CCA Trial Rules – Central Cattledog Association

2024-2025 CENTRAL CATTLEDOG ASSOCIATION TRIAL RULES

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The Central Cattledog Association (hereafter CCA) is hereby formed for the purpose of:

• Fostering, promoting and developing the use of cattledogs for the benefit of farmers, ranchers, other livestock owners and cattledog handlers.

• Fostering, promoting and facilitating humane handling of livestock by educating farmers, ranchers, other livestock owners and cattledog handlers in the proper use of well-trained cattledogs.

• Conducting educational events, including clinics, demonstrations, sanctioning trials, and keeping records for the purpose of qualifying dogs for the CCA Finals and year-end awards.

INFORMATION

CCA shall provide information to its members via general membership meetings, e-mail, Facebook, and the CCA website located at www.centralcattledog.com.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

• The CCA Board of Directors has the authority to act on hardship situations on a case-by-case basis.

• The CCA Board of Directors has the authority to set disciplinary action for any valid, written complaint filed by a CCA member. A complaint must be filed, in writing, within thirty (30) days of the infraction or incident. These infractions can include, but are not limited to unsportsmanlike conduct, offensive language, disrespect to sponsoring host, laborer, or other trial official, abuse to animals, or misrepresentation of dogs and their classifications.

RULE CHANGES

Rule changes and/or new rules made during the trial year will go into effect immediately after the rule change is approved by the Board of Directors, unless the change will affect year-end issues such as Dog of the Year points or handler status. In those cases, the rules will go into effect with the first trial of the next trial season.

The only exception to the above rule is the following. The CCA in supporting other NCA sanctioning associations, and in interest of promoting a more level playing field within the trial community, will recognize the rules of other associations for moving handlers from the novice and intermediate classes. Rules include moving handlers based on year end points for first and second, as well as placement of champion and reserve champion in the local association finals. In other words, if a handler has been moved up to a higher class in another association, he/she will run in a higher class in the CCA. This rule supersedes and overrides any other CCA rule regarding handler move up. (This rule was adopted by the Central Cattledog Association Board of Directors at their meeting on May 18th, 2019 for the remainder of the trial year, and all future trial years, starting June 17th, 2019)

MEMBERSHIP

• Membership is not required to compete in a CCA sanctioned trial. However, each competitor must sign a Statement of Responsibility prior to competing in CCA trials. This statement is renewed annually.

• Voting rights of the membership are defined in the Bylaws document.

• Membership dues are to be paid annually, April 1 through March 31.

• Participating Membership dues are $25.00 per year or $100 for 5 years. This level of membership is for the handler who wants to compete in CCA sanctioned trials and earn Dog of the Year points.

• Family Membership dues are $25.00 annually for the first family member and $10.00 for each additional member. This level is for family members living in the same household. Each member has the same privileges as the Participating Membership.

• New Novice handler membership is free for the year.

• Participating or Family Membership is required to be current before going to the post in order to earn qualifying points for Dog of the Year.

SANCTIONING

The CCA sanctions six classes: (1) Open, (2) Nursery, (3) Intermediate, (4) Pronovice (5) Novice and (6) Horseback. The eligibility requirements for each class are described below. CCA charges a sanctioning fee of $5.00 for each dog run in these classes. These funds are used for the operation of the organization and to help put on the CCA year end trial. The sanctioning fee along with the complete trial results must be sent to the CCA Secretary as soon as practical after the trial date. Points will not be awarded to handlers until the trial host has paid sanctioning fees. The trial host must be a member in good standing of CCA and must submit a sanctioning application to the Secretary of the Board at least 10 days prior to the trial date. The Board will consider the sanctioning application and notify the trial host of approval or any required changes. The trial host has the option of adding additional classes after the 10 day cutoff date. However, the number of runs of each class cannot exceed two per day. ie two open, two nursery, etc.

CLASSES OF HANDLERS AND DOGS

1. OPEN CLASS: Any dog of any age may compete in the Open class. An Open handler is an advanced handler and may also compete in the Nursery and Pronovice class.

2. NURSERY CLASS: Only dogs that are younger than 30 months (2.5 years) at the beginning of the qualifying season (April 1) are eligible to compete in the Nursery class. In other words, for the 2024-2025 CCA trial year, eligible dogs must have been born on or after October 1, 2021. Any handler may compete in the Nursery class.

3. INTERMEDIATE CLASS: The Intermediate class is limited to handlers who are not competing in the Open class. An Intermediate handler may acquire a dog of any level at any time during the qualifying year and make that dog part of his/her Intermediate team. However, once a dog is part of an Intermediate team, it must, during that qualifying year, be run only by that handler to maintain the Intermediate eligibility of that team. Unlike in the Open, Nursery, and Pronovice classes, where points are earned by the dog and may be transferred with the dog to a new owner or handler, in the Intermediate class points are awarded to the handler/dog team. The only exception to this rule is novice handlers, novice handlers may run any dog including intermediate dogs without penalty to the intermediate team.

4. PRONOVICE CLASS: Any handler may compete in the Pronovice class. Eligibility for the Pronovice class is determined by the dog. A dog that has competed in the Open class may only compete in the Pronovice class upon transfer of ownership to another handler.

5. NOVICE CLASS: A Novice handler is a beginning handler who has not competed in the Open class. A Novice handler may compete in the Nursery and Pronovice classes. Eligibility for the Novice class is determined by the handler. Any dog can compete in the Novice class, novice handlers can run any dog including dogs competing in the open, nursery, and intermediate classes with another handler.

6. HORSEBACK CLASS:

Horseback is a stand alone class. It is the only CCA sanctioned class where horseback points can be earned.
Any handler of any level may compete in the Horseback class without affecting their eligibilty in any other CCA sanctioned class.
Any dog of any age may compete in the Horseback class.
Points are awarded to the dog, regardless of handler. a dog may be run in the Horseback class at different trials by different handlers.
If a trial is co-sanctioned with Rodear America only the Rodear America Open class will count for CCA Horseback points
If a trial is co-sanctioned with American Ranch Dog Trials (ARDT) only the ARDT Advanced class will count for CCA Horseback points

7. The CCA Board of Directors reserves the right to ask a handler in the Intermediate or Novice class to move up if the Board feels the handler is too advanced for the current class.

8. The same dog may be run by different handlers in different classes at the same trial, and on the same day. For example: An open handler can run a dog in the morning and a novice handler can run the same dog in the afternoon at the same trial. (board approved May 13, 2021)

CCA POINTS FOR DOG OF THE YEAR CHAMPIONS AND RESERVE CHAMPIONS

Qualifying points for CCA Dog of the Year are awarded by the CCA in each sanctioned class. The handler must be a CCA member in good standing before going to the post in order for the dog to earn qualifying points for Dog of the Year. Qualifying points are earned by and belong to the dog, regardless of handler or ownership changes. Provided there are at least 4 dogs in the class points are awarded to the top placing 30% and the top placing dog or team receives points equal to 30 times the number of dogs in the class. Each dog or team in second place will receive 100 points less than the first place dog or team. Third place and below will each receive 100 points less than the place above until there are no points. For example, in a class of 19, 6 dogs or teams will earn points and there will be 570 points awarded to first place, 470 points awarded to second place, 370 points awarded to third place, 270 points awarded to fourth place, 170 points awarded to fifth place, and 70 points awarded to sixth place. There must be at least four dogs in a class in order to have a CCA sanctioned class. If less than four dogs are entered in these classes, the class is NOT sanctioned and points will not be awarded. Any deviation from these CCA sanctioning guidelines or rules may result in disqualification as a sanctioned trial.

HANDLER RULES

1. It is each handler’s responsibility to familiarize themselves with the rules and each trial host accepts the responsibility to enforce these rules at each trial. Any questions on rules should be discussed before the trial begins.

2. Handlers with physical disabilities, and/or require special accomidations will be allowed the use of tools that are not normally accepted (binoculars, wheelchairs, electric scooters, or a walking aid). While not normally accepted as a tool, a horse or mule may be considered on a case by case basis after the handler has submitted a petition to the Board of Directors for consideration. If a horse or mule is used, the animal will be treated as the handler insofar as they cannot get out of a walk, cannot be used in a cutting horse capacity and they cannot enter any part of an obstacle. Infractions will be treated as they would for a handler and could result in disqualification. Handlers needing these tools should notify the trial host of their needs before the trial starts so there are no surprises. CCA encourages those with physical handicaps to participate in our sanctioned events and believes that trial hosts and trial officials should make reasonable efforts to accommodate these handlers.

3. A handler may leave a collar on the dogs running in CCA trials. The trial host, course director and CCA Board Members have the option to examine the dog just before the run and immediately after the run if these trial officials are concerned that there is any kind of training device on the collar.

4. A handler shall not enter the trial field at any time with any kind of training device. This includes, but is not limited to, remote controlled devices, dummy or weighted collars, any device used to distract or cause pain to a dog, sorting stick, or anything held in the hand. The trial official has the right to inspect a dog for any suspected violations of this rule and may disqualify a handler if he/she enters the trial field with any such equipment.

5. A handler is responsible for injury to livestock and property, both on and off of the trial field that results from a dog being loose and/or out of control.

6. All dogs should be kept securely tied, on a leash, or in a crate when not competing. While realizing that ropes can be chewed and chains can be broken, if a dog gains access to the trial course while competition is under way through negligence of the owner/handler, a trial official has the right to access disciplinary action against the dog and its owner, including disqualification of the handler and dog for the duration of the trial being held.

7. Handlers should always demonstrate sportsmanlike conduct.

TRIAL OPERATING RULES

1. The trial secretary will draw the running order using a random or rotation draw to determine the run order. The complete run order shall be drawn prior to the first contestant going to the post. A draw consists of a handler and dog team; a handler cannot name the order in which his/her dog shall run. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, an entry must be run in the order drawn. If a handler wishes to withdraw his/her entry after the run order has been established, the handler may be liable for payment of the entry fee.

2. If a handler starts to run and doesn’t stop or make a definite pause after the second step, it will be considered running and the handler can be disqualified. Hopping will not be considered as running.

3. If logistics and cattle allow, the fetch, at least in the Open class, must be completed with the handler remaining behind the handler line. The handler may choose to forfeit their points for the first obstacle by crossing the handler line in order to help their dog if that is allowed by the trial host.

4. In general, the course difficulty in Pronovice should be less than in Open and course difficulty in Novice less than in Pronovice. To attain this, obstacles and entrances may be widened, extra panels extending the wings may be added, etc. Also, course difficulty for all classes may be made more difficult on the second go.

5. Breaking ties when the handlers have not finished the course in the allotted time will be when all stock have crossed the handler (time) line, completed the first obstacle or have completed the second obstacle.

6. Contestants must not go into or through an obstacle they are currently working. If a contestant goes into or through the obstacle they are working, points will not be earned for that obstacle. Contestants cannot reach through and/or touch any panel or fence. If a contestant reaches through and/or touches any panel or fence, points will not be earned for that obstacle. If a handler touches the stock, points will not be earned for the obstacle being worked.

7. If time has expired before the handler has completed the course, the handler will be given credit for the stock that has completed the obstacle being worked.

8. If the livestock jumps out of the arena, if a loose dog gets on the trial field, or if other unforeseen circumstances occur through no fault of the handler, the time clock will be stopped. Trial officials will have the option of commencing the run from the same point where the original run was stopped, with all points and deductions standing, or award a completely new run. If the handler’s dog is responsible for the livestock leaving the course, it will be an automatic disqualification.

9. While recognizing that it is often necessary for a dog to bite the livestock to make a turn, excessive or out of control biting will NOT be tolerated. A dog that hangs onto the livestock as the livestock runs down the arena, or bites so hard as to bring the livestock down will not be tolerated. If the trial official deems the conduct to be excessive, the handler/dog will be disqualified for that run.

10. Trial hosts are strongly encouraged to have lower entry fees for the Novice class in order to encourage Novice handlers to enter the trials.

CCA YEAR END TRIAL

The CCA Finals trial may be held at the end of each trial year at the end of March or first of April. All classes, including Open, Nursery, Intermediate, Pronovice and Novice, are to be represented at the trial. Horseback class may be added depending on facilities, cattle and time availability. The trial will be sanctioned by the National Cattledog Association.

1. A dog that changes class during the year must compete in the Year End in the same class in which it last competed.

2. All cattle used in the CCA Finals must be exposed to dogs prior to the first go-round.

3. The course will be set up by the Year End Trial Committee when it arrives at the trial site and has had time to observe the disposition of the stock, the physical attributes of the arena, the location of the bleachers, etc. The committee may modify the course in each class as they see fit.

4. If it is decided the run the trial as “all or none”. All livestock must complete each obstacle before moving on to the next obstacle, If some of the stock goes through an obstacle and some do not, the handler may collect those not having gone through before they mix with the others and they can be put through for full points. If the two groups mix, they all must be put through again before moving on to the next obstacle.

5. If a handler chooses to retire the run, the handler will be given all points earned up until the time of retire, with full time.

6. If the CCA board decides to have a CCA Finals Trial instead of just a year end trial, the handler will have to enter a minimum of two separate trial locations (excluding the finals) to be eligible for added money and/or prizes at the CCA Finals.

COMPULSORY ADVANCEMENT OF DOG OF THE YEAR AND RESERVE DOG OF THE YEAR CHAMPIONS AND HANDLERS

1. There is no compulsory advancement of Dog of the Year or Reserve Dog of the Year champions in the Open class.

2. Compulsory advancement of the Nursery dog is controlled by the age requirement. There is no compulsory advancement of the Nursery Dog of the Year champion or reserve champion handler.

3. The CCA Intermediate Dog of the Year and Reserve Dog of the year handler can no longer compete in the Intermediate class.

4. There is no compulsory advancement of the CCA Pronovice champion or reserve champion HANDLER. However, the Pronovice Dog of the Year champion and reserve champion DOG can no longer compete in the Pronovice class.

5. The CCA Novice Dog of the Year and Reserve Dog of the year handler can no longer compete in the Novice class.

6. The CCA Board of Directors reserves the right to ask a handler in the Intermediate or Novice class to move up if the Board feels the handler is too advanced for the current class.

These rules were adopted by the Central Cattledog Association Board of Directors.

Shorty Guerin, President

4-18-24