In business these days, many new restaurants and other establishments have what is called a “soft opening,” where the business opens without the fanfare of a grand opening to have what amounts to a trial run.

The Stanly County Farm Bureau Livestock Arena had such an event late last month as two Stanly residents hosted a qualifying time trial event for the United States Border Collie Handlers Association.

Nearly 150 dogs, along with their owners, competed at the three-day event, which also brought local citizens in to watch the dogs compete in time trials in various classes.

The event was the first for the new livestock arena, which has opened for events but will not have its official grand opening until Agri-Civic Center Day Aug. 17.

Chris Lambert, facilities and operations director for the livestock arena and the Agri-Civic Center, said attendees of the event were impressed with the amenities of the facility. He said people told him they liked the breeze coming in with the big fans on the roof of the livestock arena.

Lambert credited Reggie Medlin and Curtis Furr for “getting this thing off the ground, along with Frank Simpson and a few others.”

“It’s great that it’s finally here and we can see this,” Lambert said.

The director added many of the competitors were shopping locally as well as staying in local hotels.

Kathy and Perry Gardner heard about the arena on social media and brought their lawn chairs out to watch the dogs compete.

Both said they watched the arena being built and wanted to see what it looked like.

“It’s pretty fascinating,” Kathy said, while her husband added, “you can tell some thought and time went into (the arena).”

Rebecca Gibson, another Stanly resident who organized the competition, said she and her husband, Josh, have been hosting events like this one for five or six years.

“Having a facility that we can host events like this…it’s really cool to be here and be able to stay at home, go back and forth, and have all of these folks that participate in this sport with us in our hometown,” she said.

She said shows like the dog competitions, horse events and others “are big draws to bring people into Stanly County.”

Regarding the border collie event, Gibson said, “we really anticipated a small turnout. We were going to put on a small trial…this event was three or four times bigger than we anticipated it was going to be.”

She noted the national finals this year are on the East Coast, in Belle Grove, Virginia, and many of the competitors at the event were looking to qualify for the finals before the cutoff of July 31.

“The ag piece of Stanly is so important, to support that and show it off to the public,” she said. “It makes them understand that it’s not just the farmer out there growing fields these days. Farming has been taken in a whole different direction.”