File Photo / Bevan Conley
Although Shaun Haynes is a cow cocky, he will be dealing with a lot of sheep next month.
Haynes, from Kaikohe, is an organiser of the New Zealand Dog Trial Championships, which takes place in Northland from May 27.
Not only will he be running the show, he will also compete.
Working with sheep instead of dairy cows is "interesting", but practise makes perfect Haynes told The Country's Jamie Mackay.
Listen below:
"The dogs [have] got to work the sheep and the cattle so it's a good way to start young animals, and as you get to the next stage and get those finessing commands on your dogs, you need to get around some sheep to get it sorted".
Sometimes the teacher learns more from the student said Haynes, who reckons his dog Doc ended up training him instead of the other way around.
"That dog trained me to understand what's required ... so you never really stop learning in that game".
Northland has a great pedigree when it comes to dog trials said Haynes and has produced legendary competitors such as Murray Child, who had won two New Zealand heading events and two huntaway events.
"Northland does compete very well on the national stage and being on our home turf this year we're looking forward to continue that".
It's a "big deal" for Northland to host the national event, as it if the first time for 16 or 17 years said Haynes.
"Everybody's really looking forward to it."
The company had been dairy farming since May 2004.