Sheep dog trials back in town
• Australia’s winning team captain in the test series versus New Zealand, Mick Hudson, pictured with his dog Daisy after Sunday’s win at Campbell Town. Photo supplied.
By Daisy Baker
October 26, 2022
The Tasmanian working sheep dog championship will roll into Scottsdale later this week, bringing some of the best talent from around the state and country to the region.
Run by the Tasmanian Working Sheep Dog Association at the Scottsdale Recreation Ground, the Championships will run from Thursday to Sunday.
Competitors will include widely regarded New South Wales stockman and working dog trainer Mick Hudson, who is currently considered one of the best in Australia.
Last weekend he won the National Supreme Sheep Dog Championship in Campbell Town.
Over the four-day event, the novice, improver and open trials will see trainers and their dogs attempt to get three sheep around a course, navigating obstacles and into a pen.
Local organiser Max Rainsford said the trials can be best described as a game of chess but with dogs.
“It’s a bit of a dark art in skill. The dogs have to have amazing inherited instinct, they’ve got to be handled well and the dogs have to be able to read the sheep. Not any dog can do that,” he said.
“It’s the control of the sheep, the manoeuvring of the dog. Basically it’s about settling the sheep, gaining control and walking through the course.”
With 15 minutes on the clock to complete the course, each competitor and their dog start out with 100 points, losing points for straying off course or leaving the sheep behind.
More than 100 dogs, predominantly border collies and kelpies, will come from as far away as from Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales to compete.
The Championships will commence with the novice and novice encouragement trial on Thursday, followed by open and improver rounds held on Friday and Saturday.
On Sunday the improver final will see the top six competitors battle it out, and the top ten open competitors will then go head-to-head for the finale.
The Championships will wrap up with presentations at 3pm.
Scottsdale Rotary hosted a successful country showcase in 2020, encompassing sheepdog trials, yard dog trials, woodchopping, quick shears and a bullock team demonstration.
It was the first working dog competition held in Scottsdale for more than 10 years.
This week will see the return of the Tasmanian sheep dog Championship to the North-East, which will be the sixth time it has come to town, with the first event held in the 1970s.
Locals have pitched in to bring the event to life, with North Scottsdale farmer Jerrod Nichols supplying the sheep for the event and Southfork Transport assisting with cartage.
Spectators are encouraged to come along and enjoy the action over the four-day event.