The pair will definitely be considered as strong contenders in the week-long nationals, not least because it is being held on the familiar turf of Mt Ahu Ahu near Kaikohe at the end of this month.
Of course, McKinnon is going to be there regardless of whether Tess had qualified or not. As a member of the hosting Bay of Islands Sheep Dog Trial Club, he is in charge of running the bar.
Tess was one of six dogs that qualified for the 2019 nats from the Mangonui trial last Friday and Saturday. Others to make the cut were Barney Strong and Queen from Turangi, alongside the dogs of Mike Moody, Roddy Thompson, Duncan Gilligan and Grant West.
They now join a field of more than 450 dogs from all over New Zealand vying for a variety of national titles in the Far North.
A report from the Mangonui trial, the 12th and final leg of the Northland Sheep Dog Trial Centre's annual circuit, is forthcoming. The series offered competitors a chance to qualify their dogs for the 2019 New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial National and North Island Championships, which this year are being held on Mt Ahu Ahu near Kaikohe from May 27 to June 1.