Janet Ann Purtell, a fourth grade student at Juan Cabrillo Elementary School, and her Border Collie Lucy recently participated in a sheep dog trial organized by the Antelope Valley-centered Joshua Tree Australian Shepherd Club of America (JTASCA). Janet Ann and Lucy competed in the adult and junior classes and posted championship-qualifying scores in two of the six trials they competed in. The pair took home two class-winning plaques and High in Trial score ribbons for their efforts.
Janet Ann was the only handler at the trial under 25 years of age, though success in her class was not guaranteed. ASCA has strict guidelines for control and handling of the sheep and dog and points are awarded for successfully maneuvering around the arena and through multiple obstacles. In one of the trials, Janet Ann and Lucy successfully penned their sheep in the center obstacle, becoming the only team at the two-day event to accomplish this task and posting an event-high score of 109 of 125 points.