N.Z. Sheep Dog Championships

New Zealand Listener, Volume 36, Issue 930, 7 June 1957, Page 9

N.Z. Sheep Dog Championships

[DESCRIBED by cynical visitors as the harcest working New Zealander, the sheep dog undoubtedly has one of the toughest joébs in the country. He handles on our behalf upwards of 40,000,000 animals of varying degrees of stubbornness and intractability. The Field Secretary for the National Sheepdog Championships, K. R. Hindman, puts it this way: "Try chasing sheep through a gate in a quarter-acre section sometime, and you will appreciate what the

working dogs of New Zealand do to keep you in food and clothing!" The peers of this legion of lean and crafty dogs will be showing their paces soon at Mangamahu, in the Wanganui district, at the first truly national sheep dog trials. From June 10 to June 15, the duration of the trials, listeners throughout the country will be able to hear progress reports. At 6.50 p.m. daily all YA and YZ stations will give results, and at 6.45 p.m, daily 2XA Wanganui will broadcast results, an

ae, outline of the next day’s events, and short talks on various aspects of sheep dog training and judging, and on the history of the trials. : Not so long ago the rules prevailing at trials in the North and South Islands differed, and no national championship was possible. More recently a New Zealand championship was held in alternative years in the North and South Islands, and this has been so _ successful that differences have disappeared and the trial is run this year by a national body. , The object of the Dog Trial Association is simply, "To improve the working and breeding of sheep dogs." But the association regards the trials also as a sport in which sheep owners and shepherds can compet@ on equal terms, where there is less jealousy and more good-fellowship than in many other sports, and where the qualities of selfcontrol, firmness and a sympathetic understanding of animals are essential to success. Of interest to farmers also will be next week’s reports from the Ruakura Farmers’ Conference, which will be broadcast from YA and YZ stations at 6.53 p.m. daily from Tuesday, June 11, to Friday, June 14.