Border collies rule the arena at Yorkton’s Harvest Showdown

Handlers and their dogs race to pen cattle in under three minutes — a fan-favourite event at Yorkton’s Harvest Showdown. Fruzina De Clout reports.

The annual stock dog competition at Westland Arena kicked off Thursday just before noon, drawing a crowd of mostly students. Spectators were asked to keep quiet, as the only sounds came from hooves kicking up dirt and handlers’ whistles.

One of the competitors, Marcel Vermette, who has worked with border collies for 25 years, described the subtle communication that happens before the event starts.

“[They’re telling the stock] I’m the predator, and you’re the prey. When I say move, start moving,” he said. “They have what we call a ‘quiet power’ — a conversation between the dog and the stock, just through body movement and gestures.”

The dogs not only run, but they also herd. To score points, they need to guide three cattle into pens.

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Vermette initially saw the dogs as tools, but over time he grew to admire their skills and wanted to showcase them.

“It’s more of a bragging competition, which is how dog trials started in Scotland,” he said. “It was a couple of guys sitting in the pub saying, ‘I got the best dog, and I could prove it.’”

There are different levels in a stock dog competition. The cattle trial at the Harvest Showdown was an open competition, where the dogs have at least two to three years of training, according to Vermette.

“We have a training plan we work on, and others are just training through daily work,” he said. “These are dogs for working. They’d be terrible pets.”

The event draws crowds who love to watch the dogs in action.

“This is quite a popular event,” said Cheyenne Quam, executive director of the Yorkton Exhibition. “Everyone loves to see the dogs run.”

The stock dog competition continues Thursday evening, but the Harvest Showdown has even more to offer.

“There’s something for everyone. We have dogs, we have horses, we have cattle. I honestly think that really draws a crowd,” said Quam.

The event series concludes Saturday with a barn dance.