Kumbark Kelpies and Sheepdog training.

15/06/2026

The Northern Districts Working Sheepdog Club hosted another highly successful encourage trial event on the weekend.
There were 15 entries on Saturday and 18 on Sunday.
We also had several handlers we were not ready to trial but came along to watch and learn. The weather was perfect.
All competitors went out with a helper.
The sheep were borrowed from a local farmer and were probably the best sheep we could have chosen for the event.
They stood well coming out of the letout, allowing handlers and dogs to work on their cast lift and draw.
At the obstacles, they were mostly steady and calm, giving handlers the opportunity to change position and move the dog where they wanted to achieve success. This is important, and once we get to this point in our training journey, we start to see issues we had not previously dealt with. Dogs that overrun, pull-up short, slice, don't stop at the right point, or simply won’t come off balance make working an obstacle very difficult.
Quite a few people managed to pen the sheep, which was a great experience for them.
They were a little strong for some dogs but still gave most people the opportunity to work them and manage their dogs.

Thanks to our instructors Gordon Curtis, Terry Martino, and myself.
Many thanks to Simon Wallace who spent a lot of time at the let-outs and also donated the use of his speaker system so we could hear what the instructors were telling the handlers out on the trial ground. This was very useful for those on the sidelines.
After we had finished on the trial ground, we worked with some handlers and dogs who were not ready to trial and had a look at some pups in the training area.

Thanks to Rod Forsyth and Grant Cook and everyone else who helped at the let-outs and elsewhere. Thanks Tracy Lord and Gail Fitzpatrick for helping set up the course and Terry for helping me break in the sheep.
Thanks again to our wonderful photographer Alison Archer for the fantastic photos.
Many thanks to Malcolm Cole, a neighbouring farmer, for lending us 60 of his beautiful ewe hoggets. We've already secured them for our next trial in October. Thanks also to Tracy Quiggs for the brilliant fire pit to warm up a chilly night.
We will hold our next encourage trial on the 17th and 18th of October.

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10/06/2026

NDWSDC Encourage trial. June 13th and 14th near York, WA. Entries have been extended until Fri the 12th at 12pm. If you are not ready to trial, you may still attend, and we will have time for some training after the trial. A small fee will apply, and you must be a member of a WAWSDA club for insurance purposes. Please indicate which day you wish to attend.

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09/06/2026

Kumbark Mirri. By Binnaburra Jimmy (Whites Pint X Binnaburra Tina) Out of Kumbark Lexie. (Whites Fella X Barkervale Oswin.) Six months old.

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31/05/2026

Northern Districts club held their second club training day for the year, and it was very successful
The weather was very good. Although storms were forecast, all we had were a few afternoon showers.
Eleven people attended, five of whom were new club members.
It’s great to see so many new people keen to learn about sheepdog training.
There were a few people almost ready to trial and some just starting out, with a wide range of dogs.
Some worked on the trial ground practising casting; most were in the larger training yard, a few pups in the round yard, and some practising their yard work. Watching other people at different levels is a great way for people to learn. Many have similar issues. Getting the position correct is one of the hardest things. There are no set rules of where to stand or where and when to move. This is something that comes with much practice, and once the handler gets it right, the dog starts to work properly, and it all falls into place. Dogs are good at drawing us out of position in order to approach the sheep in a manner they prefer, and once we work out how to get and keep the correct position, the dog complies.
It can seem like magic, but it is simply understanding where we need to be to influence the dog the best or prevent the dog from developing bad habits. These can include slicing or cutting in, coming in on a point instead of holding to settle the sheep, overflanking or circling the sheep when we are asking them to walk behind their sheep, or just constantly coming too close and pushing the sheep too hard. If the sheep are knocking into you or racing past, then the dog is too close.
With position comes timing and pressure. These are the most important things to learn and can take a while, but if we dont get these correct, we will hit a wall in our training at some point.
As usual, it was a fun, informative day. Huge thanks to the trainers, Terry Martino and Gordon Curtis. Thanks also to our fabulous photographer Alison Archer.


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31/05/2026

Photos from Northern Districts' club training day. First lot.

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29/05/2026

21/05/2026

Happy 9th birthday Lexi. You are a year older than I thought. Still working as well as ever. Just raised a litter of eight beautiful puppies, and not a grey hair to be seen. One of the cleverest dogs I've ever had. A natural thinking type but often makes her own decisions on and off the trial ground. Has been a successful trial dog for me. The biggest highlight was her second in the national Kelpie field trial. Is the mother of my talented dogs Ruffy, pocket, and Rumble and Gordon curtis' Marvin, and the three young ones Chess Shampy and Mirri.

18/05/2026

This event is for Northern District club members only. If you have been thinking about joining our club, please contact me, and I will send you a membership form.

06/05/2026

Stepping out onto the trial ground.

It can be a big step, your first time on the trial ground.
Just remember, everyone trialling must go through this, and it is never as bad as we think.
Nerves pay a big part. This is something we will learn to cope with as we get more experienced. Some nerves are not a bad thing, and it is best not to fight them; just accept them as part of trialling and do our best. We need to focus on our dog and the sheep and forget who is watching and what they may be saying.
People may criticise, comment, and note good and bad points in the dog, but basically no one will remember the run later. We have all had trainwrecks, and focusing on them achieves nothing. We simply learn what we can from them and move on.
If things go bad, we retire and go home with work to do. This will happen even after years of trialling. We can train and train, but ultimately getting our dogs on the trial ground can bring issues we may not have been aware of.
The dog is going to react to noise, other dogs, people at the let-outs, sheep that are different than anything he has worked before, our nerves, flags and any number of things he will encounter that he does not see at home.
We need to observe how the dog copes with these issues and try to support him.
If the sheep are too much for your dog, the best course is to retire, something all of us will do over and over with young dogs.
As an encourage worker in WA, we are permitted five runs with a helper. The helper is there to advise and help guide you around the course.
Information for encourage workers is here. https://www.westaustralianworkingsheepdogs.com.au/getting-started/
Sheepdog trialling is a challenging sport, to say the least. We are constantly learning, adjusting, trying different things and trying to fix issues that appear regularly.
It can be heartbreaking, disappointing, and frustrating, but also exciting. We will have highs and lows, sometimes a lot of lows, but the highs can make up for them. It will take a lot of commitment, and sometimes we will feel like we are going backwards.
Every issue or problem we need to work on is a learning opportunity and will help us in our journey, which can be a long one. There is no end destination; we just keep plugging away. Different sheep will suit different dogs. We might have some great runs at one event, only to fail to get scores at the next.
It’s important to look at the big picture, the people we have met, and those who have helped us; the fun social catchups; sorting out difficult problems with our dogs; and progressing around the ground. Our first score, our first pen, and our first win, which can be a long time coming but is well worth the wait.
We need to look at it as a competition with ourselves, and it’s important not to compare our progress to others. This can be detrimental to our development as we all are on a different journey with different dogs.
As soon as you start trialling you will become more aware of what is required to progress with your dog on the trial ground. This is something you won’t learn at home.
Remember also that it is a sport; we need to keep it fun and not dwell on things if they go wrong. Maybe we had difficult sheep, the grounds were a bit tricky, perhaps we failed to read things correctly or gave the dog the wrong command. Once again this is something that happens more than people realise, even to the top trailers.
Many of us trial because it is difficult and challenging, but even small achievements can feel special.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions about your run to whoever may be watching. People are happy to help and advise. Criticism is something we must learn to cope with, as it is inevitable but usually done to help, not hinder. So don’t get upset if someone tells you what you might have done wrong; this is how we learn. We might get conflicting advice, as there are many ways people deal with issues, but it can all be useful information.
But above all, look on it as a long and exciting journey with an unknown destination.