March 10, 2023

2023 Meeker Classic Judge – Dianne Deal, Caldwell, Idaho

Judging a sheepdog trial is not for the faint of heart.

The job description at the Meeker Classic involves 5 full days of runs. Following the Handler’s meeting each morning at 6:45, the runs start at 7 am each morning and last until 4 or 5 in the afternoon.

Guidelines for judging a USBCHA (United States Border Collie Hander’s Association)  sanctioned sheepdog trial

are modeled after trials in Britain where sheepdog trials and the Border Collie originated. In judging a sheepdog trial, the judge must impartially apply the same standards of evaluation to each run on the course. A trial course is designed to test the dogs ability to manage sheep in a manner that demonstrates practical working skills on the farm or ranch. That course is divided into six scored components.

It is the judge’s responsibility to see that every competitor has a fair chance

while scoring each run to the same standard. The judge must sign off on the final score sheet that is the official record of each run and is responsible for upholding rigid rules of decorum, sportsmanship, and humane animal treatment.

It is our honor and privilege to welcome Dianne Deal from Caldwell, Idaho

to the Meeker Classic as the official judge for 2023. Dianne has graciously accepted our invitation and comes to Meeker with a wealth of experience and numerous recommendations. During her five days in Meeker, Dianne will oversee 135 preliminary runs, 30 semi-final runs and 12 double-lift final runs.

Dianne started training and trialing her own border collies 30 years ago

under the guidance of her friend and mentor, Patrick Shannahan. She bought her first border collie, Bear, at a horse show in 1993. Bear never became a great trial dog, however, he was the start of Dianne’s love of border collies and their ability to work as a partner both in trials and everyday ranch work. She never imagined that 30 years later she would be traveling to international places giving clinics, lessons and trialing her dogs.

Competing successfully in USBCHA throughout North America,

Dianne and has qualified many dogs for the both the open and nursery finals since 2008. She enjoys trialing and has won many open and nursery trials in the Northwest. A few of her biggest accomplishments include being the reserve champion at Canada’s Kingston trial, and winning the bronze medal at Soldier Hollow. She has also won both nursery and the open trials at Little Horse Mountain, Vashon Island SDT, Fire Ridge Vineyard, Palm Cottage, Dirt Blowing trial, McCormack Ranch as well as many others. Dianne was named 2010 ABCA Breeder of the Year when Riggs won the USBCHA Open finals with co-owner, Patrick Shannahan. Most of the dogs she is currently running are related to or are sired by Riggs.

Diane currently specializes in judging,

starting young dogs, raising a few puppies, running her nursery and open dogs, giving clinics and introducing new handlers to this fantastic sport. She and WT “Bill” Bruce reside in Caldwell, Idaho where they have sheep, a couple of cows, a few horses and a lot of dogs. In her free time, she enjoys riding her horses, gardening, exploring new places and cultures, fishing with Bill and hanging out with her kids, Paxton and Kelton.

We welcome Dianne to Meeker and she’s excited to be here. She knows the challenges of the trial and looks forward to joining us while extending her wishes for the best of luck to all of the handlers!