Fast forward to July 25, 2004, the weekend after the Thames Traditional Boat Rally.  Hemp has been entered in the Sheep Dog Trial this year, and we have recruited a Hemp fan club from Star Craft members to watch the event.  Barbara and Marco shuttle people and supplies from Fawley Meadow to Greenlands Farm in the morning (Italian morning, of course, which occurs shortly before noon).  Since this is a Star Craft event of sorts, we bring a large quantity of supplies for the afternoon – teak table, folding chairs, barbeque, copious amounts of food and drink.  The fan club initially consists of Don and Emma (Lady Bea), John and Marjorie (Sea Melody), and Graham and Diane (formerly of Louis Philippe, but now owning an embarrassing lump of plastic).  A surprise arrival is in store – Terry and Audrey (Etoile de Paris) and Jonathan and Thomas (Magic Rose) have taken a taxi from their mooring in Abingdon to join the party.  The Hemp fan club now consists of a dozen people lounging in chairs and drinking Pimms (prepared by young Thomas, who is becoming a very able bartender).  The other dogs are lucky to have two people in attendance to watch their performances, and the average preparations consist of a sandwich and a flask of tea.  In typical Star Craft fashion, we have overdone it, and are making the usual spectacle of ourselves.

Star Craft fans study the competition with Hemp

Hemp does not compete until the late afternoon, so we have ample opportunity to watch other dogs compete and enjoy a leisurely barbeque.  Marco warns us not to pet Hemp too much and make him “soft.”  Hemp gets a good petting, and sits between Emma and Thomas with an umbrella held overhead to shade him from the occasional sun.  Many drinks later the fated time arrives.  We are all ready, with cameras and binoculars to hand so that not a move is missed.  Marco is resplendent with his dog whistle and shepherds crook (think Little Bo Peep, replacing the wolf with a sheep dog and the heroine with a tall Italian).  Hemp is sent out to collect the sheep (called the “outrun”) from the top of the hill, several hundred yards from the starting point.  The outrun out is impressive, with Hemp making a beautiful sweeping arc at full speed to arrive behind the sheep and chase them down the hill to the first gate.  The Hemp fan club is on their feet and cheering.  Surely, this will be a performance equal to the best we have seen today, and Hemp will walk away with the top prize.  But then it all goes terribly wrong…

The sheep won’t move.  Marco is performing a complicated set of dog whistles and gesticulating wildly (as only Italians can), but Hemp cannot get the sheep to shift.  Finally Hemp takes a running go at the sheep and scatters them everywhere.  In hot pursuit, Hemp chases the sheep not to the target gate, but into the far parking lot where they romp amongst the spectators.  A second sheep dog is brought in to try and get the situation under control.  Now there are two people whistling and gesticulating while the sheep continue to rampage through the parking lot with a pair of fast moving shaggy dogs racing about.  Meanwhile at the Hemp fan club, we are trying to look sufficiently sympathetic to Marco while simultaneously rolling about in fits of hysterical laughter.  The dogs eventually get the sheep under control, and Marco takes Hemp off the course without having made the first gate.  We all agree that it was bad luck; it was all down to a bad batch of sheep, and with such a brilliant outrun, Hemp would surely win the contest next year.