Sheep, dogs and handlers all in good form at highly competitive working dog trials in Henty

Brothers and fellow dog trial co-ordinators Paul and Peter Darmody were thrilled with this year’s dog and sheep trial events at Henty.

A four-way tie, back-to-back wins and some talented displays of training techniques all made the three days of competition a crowd pulling pleaser at the machinery field days held over 17 – 19 September.

In the end it was two current Australian champions who dominated the Hypro Murray Valley Yard Dog Championships and Three Sheep Trial, taking out the tough events against the cream of the nation’s best triallers.

In the Yard Dog Championships, it was Aoidh Doyle of Bonnie Doon, Victoria, and his seven-year-old black and tan kelpie Cash, who scored 284 points to win after emerging from a four-way tie for first place.

In the Three Sheep Trial it was Bredbo trialler Will Goggin and his six-year-old Border collie Bredbo Scooter who scored 200 points to be a clear winner. It was the first win at Henty for Mr Goggin after placing in the past. He had given up trialling for 12 years due to work commitments and returned two and a half years ago.

Three Sheep Dog Field Trial co-ordinator Paul Darmody said conditions couldn’t have been better and crowds were keener than ever to watch the dogs in action.

“We had a great event, the weather was good and the sheep were tough,” he said.

“A lot of people had been in Victoria for the big supreme Australian championships at Geelong and then travelled up to Henty. We also had a couple of blokes that came all the way from Western Australia and a few from other states so that made the competition good.”

Spectators were treated to a presentation each day by the current National Sheep Dog Trial Championships winner Scott Smith, who scored second place behind Will Goggin, on 184 points with MGH Gem.

Paul said television shows like the ABC’s Muster Dogs went a long way in highlighting the value of well-trained animals.

“For a lot of people, it’s their business, but a lot more people are respecting what the animals are doing for us today and how we run our farm,” he said.

“With the cost of wages today, with good dogs doing the work, you can get around better than paying three jackeroos ‘x’ amount of money, holiday pay and the whole bit. The dog just wants a feed every night and he’s pretty happy.

“The show has also given exposure for both the kelpie and the Border collie and that’s great because neither one is better than the other.”

Yard Dog Championships Co-ordinator Peter Darmody said judge Bill Luff was forced to add more sheep to determine the winner after a four-way tie.

He said the rare occurrence was due to the quality of dogs in the field.

“You certainly don’t go to Henty thinking you are going to win it because you never know who is going or the way sheep will play out,” Peter said.

“Overall, the competitions were very good and the 600 or so sheep that came from Burgess Rural in Holbrook were in good form.”

In the end it was skill and not just “the luck of the Irish” for 31-year-old Aoidh Doyle, a shearing contractor, who claimed his first win at Henty after taking up yard dog trials five years ago.

He moved to Australia from Ireland 13 years ago and won the Australian championships in 2022 with Cash. Aoidh is also the 2024 Australian Yard Dog Champion with Whisper Snip and competed at Henty with a team of four dogs.

“It’s a big trial at Henty and it’s good to get your name up there as the competitors are very experienced. I got Cash at seven months old off my father-in-law when I started a farmhand role.”

For more results visit the Henty Machinery Field Days website.