Friday, March 29, 2024

Bringing canine skills to heel

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Working dogs and their masters nationwide have been testing their skills on the dog trial circuit this season and every single run has been closely scrutinised by a dedicated judge. Judging at club trials, held throughout 13 centres most weekends from February to April, is at least a two-day commitment. Judges selected for an island or New Zealand championship can be committed for up to a week.
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Club trials commonly have 70-80 dogs entered in each class, sometimes up to 150. The NZ championships usually attract more than 200 entries in each event.

Whangamomona farmer Steve Murphy is one of many dog trialists giving back to their sport by spending time in the judge’s box.

The Murphy name is well-known in dog trialing circles – Steve’s late father Bernard was a champion competitor and judge.

Steve has won eight island championships and is one of four North Island selectors, observing and selecting judges for big championship events.

“Their scores don’t have to be the same as yours, but consistency is the big thing,” Steve says.

Judges, days are held in the lead-up to dog trial season for people keen to have a go. Each dog trial centre has a selection panel. Up-and-coming judges might be asked to start-out judging a maiden or shepherds trial.

If they do a good job at these events, they might make the judges list. Steve says judging is a big time commitment and requires a lot of concentration.

“You’ve got to keep your eyes on the dog and sheep all the time. You’ve got to watch a run and if there’s not perfection, there’s got to be a slight penalty but you don’t want to penalise good stockmanship.”

Judges record their scoring differently, scribbling arrows and notes, or drawing maps of the course and marking penalties where they occur. They sometimes have a helper recording scores. In Steve’s case, that is often his wife Charmaine.

He likes to walk the course before the trial, introduce himself to the people running the course and work with them as a team so the event runs smoothly.

For Steve, it is an honour to be asked to judge.

“I thought I’d been getting a lot out of the sport, so I’d better put a bit back in.

Judges assess the best run at dog trial events, not the best dog.

In each of the four sections at any dog trial event – long head, short head, zig zag hunt and straight hunt – a competitor starts with 100 points, losing points during their run for mistakes and imperfections.

The long head is divided into 48 points each for the head and pull and four points in the ring.

The short head has 22 points each for the head and the pull, eight each for the first drive, the hurdle and the second drive, 22 for work at the yard and 10 for the actual yarding.

The straight hunt is scored in one whole section, with the focus on showing the dog’s authority and balance the entire way up the hill.

The zig zag is broken into three sections, designed to show the dog’s skill and ability to work off-balance.

Trialist and judge Steve Murphy says a dog’s looks can’t affect their score, nor can they be pre-judged on past performances.

In the huntaway events the dog has to be focused, apply good noise consistently while endeavouring to work the sheep steadily with control, and no toilet stops.

The heading dogs need to run up the hill with purpose and make a good introduction to the sheep.

“It’s not necessarily getting the sheep down in as straight a line as possible. That’s ideal, but it’s a dog trial, not a sheep trial,” Steve says.

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