Sheep dogs shine at Deans Marsh trials

MORE than 100 working dogs were put to the test last weekend as the Deans Marsh Dog Trials returned to the Surf Coast for its 15th instalment.

From January 17 to 19, the animals worked closely with their handlers across three categories – novice, opener and improver.

Event co-organiser Jill Stewart said it was a great weekend and everything ran well, with an estimated 800 people making their way through the gates across the three days.

“It was fantastic, the triallers absolutely loved it, they said it’s one of the best trials they go to, really well run and well organised and it’s got a lovely atmosphere,” Ms Stewart said.

 

This year’s event attracted some very high scores, with handler Wally Dalton taking out the highest of the weekend, receiving 96 points out of 100.

“We had really good sheep there, lovely, calm, quiet and that enables very high scores,” Ms Stewart said.

“It means that a lot of the triallers could actually get to the pen because that’s the last obstacle and if you miss out on that, it’s 20 points for the last pen, if you don’t get that you lose 20 points.”

Mr Dalton’s high score saw him take out the Open category for the event while Irene Kelly took first place in the improver category.

 

For Ms Stewart, the highlight of the day came when Deans Marsh local Robert Stalley and his dog Rascal received the highest score in the novice final.

“He bought one of these trialling dogs two or three years ago and he’s been training with me at my place,” she said.

“He won the novice and that was amazing because he’s been competing against triallers that have been trialling for between 20 and 40 years.”

The event attracted some of the best competitors from across Australia, with entrants coming from New South Wales, South Australia and throughout Victoria.

For the full list of results, head to the Deans Marsh Dog Trials Facebook page.