Central Hawke's Bay farmer Bob Bruce who on Saturday won the national long head title at the New Zealand sheep dog championships. Photo / File
Central Hawke's Bay farmer Bob Bruce who on Saturday won the national long head title at the New Zealand sheep dog championships. Photo / File
It was the last run that won the day for Hawke's Bay sheep dog trialist Bob Bruce as he claimed his first New Zealand title on the last day of the North Island and national championships on Saturday.
The only Hawke's Bay centre trialist to survive the cut from anyof the four classes from the North Island championships during the week at the Whangara club's Pouawa course north of Gisborne, Bruce and top Hawke's Bay heading dog Cheat won the long head title with clearly the best runoff as the top seven battled for the green tie, the symbol of New Zealand Sheep Dog Championships triumph.
The Te Aute pairing started the showdown in sixth place, but with a 98pt last effort leapfrogged the field to claim victory by a comfortable 1.5pt from runner-up Graeme Wellington and Murphy, of Wanganui centre club Parapara-Makirikiri.
Third place went to the defending long head champions, Northland farmer Murray Child and Dice, the only winners from last year's national championships in North Otago to reach the runoffs in Poverty Bay.
While it was the only success for the Hawke's Bay centre, of which Bruce is immediate-past president, there was further success for the wider region with Weber sheep stud farmer Simon Prouting winning the North Island zig zag hunt title on Friday, in what was a particularly successful two days for the Wairarapa and SHB centre.
Another Wairarapa SHB member, Masterton farmer Vaughan Marfell, was one of the star performers with dog Torque, winning both the North Island and New Zealand straight hunt titles.
Prouting was unable to take his winning form into his national title runoff on Saturday and finished fifth, with the zig zag title going to Dave Stuart and Gus, of Rangiwahia.
Two other Southern Hawke's Bay farmers reached the national runoffs, with Dannevirke club member Gerard Brown and Tempo third in the zig zag hunt and Brent Matthews, of Makotuku, fifth in the short head and yard in which Eion Herbert, of Wakefield, completed a North Island and New Zealand titles double with Storm, blocking a North Island cleansweep of the titles at last week's championships and the South Island championships near Balclutha last month.
The long head was Bruce's first New Zealand championships title. He had twice previously been runner-up, including in 2009 at home club Te Aute which stages the North Island championships next year, when the national championships will be held with the South Island championships in Marlborough-Nelson.
He had, however, won a North Island long head title at Ohaeawai in Northland in 2012 with Trump, Cheat was Hawke's Bay's top heading dog in 2015 and jointly this year with Dave Wallace's Blue, and in April Cheat won the Hawke's Bay Centre championships short head and yard title with Susan.
Prouting's win was his first at either Island or New Zealand championships level, but Vince had reached the zig zag runoff last year, and has won the Wairarapa SHB top huntaway title.
With David Shield, of Dannevirke, having won the South Island long head title last month, the Wairarapa SHB centre ended with four of the 12 titles at the major events.
