In April, 2001, Rural Route Videos headed south to Montgomery, Alabama, for the chance to film the first USBCH National Cattledog Finals. Sixty handlers and their dogs had qualified for a chance to win this remarkable trophy. They had tough cattle and hot weather, but they had a great time.

For this year, Rural Route Videos has produced a 2 hour and 40 minute video highlighting the Handler's Finals from Klamath Falls, Oregon.

A Yoke of Oxen & The Early Settlers
90 minutes.

This is one of our most recently produced videos. I just loved the time I spent with these characters and their craft when I was filming this video.  My objective, when I set out to produce this program, was to produce a documentary of the teamsters, hear their stories, look back into the history of the oxen, and create a story that was worthy of this disappearing part of the pioneer’s life. And from the feedback received from our customers, I believe I managed to achieve these goals. We captured and preserved an important part of our rural history for many to see and other generations to appreciate.

Oxen played an important role in the settlement of the new world. With the help of the Ross Farm Museum, we have been able to capture the life and history of the early settlers and their work with their oxen.  Spending well over a week, filming this program, I became enthused by the commitment of these men and women working at the museum. Their attention to detail and, above all, their wide scope of knowledge on this subject was captivating. Yoke making, shoeing, ploughing, woods work,  plus many other aspects of the ox teamster’s way of life are depicted in this video. In addition to my time filming at Ross Farm, I spent a few days filming at the Bridgewater Agricultural Exhibition, home of the annual International Ox Pull where some 80 teams come to compete.

The stories are told by the characters who work these fine animals.

This is what H.B. of Dawsonville, Georgia said, “This video took me back through the history of these wonderful animals, and showed how they worked with the pioneers, and even today, are still used on farms and in  woods in some areas.  The music, the interviews, the pictures were all put together very professionally.  Just a very interesting video.”  

The Rural Delivery magazine review of our Yoke of Oxen concluded:
"In a word: A winner".

Reaching Back to the Past
The Work Of The Rare Breeds Survival Trust

A trip to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust’s Annual Show and Sale has been on my list for a number of years.  Held each September, in Warwickshire, England, this is the main event for the Trust and a show -case of some of the finest genetic lines of domestic rare breeds.  Cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry were all on display.  With the help of Lawrence Alderson and his staff, this video explores the work of the Trust, their success at rebuilding some of the breeds from the brink of extinction, and their work with the Rare Breeds Meat Marketing Scheme plus their involvement in many other areas.

We also visit the Temple Newsam Estate, the world’s largest rare breeds farm.  We look at one of the few remaining Red Poll dairy herds and then travel to David Lishman’s traditional butcher’s shop, in Ilkley Yorkshire.

1999 U.S.B.C. Handlers'  Finals from Bellegrove, VA
2 hours in length

This video looks briefly at the qualifying results and then highlights the semi finalists, explaining how these teams scored. The major part of the program is made up with the top runs in the event, the higher the position in the finals, the more time is designated to the run.

The Ranch Dog Trainer magazine review said, "This production of the 1999 USBCHA/ABCA Handlers Finals held in Bellegrove, Virginia is as professional as any stockdog video that will ever be viewed.  With top camera work, commentary and one-on-one interviews, Rural Route Videos gives a great overview of the National Finals.  Never before has there been a product produced that has the high quality of the U.S. Border Collie Handlers' Finals -1999 video.

The Working Border Collie magazine review said.  " Martin Penfold of Rural Route Videos has done an excellent job of capturing the highlights of the 1999 National Finals. Penfold understands Border Collies and sheepdog trials; this lends authenticity and realism to the production………includes many brief but informative interviews with contestants, judges and trial officials throughout the tape.  Accurate course descriptions using graphics, explains the course to the viewers.  The narration during the video is tastefully done, telling where major points were deducted, while allowing  the better work of the dogs to be seen………….the filming, sound quality and program layout of this video are exceptional.  Martin Penfold is a unique one-man production crew.  His work rivals that of companies who profess to spend tens of thousands of dollars for similar productions.  

P.R. of Priest River, ID said, "Thank you, I am so happy you did this as no-one else seems to be able to video these dog events and your other videos are just the best"

"Mike and I watched the finals tape last night and it is fantastic! We will be sure to recommend the tape to EVERYONE!  J.J.

"We watched the tape tonight and it was wonderful - will start spreading the word about how good it is".  F.R.

"Martin, just got a copy of the finals tape. GREAT JOB!!!!!! I loved every thing about it. The commentary was outstanding as was the photography. You did an excellent job of show casing our trial. Thanks."  M.S.

"Just watched the US finals video. It is very good. You do a great job."  J.K.

Working with Wool - SPINNING
120 minutes

Delia Burge has been working with wool for literally decades. It has been a keen hobby and also a worthwhile business for her.  Delia has also concentrated on the marketing side of her wool, and as such is an active member of the Water Street Studio in Pictou, Nova Scotia, a co-operatively owned craft store, where she markets her wares.  I have known Delia for almost 20 years. Her enthusiasm for her work has been so encouraging for many other spinners, and so I asked her if she would be interested in sharing her skills through the production of a training video. The result of which, during the summer of 1998, I traveled down to Nova Scotia and spent a week filming her work.

Working with Wool, SPINNING, is a 2 hour video. It briefly looks at the differences between the different wools and breeds of sheep. It then follows through the process of washing, dyeing, drying, picking, carding, and then finally spinning. The program is well laid out, easily explained, simple to follow and should be of great help for anyone starting out with this craft.  

M.R. of Canning, Nova Scotia said, “Working with Wool is a very good video. It’s very in-depth and covered all of the basics”.

E.C. of Englehart, ON said, "Received Working with Wool - WOW! I must have sat through the whole thing 50 times already.  Keep making those videos!!!"

All videos @ $29.95 + $5 shipping per order.
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