Masterton farewells NZ dog trials

All's back to normal again in downtown Bideford.
The sheep are back in the paddock, the dogs have had their tucker and the dog triallists have gone back to their homes around New Zealand.
And the legendary Rex Berkhan has enjoyed another few days of getting a dog to do its job, just as he has been doing at dog trials for the past 65 years.
The concurrent North Island and National Sheepdog Championships finished at Bideford, near Masterton, on Saturday.
The championships involved close to 400 triallists and 500 dogs from around the country.
Rain held off on Friday and Saturday for long enough to see all four run-offs.
Dion Kilmister was placed sixth in the Zig Zag Huntaway and Yard with his dog Ruby.
Kilmister, of Masterton, was just ahead of Gerard Brown of Dannevirke, with Ali Brown placed second in the North Island champs, and is part of the Wairarapa and Southern Hawke's Bay Centre team.
Kilmister said he had a slow start to the season "but the end was pretty rewarding".
This is not his first nationals - he entered in 2002 but he came back to dog trialling last year after a break of several years.
Martinborough man Sam Welch was happy to make the final of the Long Head with Roy, though he finished the run at seventh.
"I had a good club season and it was a real thrill to get in that run-off yesterday," Welch said.
He has been trialling for about four years and Roy, despite the name, is a bitch.
"I'd always wanted a dog called Roy," he said.
To qualify for the North Island champs and the Nationals, triallists must score well at club and regional events in the months leading up to them, so those who make the competition, let alone the finals, have already proven their skill.
John Harvey of Martinborough has just been appointed president of the New Zealand Sheepdog Trial Association. Harvey has been associated for many years with the Martinborough Collie Club, the second oldest in club in the North Island.
It held it's first trial in 1896.
Harvey commented on the skill level at this year's Nationals.
At the end of the first round of the Short Head and Yard, just 0.75 points separated all seven competitors.
The second round, and the title, was won convincingly by Bruce Williams of Taumarunui with Card, in a run-off witnessed by this reporter.
As the three sheep waited at the top of a hill, held in a corner, Card took off towards them and then looped around in the classic desired question mark shape.
Card, responding to the boss' whistle, then clinically marched the sheep downhill in an admirably straight line, which is what the judges are looking for.
The trio of sheep was then headed down a straight and into the pen, neatly and reasonably quickly.
The jargon quickly becomes apparent: sheep can be "sticky" if reluctant to move, or "loose" if they run too far ahead, and sometimes, no matter the skill of dog or shepherd, the sheep just won't play ball.
In this final was trialling legend Rex Berkhan of Hastings, with Dee.
Berkhan is 80 and has been trialling since 1946, winning his first national title 50 years ago, in 1961.
Many of today's champions are descended from his winning heading dog that day, including Dee, who worked for Berkhan at this year's championships. Dee's pup Berk was also a finalist, run by Donald Wickham of Parapara.
Dee's enthusiasm and graceful movements are a sight to see, including a light backward step which she apparently learned all by herself.
Berkhan says he has a fairly good season, "a bit slow, but I still enjoy it", and was impressed with the "very well run" championships.