Report by Nan Lloyd
Photos by Nan Lloyd and Karyn Buller
The Australian Yard Dog Association Championship was held at Mobrup Polo Ground 10th – 14th of April 2024. The National Kelpie Field Trial and the Australasian Open Field Trial was held at Binnaburra farm, Kellerberrin 17th – 21st of April 2024.
History in the making. Aoidh Doyle and Whisper Snip winning both the Australian Yard Dog Championship and The National Kelpie Field Trial Championship.
Its has been six years since WA last ran the National Yard dog championships and National Kelpie Field Trial. In 2018 The yard was run at Dinninup showgrounds and the Kelpie trial at Ken Athertons property at Arthur River.
Our Yard and Utility Committee decided that we would have fresh sheep for every competitor in the National Yard dog Championships. This was a tall order and we received more entries than expected so needed to find almost three and a half thousand sheep, a difficult task due to falling sheep prices and ongoing drought, however thanks to the Stretch family in Mobrup we were able to do this.
The Mobrop Polo Cross grounds was chosen for the venue which was near Stretchs farm. The sheep were mustered daily, counted out, drafted, sorted and moved back and forward across the road each evening, by our small band of helpers.
Two large holding yards were built, one across the road and another at the trial grounds, to hold all the sheep. It all went without a hitch.
It has been a difficult dry year here in WA, so we were lucky to obtain such a large number of sheep.
There were 79 entries in the novice and 104 in the Improver/Open.
The novice sheep were mainly red tag ewes. The most difficult section was the long yard from the race to the draft. If the dog did not cover, the sheep broke back a long way and it was hard for the dog to pull them up. The rest of the course worked quite well.
In the Open, mixed age wethers were used and they were tricky, splitting and breaking when they could, mainly in the gathers. The truck was added to the course and this caused the most difficulty. Getting the sheep into the force for the truck was hard going for some people. The draft worked quite well, with some sheep balking about entering the race.
The venue and facilities were very good, and food at the canteen served by the Mobrup Polo Cross club was excellent, keeping us all well fed (Especially the vanilla slice).
The West Aussies did well, with Karyn Buller placing third in the Improver, Rod Forsyth sixth in the novice, Ken Atherton eighth in the open and Allan Dunn placing 10th in the Championship.Novice.
Novice Judge was Nan Lloyd from York. Improver/Open and Championship Judges. Rod Cavill. Vic and Lyndon Cooper. SA
The next event was the National Kelpie Field trial championship. This was run at Binnaburra near Kellerberrin.
The Kelpie trial was last run there in 2012. WA also ran an Australasian trial for Collies and unregistered Kelpies.
Novice and open were run in conjunction and there were 15 entries. Both events were won by Simon Leaning and Marionvale Di.
For the Kelpie trial there were 59 entries in the novice and 86 in the Championship. It was dry and dusty and much warmer than usual for this time of the year, so this caused a few headaches, especially for the final when the temp rose over 30 degrees.
The sheep were two year old wethers. They flowed quite well through the yard with the odd jam up in the draft and a few breaks at the gather. However outside they were not easy, choosing to split and run wherever possible, and refusing to settle for most dogs.
The gap was the first obstacle and this caused the most problems. There were very few pens, and those who penned were generally the ones in the placings.
History was made at these two trials with both events won by the same dog and handler. Aoidh Doyle and Whisper Snip from Victoria who put up some amazing runs to take out both the Australian Yard dog championship and the National Kelpie Field trial. This has never been done before. A fantastic effort.
West Aussies were once again in the mix, with Simon Leaning taking out the Novice Kelpie trial and Gordon Curtis 5th in the same event.
In the Championship Nan Lloyd was second and Ken Atherton was fifth. Judge for the Australasian was Richard Mcguire from Kojonup. Novice Kelpie field trial Judge was Nigel Armstrong from Woottatting. National Kelpie field trial judge was Grant Cooke from Grass Valley.
There were some great examples of stockmanship, and spectators enjoyed lots of action. Sportsmanship and camaraderie was great, with most people encouraging their fellow competitors through some tough going. It was a great social event, with a huge shed for meals and drinks, where most of us gathered in the evening to talk through the days events.
Our small Yard and Utility committee did a fantastic job in organizing and running these two national events, having started with planning well over a year ago.
We heartily thank our many sponsors particularly Hypro dog food, We would be unable to run these events without their generous sponsorship. Also thanks to Midland stockyards for delivering a full set of yards all the way to Mobrup for the yard event.
It was wonderful to see so many eastern staters make the trip over and hope to see many of them back here in six years time.
It was great to see Barbara Cooper make the trip to WA. Barbara helped judge the best type Kelpie, assisted by the Carlon twins, Mandy and Sandy.
Australasian Finals
National Kelpie Field Trial Finals
Australian Yard Dog Association Champions
National Kelpie Field Trial Championship replay:
Adrian Carpenter – Wyanbah Monster | Kevin Howell – Karana Roy IV | Nan Lloyd – Kumbark Lexi |
Aoidh Doyle – Whisper Snip | Gary White – Whites Billy | Ken Atherton – Ramulam Prickles |
Gary White – Whites Broke |
National Kelpie Field Trial Novice replay:
2024 Stretches Novice Event – Judged by Nan Lloyd
Handler | State | Dog | Score | |
1 | Kevin Howell | NSW | Karana Ned V | 178 |
2 | Bree Cludmore | VIC | Roustabout Cherry | 166 |
3 | Adrian Carpenter | TAS | Kararooka Meg | 165 |
4 | Steven Wilksch | SA | Jones Rose | 162 |
5 | Adrian Carpenter | TAS | Bamma George | 156 |
6 | Rod Forsythe | WA | Yarralonga Forrest | 86 |
7 | Kevin Howell | NSW | Karana Spud IV | 85 |
=8 | Mandy Carlon | NSW | Ballydine Hank | 84 |
=8 | Gary White | NSW | Whites Albert | 84 |
10 | Tony Overton | NSW | Gwydir River | 83 |
2024 Cooperative Bulk Handling Improver Event Judged Lyndon Cooper and Rod Cavill
Handler | State | Dog | Score | |
1 | Tony Overton | NSW | Gwydir Zeva | 136.5 |
2 | Gary White | NSW | Whites Pint | 128 |
3 | Karyn Buller | WA | Boonining Turbo | 127 |
4 | Kevin Howell | NSW | Karana Ned V | 108.5 |
5 | Rex Hocking | SA | Washpool Genie | 72.5 |
6 | Mandy Carlon | NSW | Ballydine Brook | 72 |
7 | Tara Herbert | WA | Marionvale Tess | 56 |
8 | Tanya deBijl | WA | Ramulam Secret | 55 |
9 | Mandy Carlon | NSW | Ballydine Abby | 46.5 |
10 | Gordon Curtis | WA | Binnaburra Marvin | 40.5 |
2024 Midland Stock Yards Preliminary Open Event
Handler | State | Dog | Score | |
1 | Darren Jenke | SA | Gameon Cheeky | 154.5 |
2 | Bree Cudmore | VIC | Vera Slim | 153.5 |
3 | Simon Bowden | TAS | Fouroaks Butch | 152.5 |
4 | Dean Incher | NSW | Hulk | 151.5 |
5 | Rex Hocking | SA | Washpool Felix | 151 |
2024 Hypro Premium National Yard Dog Championship
Handler | State | Dog | Score | |
1 | Aoidh Doyle | VIC | Whisper Snip | 166.5 |
2 | Dean Incher | NSW | Rafa | 154 |
3 | Mitch Jubb | VIC | Hopkinsriver Karma | 149 |
4 | Tim Hall | TAS | Hilton Park Dusty | 148 |
=5 | Dean Incher | NSW | Hulk | 142.5 |
=5 | Lee Mickan | SA | Waramara Joker | 142.5 |
=7 | Darren Jenke | SA | Gameon Cheeky | 141 |
=7 | Bree Cudmore | VIC | Larnach Moana | 141 |
9 | Bree Cudmore | VIC | Vera Blue | 137.5 |
10 | Bree Cudmore | VIC | Vera Slim | 114.5 |
11 | Allan Dunn | WA | Gogetta Thor | 107 |
Australasian Championship: Sponsored by Livestock & Land
Novice Event
Handler | State | Dog | |
1 | Simon Leaning | WA | Marionvale Di |
2 | Grant Cooke | WA | Pendalup Gilbert |
3 | Tara Herbert | WA | Marionvale Morton |
Open Event
Handler | State | Dog | |
1 | Simon Leaning | WA | Marionvale Di |
2 | Grant Cooke | WA | Pendalup Gilbert |
3 | Grant Cooke | WA | Grassvalley Bluey |
National Novice Kelpie Field Trial date 19th April 2024 54 dogs
Judge Nigel Armstrong Mundaring WA
Handler | State | Dog | Score | |
1 | Simon Leaning | WA | Marionvale Woody | 127 |
2 | Adrian Carpenter | TAS | Wyanbar Monster | 113 |
3 | Adrian Carpenter | TAS | Tumutvalley Sue II | 91 |
4 | Rex Hocking | SA | Washpool Tabitha | 78 |
5 | Gordon Curtisd | WA | Binnaburra Chloe | 71 |
6 | Rod Cavill | VIC | Tundabardi Mate | 68 |
7 | Tony Overton | NSW | Gwydir Zeva | 57 |
8 | Tony | Overton | Gwydir Georgina | 36 |
9 | Adrian | Carpenter | Bamma Alf | 26 |
10 | Kevin | Howell | Karana Pixie II | 24 |
National Kelpie Field Trial Championship 21st April 2024 Working Kelpie Council 76 dogs
Judge Grant Cooke Grassvalley
Handler | State | Dog | Score | |
1 | Aoidh Doyle | VIC | Whisper Snip | 122 |
2 | Nan Lloyd | WA | Kumbark Lexi | 117 |
3 | Adrian Carpenter | TAS | Wyanbar Monster | 114 |
4 | Gary White | NSW | Whites Broke | 106 |
5 | Ken Atherton | WA | Ramulam Prickles | 80 |
=6 | Gary White | NSW | Whites Billy | 57 |
=6 | Kevin Howell | NSW | Karana Roy IV | 57 |
8 | Gordon | Curtis | Binnaburra Marvin | 46 |
=9 | Gordon | Curtis | Binnaburra Buzz | 45 |
=9 | Gary | White | Whites Albert | 45 |
=9 | Bree | Cudmore | Marista Zoe | 45 |
Interstate Challenge for the Australian Yard Dog Championship.
State | Team | Score | |
1 | NSW | Dean Incher & Justin Tombs | 291.5 |
2 | TAS | Simon Bowden & Tim Hall | 291 |
3 | VIC | Bree Cudmore & Aoidh Doyle | 265 |
4 | SA | Lee Michan, Joker & Gus | 258.5 |
5 | WA | Nigel Armstrong & Allan Dunn | 166.5 |
6 | QLD | Callum Storey & Errol Gill | 103.5 |