1. A Trial Committee will be appointed annually for the USBCHA/ABCA National Open and National Nursery Sheepdog Finals. At least one-half of the members of this committee shall be appointed by the HA President, and up to half may be designated by the ABCA.

In the event of a dispute regarding the interpretation of the Rules the committee shall have the power to make decisions regarding the interpretation and administration of the rule in question. The committee will not have the power to overturn or disregard a Rule established by the USBCHA Board of Directors.

Minutes shall be taken of all meetings of this Finals Trial Committee (with the exception of meetings held at the trial site for the purpose of resolving questions about the trial course and conduct of the trial), and copies of those minutes shall be furnished to the Board of Directors and posted on the HA website in a timely manner.

2. The Trial Committee may appoint a non-contesting HA member to act as liaison between contestants and trial management.

3. All questions and disputes in connection with the National Finals not already settled by the judge(s) or Trial Committee shall be decided by the BOD, whose decision shall be final and binding and not subject to review by any Court of Law or other forum. Five (5) board members shall constitute a quorum.

4. In all cases of a dispute, the trial will proceed without delay under existing USBCHA rules. Any contestant arguing with the Finals judges is subject to disqualification for the run in question. Additionally, any individual arguing with the Finals judges over their own run or those of another competitor is subject to a fine and suspension from USBCHA trials until further notice.

1. Lifetime and General paid members may nominate judges for the Sheep and Cattle National Finals.Nominations for the Sheepdog Finals close on February 1 of the year of the Finals. The nomination form will be posted on the HA web site. Members must contact and obtain the consent of persons they wish to nominate. The HA Secretary shall mail ballots listing the nominees to all USBCHA and ABCA directors. Directors shall indicate their preferences by writing next to the name of their first choice a number equal to the total number of nominees, writing next to their second choice the next-lowest number, and so on until they have voted for all the nominees they wish to vote for. (For example, if there are a total of 8 nominees, directors will write the number 8 next to their first choice, 7 next to their second choice, 6 next to their third choice, and so on.) Ballots are due back to the Secretary on March 1 of the year of the Finals. Each director shall vote for as many nominees as he/she chooses and may enter a zero (0) if he/she prefers to not to vote for a nominee. Ballots shall be returned to the Secretary at least 6 months prior to the Finals. The Secretary shall tally the numbers and, after confirming willingness to serve, notify the directors of the nominees receiving the highest totals, who shall be deemed elected. If for any reason an elected judge cannot serve, the nominee receiving the next highest number of points shall be substituted.

2. The BOD must elect at least one North American judge for the National Finals. At least one of the National Finals judges must be (and all could be) a one-year resident of North America. No judge who is listed on an AKC approved judging list may judge the Cattle or Sheepdog Finals.

3. A person may not judge the National Finals more than three times in five years, nor in consecutive years.

4. On acceptance of an invitation to judge the National Finals, a person must agree to, and sign, a Code of Ethics statement.

5. At a National Finals trial, a person may not judge a dog that he or she:

a. Owned or co-owned after February 1 of the Finals year.
b. Personally ran and gained points with after February 1 of the Finals year.

6. At a National Finals Trial, a person may not judge his/her spouse or other immediate family member.

7. A person who has been selected to judge the National Finals may not judge another USBCHA-sanctioned trial during the two (2) months prior to the National Finals Trial.

1. Eligibility to run in the USBCHA Open and Nursery Sheepdog Finals is limited to citizens of the United States and/or Canada, and to non-citizens who have been physically present in the United States and/or Canada for at least nine months of the qualifying year for the Finals they seek to enter. Non-citizens may not have run in the National Sheepdog or Cattle dog trial of any country other than the US and Canada during the same calendar year as the Finals they seek to enter.

2. The handler of the dog must be a current paid member of the USBCHA before he competes to receive qualification. A member can qualify by competing against a non-member as long as all dogs competing comply with the USBCHA guidelines.

3. The dog receives qualification, not the owner or handler.

4. To be eligible to run in the National Finals, the handler must be a current member of the ABCA. The dog must be registered with the ABCA to be eligible for ABCA prize money. Dogs not registered with the ABCA are still eligible to run and to receive USBCHA prize money.

1. Qualifying for the Open Finals is set forth in the Association Bylaws, Article XI.

2. An eye exam is no longer required in order to run in the National Finals.

3. Scores from the first qualifying round at the National Open Finals and the scores from the Semi-final round will not be added together to determine the entries qualifying for the Final round. Only scores from the Semi-finals will be used.

4. The official score for dogs that retire or are disqualified in the Final round (double lift) will be 0. Placements for these dogs shall be determined by the Judge(s) immediately upon the conclusion of the trial and will be based on the scores earned up to the phase of work that was not completed.

1. Age requirement

a. A dog is eligible for the Nursery Finals if its third birthday falls on or after July 1 of the year in which that Nursery Final is held. [Any dog born on or after July 1, 2012 is eligible for the 2015 Finals; any dog born on or after July 1, 2013 is eligible for the 2016 Finals.]

b. Imported dogs, meaning dogs bred in countries other than the United States or Canada, are eligible for the USBCHA Nursery ONLY if imported BEFORE they reach one (1) year of age.

2. A dog may compete in any class and retain eligibility.

3. To qualify to compete in the Nursery Finals, a Nursery dog must place on two occasions in the top twenty percent (20%) (rounded to the nearest whole number) of dogs competing in a USBCHA sanctioned Nursery Class of five (5) dogs or more. Placement by a nursery dog in the top 20% of a full National style judged Open class will also count as a Nursery qualifying placing.

4. The nursery dogs must run a full National style course, without the shedding work, for the class to be a qualifying class.

5. In the Nursery Finals, the scores of the top five (5) dogs from each district will be combined to determine the District Team Championship.

6. A handler is limited to running two dogs at the Nursery Finals.

7. Dogs placing in the top forty percent (40%) of the first Nursery Final run, not to exceed 50 dogs, will run in the second Nursery run. Prize money will be paid to the top 20 dogs based on the combined score of two runs.

8. For sanctioning Nursery trials, see Part 3.A.9.

1. The Finals Trial Secretary shall work jointly with the Trial Committee, Course Directors and local trial committee. The Trial Secretary shall furnish the running order and judge’s sheets; shall be responsible for checking and posting scores. The secretary will have checks ready for disbursement by the end the Finals. The secretary will know at all times who the Course Director is and who is the spokesperson for the trial committee. The secretary will perform duties requested by the President, course director and/or trial committee spokesperson as is necessary to assure an orderly running of the Finals Trial.

2. The Trial Secretary or assistants may not divulge information to any contestant about judge’s decisions or his individual preferences in the handling or scoring during the competition.

1. The Course Director shall be a person selected by and at the discretion of the Trial Committee.

2. The Course Director shall call competitors in their turn according to the program, unless directed otherwise by the Trial Committee.

3. If requested by the competitor before the run starts to explain the course, the Course Director shall provide a correct explanation. After the run starts, the Course Director shall not assist the competitor by giving advice or in any other way.

4. The Course Director shall see that each lot of sheep when let out is placed to give each competitor a fair and equal chance.

5. The Course Director shall be available at all times during the trial to convey to the competitor any instructions from the judges.

6. The Course Director is responsible at all times for keeping the course clear and ensuring that competitors or their dogs are not interfered with in any way while competing.

7. It is the timekeeper’s duty to accurately start the stopwatch at the beginning of each competitor’s run and to promptly call time when the allotted time for the course has expired.

1. Entries must be postmarked on or before August 1st or such date as set by the Secretary. If entries are not accepted, the entry fee will be returned. An entrant must notify the trial secretary before the Finals class begins (first dog to the post) in order to substitute to an alternate dog (listed on entry form) provided the alternate dog has sufficient qualifying points to be eligible (for the Open) or qualifying legs (for the Nursery).

2. Entry forms must be completed and logged at the Trial Secretary’s office by the entry deadline. Entry fees shall be $200 per dog in Open and $150 per dog in nursery, and must be paid on entry.

3. After the date of closing and the legal run order draw for the USBCHA National Finals has been made, the secretary of USBCHA will be authorized to fill vacancies in the accepted run order if a handler withdraws by allowing the next handler with the highest number of points be admitted to the run order until the 150 dog limit has been met. The secretary will be allowed to fill vacancy openings until 5:00 pm in the Finals time zone the day prior to the first open run.

1. Any competitor running two dogs will run his/her second dog after all other competitors with two dogs have run their first dog. A handler MAY NOT designate which dog is to run first.

2. To implement this, all handlers with one dog will be drawn randomly, one at a time, and divided alternately into two lots. Entries of handlers with two dogs will be added to the first lot. Entries of the first lot will then be drawn for running order. First dog drawn runs first, second dog drawn runs second, etc. When a handler with two dogs is drawn a second time that entry will be placed in the second lot for re-draw. Upon completion of drawing the first lot, the trial Secretary will randomly draw the second lot to continue the running order. Using this system does not mean that a handler with one dog will run before the second dog of a handler running two dogs

1. THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR LAYING OUT THE COURSE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RULES RESTS WITH THE TRIAL COMMITTEE.

2. The Course, Scale of Points and Time Limit now fixed by the Directors are set out below. The Trials shall be on 4-5 sheep so selected that each competitor shall receive the same class of sheep if possible.

3. Subject to the reservation that the Course may be altered by the Trial Committee, the Trial shall, if possible, be decided on the following Course as set forth in this paragraph.

a. Preliminary Round
i. Sheep 4-5 sheep
ii. Gather 400 yards from handler. Fetch. Set of gates = 7 yards apart, 150 yards from handler, in the center of the course.
iii. Drive 450 yards over triangular course, 2 sets of gates = 7 yards apart. First set of gates approximately 150 yards from handler. In the case of a short course, when fetch is less than 400 yards, the drive will be lengthened when possible so that the total length of the fetch and the drive is 850 yards, or as near to this length as is reasonably practical.
iv. Shedding ring 40 yards in diameter.
v. Pen 9 feet x 8 feet wide with a gate 8 feet wide, secured by a rope 6 feet long. The gate must open to not less than 170 degrees.

Semi-final Round
i. Sheep 5 sheep (3 unmarked and 2 marked with red collars).
ii. Gather 450-500 yards from handler. Remainder of the course, same guidelines
iii. At the completion of the drive two unmarked sheep will be shed followed by the pen. At the completion of the pen, one marked sheep will be singled.

Final Round
i. Sheep, 1st packet 10 sheep preferably unseen by dog. Gathering Approximately 600-800 yards from handler. Fetch Set of gates = 9 yards wide to a post fixed 20 yards through the gate in the center of the field.
ii. Sheep, 2nd packet 10 sheep preferably unseen by dog. Gathering approximately 800 yards from the handler.
iii. Drive Total of 600 yards on a triangular course with 2 sets of gates = 9 yards apart. First set of gates to be approximately 200 yards from the handler.
iv. Shedding Ring 40 yards in diameter
v. Pen 9 feet x 8 feet with a gate 8 feet wide to which is secured a rope 6 feet long. The gate must open to not less than 170 degrees

1. Individuals judging the USBCHA National Finals should read and follow the USBCHA Rules and be familiar with the Judging Guidelines and ISDS Rules posted on the HA website.

2. If at any time during the running of a class at the National Finals, one of the judges becomes disabled in any way, all of his/her scores in that round will be dropped. Scoring and placements will be determined solely by the other judge(s) to the end of that round.

3. DISQUALIFICATION:
Should a judge determine that a team should be disqualified due to an infraction as permitted in the Rules or Judging Guidelines, the judge will indicate his/her intention to the Course Director in the manner agreed upon prior to the trial. The Course Director will determine whether a majority of judges agree and if so will ask the handler to retire.

If a majority of judges do not agree, the judges may confer briefly as long as such a conference does not interfere with or limit their ability to continue to judge the run, and if a consensus or majority agreement is reached, will inform the Course Director to excuse the handler.

If the judges do not reach a consensus or majority, then the judge(s) who believed that a disqualification was warranted may deduct points up to the maximum allowed for the phase of work in which the infraction occurred but will then continue to judge the run according to the judging guidelines.

Reruns

The rules governing reruns are as described in Section II-D Of the Rules, and Section 2.3 of the Judging Guidelines. If a judge determines that a rerun is warranted, he/she shall indicate that intention to the Course Director. The Course Director will determine if the other judge(s) are in agreement. If a majority judges are in agreement, the Course Director shall notify the handler and the judges may then confer as to how the rerun will be conducted after which the Course Director will notify the handler, and all judges will judge the rerun according to the Rules and Judging Guidelines.

If a majority of judges are not in agreement, the judges may briefly confer if doing so does not interfere with or limit their ability to continue to judge the run. If no consensus is reached or a majority of judges do not agree to a rerun, no rerun will be granted and all judges will continue to judge the run according to the judging guidelines.

4. A competitor whose dog damages sheep shall be liable to pay the damage. The judge may stop a competitor at any point of the trial or withhold any prizes on the ground of insufficient merit.

5. Any judge that feels that a dog is not capable of continuing with his run because he is showing signs of stress should disqualify that dog and handler. This would include overheating, lameness or demonstrated inability to do the work required.

6. At the National Finals there will always be water available on the field so the dogs can cool themselves. Handlers are allowed to direct their dogs to the water and the dogs may use the water with no point penalty. Handlers may not leave the post to go to the water with their dog. If the handler is on the way to or in the shedding ring or on the way to the pen, they may detour to the water. The clock will not be stopped. Handler and dog are still being judged on the actions of the stock and anything that the stock do may cause a loss of points or if the stock leave the trial area disqualification.

7. Except in the case of an injury or illness of either the dog or handler or sickness or injury in the handlers’ family, if a contestant refuses to compete in the Final round of the Finals, any money/prizes won in the preliminary or semi-final run will be forfeited. In the event money/prizes have been distributed before the finals, it must be refunded/returned within fifteen (15) days after the refund request is made, or the contestant will be suspended until the money/prizes have been refunded/returned.