29/10/2025
I had been planning to run an encourage event on my property for a while and it finally came to fruition on the 18th and 19th of October. It takes a great deal of organisation and planning to run a trial of any kind. Insurance must be organised, obstacles, let-outs, sheep, course marking, helpers, as well as the emails and various computer work that goes with anything these days.
I wanted to make it a fun, casual weekend, no scores, no placings, and no pressure.
It was run by the Northern Districts Sheepdog Club, and 24 people came along to test their skills. Many of them came quite a distance.
Everyone went out with a helper. Our main instructor was Gordon Curtis, assisted by Terri Martino and myself. Most people had between two and four runs each.
Skills of dog and handler were tested to the max on sheep that did not want to comply and were difficult to settle.
The important thing about working sheep like this was that it allowed newbies to see how difficult trialling can be, and how crucial it is to settle the sheep as early on as possible.
Dogs that did not get to the head properly or were on their sheep too much really struggled to settle them. The key was to get the dog in the correct position at the point of control and try to get the sheep to accept the dog. Some dogs managed this well, and a few obstacles were achieved, but it was not easy.
Understanding where the point of control is can take some time to learn, reading the sheep is a crucial factor here. The best way to learn to read sheep is to watch from the sidelines with an experienced person to advise.
Because the sheep were difficult to control, the main aim on the weekend was to try to settle things and walk the sheep down the ground and around the pegs, as getting them through an obstacle was too difficult for many.
However, this was a great learning experience for everyone, to learn to slow down and not be too quick to move on. The aim in trialling is not to just get obstacles but to keep the sheep as calm as possible and teach the dog patience as well, in order to move the sheep calmly around the ground.
It can be a long journey to trialling success, and a strong commitment is needed, as it can be heartbreaking at times but very rewarding. We cannot neglect the basics of training, and the constant need to go back to them to sort out issues that arise. This might mean going back to a smaller yard for a while. This does not mean failure, but it is an opportunity for us and the dog to learn something. Each time we confront a problem and work out how to solve it, it increases our knowledge. There will be many problems as we progress, with ourselves and the dog. We also need to understand why the dog is doing what he is doing, so we can work through it. Perhaps we have expected too much too soon, as I said, it is a long journey.
Feedback after the event was excellent, and I hope to make this a regular event and perhaps run a yard encourage later on.
I will also endeavour to have regular training days where we can get people together, work a few obstacles and learn more about trialling.
Thanks to Gordon Curtis for instructing on the Saturday, Terri Martino for helping in the let-out's and instructing on the Sunday, Grant Cooke for supplying and delivering the sheep and working in the let-out's, Rod Forsyth for his help and Simon Wallace, who did most of the pulloffs with Caddy.
Many thanks to anyone else who helped over the weekend, and thanks to photographers Lea Scadden and Alison Archer for capturing the event.
