive from left to right. Frankie McCullough watching.

-Thinking whether or not he's in front.

-At this stage, he is.

The sheep racing across again.

Are they going to miss the obstacle? They've gone past but she's covered.

There'll be points lost for line,

but at least he's going to get them through the obstacle.

Out!

Stand!

Into the shedding ring, then.

Looking for one of the collared ewes to single off.

26 scored for the drive.

That's good. The pressure must be on now, points-wise.

Ten points needed out of a possible 20,

for Wales to take the title.

Keep. Stand.

Collared ewe on the left-hand side that he's trying for...

What a shame! It was so close!

The others are out of the ring now.

Out!

All of them out of the ring.

That could be half the available points gone.

Wow! It's going to be close all the way to the finish here.

And the clock is ticking by.

Gwen.

Stand there.

Here's an opportunity, the ewe on the left-hand side.

Stand. Keep back.

Here's a chance.

Hold her.

Yes, they've accepted it. Yes!

-Six points.

-Six points!

-For the single.

One better than I thought.

He needs four at the pen for Wales to take the title this year.

It's right down to the final pen.

If Wales could win, it would break a long run of near misses

and disappointments.

Out. Out.

Keep. Out.

Out. Come on.

Come on.

Come on! Pen them and we're off to Wales!

Come on. Come-bye.

Ooh! Close! Well done, Graham!

That was as close as we'll get.

Well, we've got some in the pen.

-Here we go. Come on.

-There's a chance now, Gwen. Come in.

-Stand. Come on.

-Look at that for calm!

Well done, Graham. Well done, Gwen.

He's in with a darned good chance now.

Let's get the gate shut!

Well done. Great stuff! What a finish!

Have they done enough?

Just! It's five at the pen!

What a result for Wales!

Absolutely sensational finish to this year's competition.

The sheep are quite difficult.

They've got the horns and the wool around the face. They don't see the dogs until they're nose-to-nose.

Gwen found them difficult, not what she's used to.

I had difficulty on both outruns and fetches.

I felt happier once we started to drive. The best part was finishing!

Let's have a reminder of the action in that round.

That double gather and double lift didn't cause too many problems.

The outfield work was good from all of them.

Those sheep in that shedding ring! That's the story of the Singles.

Yeah. Poor Matt Watson for England.

Time up in the shedding ring. It just did not happen for him.

Then when it came to Ireland, that was a near disaster.

-It cost him dearly.

-And they were vital points.

Even Graham Powell, his sheep got out of the shedding ring,

but he just got that better score.

-And a word on Scott and Roci?

-They made it look so easy!

He really did try for Scotland.

He had a very good round.

Let's just check the scores then...

I'm now with the winner of that Singles round.

-Scott, 124 points is good.

-Yeah. I'm absolutely delighted.

-How did you feel it went? Was it a tricky course?

-It was.

I lost a few points on the crossdrive.

-A tough act to follow.

-The other three dogs were outstanding.

Frankie's dog's an outstanding dog, as are the other two dogs.

We'll find out shortly how that plays out on the leader board.

Before we announce this year's champions, we have a special award every year.

It's the Outstanding Handler Award.

Gus, we felt the winner had a real connection with their dog.

-Got their country off to a wonderful start.

-Yes.

Only eight months' experience but handled the dog like a veteran.

-Of course, it was Llion Harries.

-Well done!

APPLAUSE

We've even given you a dog bowl.

No doubt you'll be travelling all over the place. It's a travel one.

It folds out and everything.

So, then. It is the moment of truth,

the moment that all of the handlers have been waiting for.

Who are the champions this year? It was a close-run thing.

Let me reveal the scores.

In fourth was Scotland with 272.

In third was England with 273.

There was just two points between first and second.

Second, with 294,

is Ireland, which makes our winners this year, Wales with 296!

-CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

-Unbelievable!

Well, congratulations once again to Wales. What a fantastic competition.

We really have been spoilt here, in the back garden of Balmoral Castle.

Until next year, when we will see you in Wales, from myself, from Gus

and everybody here, it's goodbye.

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