Sheep dogs to pack Masterton

Hundreds of working dogs are set to descend on Masterton in June to compete for the chance to be named the best in the country.
The Tux North Island and New Zealand Sheepdog Trialing Championships start on Monday, June 6, culminating in a final run with the seven top dogs on Saturday, June 12.
Life member of the Masterton Dog Trial Club Arthur Harrison, who won the New Zealand title in 1981 and judged the competition in 1995 when it was last in Masterton, said dog trialing has done for young shepherds what shearing competitions have done for shearers.
"The change I've seen in working dogs over the years has been just incredible. Shepherds have really cleaned their act up and they're much more aware of their dogs.
"At the end of the day, without dogs, you couldn't run a farm - the industry wouldn't exist without them."
Mr Harrison, who is semi-retired and works for Jamie Falloon at Bowlands, takes his two huntaway's Bill and Tui, and his two heading's Gyp and Todd to work with him.
"It's the only job I know of where you can combine a sport with your work. I take them to work, and I can train them at work, so it's really great in that respect."
He won't be competing this year, but will be at the competition helping out behind the scenes.
"I'm a back-bencher now, but it's good because I've had my time and it's great seeing all the young guys coming through."
The competition, which takes place at the McKay and Wellbrock residence on Caves Rd, will include two events for huntaway's, and two events for heading's.
In one of the huntaway events, three sheep are let go at the foot of the hill and are hunted directly to the top, and in one of the heading events, the sheep are let go from the top of the hill and pulled down to the foot of the hill. Dogs will also do zig zag events, where they will zig zag up and down the hills.
"The sheep are all fresh sheep, so each contestant gets a new lot," Mr Harrison said. "We have a massive amount of sheep - about 3000 - getting trucked in from Bidiford."
He said the best thing about the event is the friendly competition.
"We travel there together, we compete against each other, and then we go home together and we're still good mates after the competition. You don't see the All Blacks hanging out with the Springbox after a game."