Lambert, of Andover, Conn., and Mirk, an import of Wales, braved the wind and heat to gain points toward the USBCHA's national competition in September.

Nearly 100 dogs competed over four days. Free To Be is a 330-acre working ranch owned by Geri Abrams

Abrams will be holding another trial in July, when 200 dogs will compete per day over the nine-day event. Abrams said one handler will be coming from South Africa.

Border collie herding trials are held all over the country, year-round.

Within the USBCHA, there are 10 districts with two elected directors per district. District One Director Wilda Bahr, from Pine Valley, Calif., and Herbert Holmes, president of the USBCHA, competed this weekend in New Mexico.

Different classes compete at the trials.

This trial included open, open ranch, nursery, ranch and novice herding. Bahr said open is the event to watch, because those are the dogs and handlers who hope to compete at the national level. Only open and nursery classes go to the national level. Nursery is for dogs under age three. There are 1,200 handlers who compete in the open class, Bahr said, and only 80 have enough points to qualify for nationals.

This year's national finals will be held Sept. 22 to 27 in Klamath Falls, Ore. Lambert received second place at last year's finals.

The only USBCHA-sanctioned herding trials in New Mexico she knew of are held at Free To Be Ranch,

"Here we have a big, grueling course," she said. "It's quite challenging. But I have to hand it to Geri, this is one of the few places with hook-ups, usually we're dry camping."

The trials are open to any breed, but border collies are really the only one's who can do it, according to Bahr.

"They're very busy, and they need a job to do, always," she said, while stroking her border collie Gracie. "They're too smart to lay around in the backyard, aren't you?"

Here's how herding trials work.

The dogs and handlers start off with points, which are reduced as mistakes happen. These are the categories where points may be lost:

Outrun: The dog starts with the handler at "post," then runs around the course to where five sheep are located.

Lift: The dog meets the sheep, trying to keep them calm and guide them in a straight line back to the handler.

Fetch/Drive: The sheep are guided, ideally straight back to the handler, bisecting a triangle between the handler and two open goals. When the sheep deviate from the line, points are taken away. After the sheep come back to the handler, they are directed by the dog to the first gate, all sheep must pass through, then to the next gate, finally back to a circle.

Shed: Once all the sheep are in the circle, a specified number of sheep must be removed from the ring

Pen: Sheep are driven into a pen with a gate.

Single: After penning, the judge may require a sheep to be separated from the others and driven away. The catch is the sheep must not leave the shedding ring until singled out.