Top cattle dogs on show at Alstonville
For most people, dogs are pets. But for those living on the land, they’re a valuable part of the farming team.
And the best of the best cattle dogs will be put through their paces when the NSW Working Cattle Dog Trial Championships are held at Alstonville showground on Friday, May 15, through to Sunday, May 17.
The event is being hosted by the Alstonville Show Society.
Friday’s action gets under way at noon. Starting time on Saturday is 7am and the event will run until about 5pm. Sunday’s start time is 7.30am and the championships are expected to wind up at about 3pm.
The first event on the program will be the maiden/novice category, and then the open category, followed by finals in all three events on Sunday.
Admission for spectators is free. Food and refreshments will be available.
Competitors will travel from Goulburn, New England, south-east Queensland and the Northern Rivers and there will be about 140 cattle dogs competing.
Cattle dog trialling is similar to sheep dog trialling and was born at Bonalbo about 55 years ago.
Since then the sport has spread across Australia, although it is strongest in NSW and Queensland.
It aims to show off the skills of the highly-trained working cattle dogs as well as those of the handlers.
The handler and the dog must guide three cattle through a series of three obstacles in a five-minute period.
The handler must stand still at each obstacle and, using only hand singles, voice commands or whistles, instruct the dog to guide the cattle through a gate, a race and into a holding pen.
Points are awarded for each obstacle achieved and deducted for indiscretions such as the cattle going off course, the dog tail-turning or the dog crossing between the cattle and the handler.
The pointscore is out of 100.
Judges for the event will be Grafton’s Lewis Molloy, whose father is a retired school teacher who lives in Alstonville, and Allan Fletcher of Glen Innes.
The NSW Working Stock Dog Association Inc will hold its AGM in Alstonville during the weekend’s event as well as its annual awards presentation – this will be Saturday night.
For more information, phone Geoff McLennan on 6664 1215 after hours.
PICTURE: This cattle dog was pictured working cattle during the recent Bonalbo Show. Picture: GEOFF BATEMAN
