One of my greatest joys has been working with Seattle Pup Magazine. 1) A dear friend of mine runs it; 2) dogs. lots of dogs; 3) I get to go to fun events like the Sheepdog Trails on Vashon Island. I’ve been fascinated by the idea of sheepdog trails since I saw “Babe” and have been wanting to go to the Vashon ones since I first heard about them four or five years ago, and was so excited when we were generously gifted media passes to attend.
Vashon is this gorgeous little island just off West Seattle which one can only reach via ferry. Bonus: you get an amazing view of Mt. Rainier on the way over.
I loved mingling through the crowd. Everyone was so focused on what was going on, and those who had more experience in trialing sheepdogs (or who had been in years past) were so helpful in letting others know what was going on. There was also adorable signage all around reminding attendees to keep their distance from the trialing grounds.
The fun part of this trial for me was renting a larger lens for tracking shots. I got to play with the beastly Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM lens, letting me get shots at a variety of focal lengths to capture all the action.
The most common type of dog there was, of course, the Border Collie, but we saw a large range of dog breeds. I was lucky enough to meet this very sweet competitor who was so excited to meet people and give us kisses.
We also got to see not one but two red-tailed hawks! Shoutout to the 70-200 for capturing them.
The trials weren’t just all about watching the dogs. There were multiple shops with booths selling their wares and, most fun for us, the many, many makers with booths where people could take part and learn things like spinning.
We had such a fantastic time at the trials and can’t wait for them to come back in the future!