Wairoa Collie Club member Ned George winning the New Zealand straight hunt title with Bounce last week at Mangamingi, Taranaki. Photo / Suppled.
A northern Hawke’s Bay shepherd has produced the star act at the New Zealand and North Island Sheep Dog Trial Championships in Taranaki.
Ned George, a shepherd at Tukemokihi Station, in the wilderness between Whakaki and Frasertown, won the national and North Island straight hunt titles, with Bounce, one of eight dogs he ran at the championships at Mangamingi, all-but one of them being huntaways.
Bounce started the season as a maiden competitor.
He was possibly the busiest with 19 runs in the first four days of the five-day championships, with each doing both the zig zag and straight hunts, which saw the 27-year-old George qualify three of the team for the runoffs.
He also placed third in the straight hunt, with Fred, the recent South Island championships zig zag hunt runner-up producing a good runoff to climb from the tail of the seven qualifiers at the end of the North Island championship.
George was also was seventh in the zig zag hunt with Sprocket, with which he won his first national title two years ago, in the straight hunt, at Meringa Station, King Country.
The championships started on Monday of last week, and Thursday was a big day for the extremes of Hawke’s Bay claiming both national hunt titles, with Tim Stevenson, of Dannevirke, winning zig zag honours with Banjo.
Also in the straight hunt runoff was Lana Chrystal, daughter of Waikoau farmer Clark Chrystal, who won the 2023 national zig zag title in South Otago, and who also judged the straight hunt class last week.
Qualifying in second place, she and Belle could not keep up the pace and finished seventh, after the combination of points from the North Island championship and the national title runoff.
Hawke’s Bay trialists also made it to both heading dog runoffs, which completed the championships on Friday.
Dannevirke trialist and national vice president David Sheild ran Kip for fourth place in the long head, and Ben Millar, of Waimarama-Elsthorpe, was third in the short head and yard with 2024 Hawke’s Bay centre long head winner King.
Millar and King were later named in the New Zealand team to defend the Wayleggo Cup, a transtasman heading dogs challenge, in Geelong, Victoria, in September.
Brad McHardy, a Waingake trialist who travelled with George and his team to Taranaki, was also among the honours, with second and fifth places in the zig zag hunt, with May and Trix respectively.
One of the youngest to have won two national championships, George grew up around Amberley in North Canterbury, where was pushed along by grandfather Ted Phipps, who won the South Island and New Zealand zig zag titles in 1996 with a dog named Brace.
Among other influences have been Leo Edginton, a 2013 national zig zag winner for whom he worked near Tolaga Bay when he first moved north, and current boss Dave Scragg, who won the 2023 North Island zig zag title.
Among the learnings for George was not to overwork each dog, and he says that once each had qualified for the championships he tended to “lock them up” on trial day to wait for the championships and focus on qualifying others in the team.
His biggest successes during the local season were at the Hawke’s Bay centre championships hosted by his home Wairoa Collie Club in March. He won the club and centre straight titles with a dog called Krunch, while he and Sprocket won the club trials zig zag title.
It’s a leap forward from his first trial about 10 years ago at Waikari, in North Canterbury.
“I didn’t want to go, but grandad told me I had to,” he recalled.
From the 2024 North Island and New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Championships at Mangamingi, Taranaki:
New Zealand Championships:
Long head: Paul Collins (Tahatika), Sky, (96.5, 94) 190.5pts, 1; Lloyd Smith (Waihemo), Guide (97, 93) 190pts, 2; Brian Dickison (Greenvale), Jake, (95.5, 89.5) 185pts, 3; David Sheild (Dannevirke), Kip, (95, 88.5) 183.5pts, 4; Michael Lucas (Lowburn), Kate, (96, 87) 183pts, 5; Brian Dickison (Greenvale), Cole, (94.5, 79) 173.5pts, 6; Neil Evans (Omihi), Lad, (95.25, 78) 173.25pts, 7.
Short head and yard: Stuart Child (Te Anga), Diesel (96.5, 96.5) 193pts, 1; Leo Edginton (Tolaga Bay), Roxy (99, 93) 192pts, 2; Ben Millar (Waimarama-Elsthorpe), King, (97, 94) 191pts, 3; Steve Kerr (Mackenzie) Pip, (96.25, 94.5) 190.75pts, 4; Lloyd Smith (Waihemo), Code, (96, 89.50) 185.5pts, 5;
Dan Murphy (Whangamōmona), Nippy, (98, 57.5) 155.5pts, 6; Andy McNab (Mt. Nessing), Floss, (97.5, 46) 143.5pts, 7.
Zig zag hunt: Tim Stevenson (Dannevirke), Banjo, (95.75, 96.5) 192.25pts, 1; Brad McHardy (Waingake), May, (96, 95.5) 191.5pts, 2; Rachel Law (Whangamōmona), Miss, (97.5, 93) 190.5pts, 3; Hunter Davis (Omatane-Kawhatau), Pound, (96.25, 92.5) 188.75pts, 4; Brad McHardy (Waingake), Trix, (96.75, 90) 186.75pts, 5; Chris Shaw (Tinui), Dixie, (96.5, 89) 185.5pts, 6; Ned George (Wairoa), Sprocket, (95.5, 85.5) 181pts, 7.
Straight hunt: Ned George (Wairoa), Bounce, (98.5, 98) 196.5pts, 1; Robbie Calder (St Bathans), Ned, (97.25, 96) 193.25pts, 2; Ned George (Wairoa), Fred, (96.25, 95pts) 191.25pts, 3; Hunter Davis (Omatane-Kawhatau), Chief, (96.5, 92) 188.5pts, 4; Craig Johns (Raetihi), Clay, (97, 91) 188pts, 5; Jamie Shrubsall (Omatane-Kawhatau), Rusty, (96.75, 84) 180.75pts, 6; Lana Chrystal (Moawhango), Belle 97.5, 61) 158.5pts, 7.
North Island Championships:
Long head: Lloyd Smith, Guide, 97pts, 1; Paul Collins, Sky, 96.5pts, 2; Michael Lucas, Kate, 96pts, 3; Brian Dickison, Jake, 95.5pts, 4; Neil Evans, Lad, 95.25pts, 5; David Sheild, Kip, 95pts, 6; Brian Dickison, Cole, 94.5pts, 7.
Short head and yard: Leo Edginton, Roxy, 99pts, 1; Dan Murphy, Nippy, 98pts, 2; Andy McNab, Floss, 97.5pts, 3; Ben Millar, King, 97pts, 4; Stuart Child, Diesel, 96.5pts, 5; Steve Kerr, Pip 96.25pts, 6; Lloyd Smith, Code, 96pts, 7.
Zig zag hunt: Rachel Law, Miss, 97.5pts, 1; Brad McHardy, Trix, 96.75pts, 2; Chris Shaw, Dixie, 96.5pts, 3; Hunter Davis, Pound, 96.25pts, 4; Brad McHardy, May, 96pts, 5; Tim Stevenson, Banjo, 95.75pts, 6; Ned George, Sprocket, 95.5pts, 7.
Straight hunt: Ned George, Bounce, 98.5pts, 1; Lana Chyrstal, Belle, 97.5pts, 2; Robbie Calder, Ned, 97.25pts, 3; Craig Johns, Clay, 97pts, 4; Jamie Shrubsall, Rusty, 96.75pts, 5; Hunter Davis, Chief, 96.5pts, 6; Ned George, Fred, 96.25pts, 7.