Whangamomona Dog Trial Club: Trial season off to a good start with 97th annual event

Whangamomona longhead and run. Photo / Supplied

The Taranaki dog trials season started with the 97th annual Whangamomona Dog Trial Club event on February 4 and 5.

With the change to the red traffic light setting, the club was still able to host the trials following guidelines and regulations.

Club secretary Charmaine Murphy says the club was unsure of what to expect regarding attendance numbers.

"However, we were happy with the numbers and pleased to see some new competitors attend."

Over the two days 53 heading dogs competed in the longhead and 66 heading dogs in the shorthead and yard, 77 huntaways competed in the zig-zag hunt and the straight hunt.

Whangamomona club members took out three of the four open wins. President Steve Murphy and his heading dog Edge won the shorthead and yard with 96.5 points.

Leighton Bellringer and his huntaway Swag won the zig-zag hunt with 97 points, Rachel Law and her huntaway Miss won the straight Hunt with 97.5points, and Taranaki Centre competitor Bernie Gower won the longhead with his heading dog Jacki with 94 points.

The courses were great, the sheep worked very well, and everyone was well fed and watered; best of all, it rained after dealing with extremely dry conditions.

Results:

Longhead: 1st Bernie Gower, Jack, 94pts, 2nd Fergus Smith, Meg, 93.5pts, 3rd Robyn Stephens, Jake, 93pts, 4th Lloyd Downs, Bill, 92pts, 5th Aaron Ryan, Mist, 91pts, 1st Intermediate: Bernie Gower, Jack, 94pts, 1st Maiden: Fergus Smith, Meg, 93.5pts.

Short Head and Yard: 1st Steve Murphy, Edge, 96.5pts, 2nd Dan Murphy, Trace, 94.5pts, 3rd Graham Wellington, J-Lo, 93.5pts, 4th Robyn Stephens, Jake, 92pts, 5th Stan Whiteman, Reign, 91.5 pts, 1st Intermediate: Steve Murphy, Edge, 96.5pts, 1st Maiden: Lloyd Duffy, Jewel, 88.5pts.

Zig Zag Hunt: 1st Leighton Bellringer, Swag, 97pts, 2nd Liam Park, Risk, 96pts, 3rd Rachel Law, Miss, 95.75 pts, 4th Bryce Jensen, Jane, 95.5pts, 5th Steve Murphy, Savvy, 95.25pts,1st Intermediate: Liam Park, Risk, 96pts,1st Maiden: Aren Roche, Doug, 94.6pts.

Straight Hunt: 1st Rachel Law, Miss, 97.5pts, 2nd Greg Anderson, Mac, 96.75 pts, 3rd Mark Duffy, Shield, 96.5pts, 4th Steve Murphy, Bragg, 96pts, 5th Aren Roche, Doug, 95.75 pts, 1st Intermediate: Greg Anderson, Mac, 96.75 pts,1st Maiden: Aren Roche, Doug, 95.75pts.

Next Taranaki Centre trials:

Mangaehu-Stratford STDC Grounds: 216 Mangaotuku Rd on February 18 and 19, Waverly- Waitotara SDTC Grounds: 270 Kohi Rd on February 25 and 26.
McDonald Real Estate Taranaki Centre Championships: Egmont SDTC Grounds: 239 Makino Valley Rd on March 4 and 5, Eltham-Takau SDTC Grounds: 1494 Rawhitiroa Rd, Mangamingi on March 11 and 12, Tarata SDTC Grounds: 3016 Tarata Rd on April 1 and 2.