Sheep dog champs start in Marlborough

Northland trialist Neville Child, (pictured here at Te Aute three weeks ago), and Rod were back on the leaderboard on Day 1 of the South Island and NZ Championships in Marlborough. Photo / Doug Laing

A national championship with possibly the longest-running sponsorship in New Zealand sport started on a remote farm south of Blenheim yesterday.

It's the 50th year in a row that the Tux New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Championships has been sponsored by Tux. The iconic triangle-shaped dog biscuit was first produced from a Blenheim bakehouse in 1954 and was the brainchild of local inventor Tim Moore.

Hosted by the Marlborough-Nelson Sheep Dog Trial Centre, the championships are being held at Meadow Bank Farms, on Taylors Pass Rd, Omaka, south of Blenheim. This year they have attracted more than 290 trialists with over 480 dogs. Qualification for the Championships was based on the number of points for placings during the club trials season around the country.

Most dogs are entered in either both heading classes or both Huntaway classes of the South Island Championships during the week, and there are expected to be about 1000 runs from which the top seven in each class will qualify for the national championship runoffs on Friday and Saturday.

They include three winning pairings from last year's championships at Whangara, north of Gisborne, in Te Aute's Bob Bruce and Cheat in the long head, Dave Stuart, of Rangiwahia, with Gus in the zig zag hunt, and Masterton's Vaughan Marfell and Torque in the straight hunt.

Defending short head and yard champion dog Storm is not entered this year, but master Eion Herbert, of Tapawera, southwest of Nelson, does have two other dogs running for him in the heading classes this week.

Also in the running are the four winners from the 2018 North Island championships at Te Aute in Central Hawke's Bay three weeks ago in Hamish Linton and Kip, the long head winners from Hunterville, short head and yard winners Laurie Horsfall and Raid, of Te Aute club, and Taranaki farmer Mark Duffy, who won the zig zag with Vella and straight hunt with Shield.

It will be a particularly busy week for Hawke's Bay centre president Clark Chrystal, Poverty Bay's Leo Edginton and Alan Irwin, and Roger Tweed, of Lawrence, who each have five dogs entered, each including heading dogs and Huntaways.

New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Association secretary Julia Tatam said first day conditions were variable but had cleared-up in the afternoon, with good fine weather forecast for the rest of the week.

DAY ONE RESULTS

Bruce and Cheat made it safely through to the 4pm leaderboard call with hopes of defending their national title later in the week.

In a great start for the Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa Southern Hawke's Bay centres, the Te Aute pair were on the seven-strong long head leaderboard in the 4pm call at the championships south of Blenheim, hoping to retain their place to the end of the week and the national title runoffs.

They have some familiar company, with four of the top seven from Hawke's Bay, Bruce being joined by Wairoa area trialists Tom Manson (Pip) and Sheena Martin (Bribe), and Central Hawke's Bay trialist Nigel Clark (Jan), while another is Northland trialist Neville Child, desperate to win a second national title after the revered green tie he won for his first was stolen along with all his other travelling gear en route to last year's South Island championships.

It was a particularly big day with half the 28 on the leaderboards coming from the area from Tolaga Bay and Te Karaka in Poverty Bay to Dannevirke in Southern Hawke's Bay.

Leaderboards at the 4pm call on the first day of the 2018 South Island and New Zealand sheep dog championships at Meadow Bank Farms, Omaka, Marlborough:

Long head (48 runs): Lloyd Smith (Palmerston), Check; Tom Manson (Wairoa), Pip; Neville Child (Whangarei), Rod; Sheena Martin (Wairoa), Bribe; Bill Hinchey (Alexandra), Mist; Nigel Clark (Waipukurau), Jan; Bob Bruce (Te Aute), Cheat.

Short head and yard (36 runs): Dylan Rofe (Tutira), Risk; Toger Tweed (Lawrence), Price; Scott McRae (Wellsford), Skeeta; Steve Kerr (Fairlie), Ben; Graham Dickie (Lawrence), Bess; Paul Evans (Kimbolton), Bryte; Leo Edginton (Tolaga Bay), Dave.

Zig zag hunt (69 runs): Alan Irwin (Te Karaka), Buster; Dave Scragg (Wairoa), Kate; Alan Irwin (Te Karaka), Chase; Jim Sidey (Waikari), Tar; Boyd Tisdall (Outram), Will; Jonathon Smailes (Kimbolton), Havoc; Brent Mathews (Dannevirke), Ridge.

Straight hunt (72 runs): Joshua Brennan (Rangiwahia), Hung; Simon Prouting (Dannevirke), Roe; Justin Wallis (Waikaia), Crump; Colin Bayliss (Gisborne), Bully; Tim Lamont (Gisborne), Jade; Tom Manson (Wairoa), Buck; Trevor Rumbal (Taumarunui), Thug.