A Hawke's Bay sheep dog trial that had to be cancelled last year has recovered well with near-record entries last weekend.
The entries at the Patoka trials was blostered by the presence of a strong contingent from the Poverty Bay centre, where the only trial was at Opotiki.
It was a successful mission for the northerners, including a straight hunt win by the 2017 Poverty Bay centre straight hunt champion pairing of Allen Irwin and Dan, while there was also Northern Hawke's Bay success as Fraser Taylor, of Wairoa, won the zig zag with Waite.
It was, however, nearly service as normal for the heading dogs with Bob Bruce's 2017 national champion Cheat claiming the long head and Clark Chrystal with Rick the short head and yard, both triallists putting together a string of wins for their respective kennels.
The Wairoa trials are today and tomorrow, overlapping the nearby Ruakituri trials in the Poverty Bay centre tomorrow and Saturday.
