Hawke's Bay's sheep top dog triallists had to yield to an outsider when East Coast visitor Fraser Wilson overcame the tough last-day conditions to take the Hawke's Bay Show title last Friday.
Wilson and sheep dog Spike, who had been runner-up at the Poverty Bay Show six days earlier, just pipped Patoka farmer Scott Wedd, runner-up for the second time, this year with his dog Kip.
It was a case of an old dog never lying down when multi-titled Trump trotted out again to claim third place with Te Aute doyen Bob Bruce, who competed for New Zealand in Australia last month. He also made the run-off with Cheat but dipped out with Skip, the dog he had in the transtasman tests at Strathalbyn, South Australia.
The four-man New Zealand team won one and lost one in Australia, but still won the Wayleggo Cup for transtasman supremacy - a big triumph on Australian soil, with the big merino sheep. The team competed in two other trials, at Maitland and Paskerville.
Trump is taking an easier path in the new year, with Bruce having indicated at the end of last season the champion heading dog is unlikely to be chasing the points on the clubs circuit.