scone.com.auRounding Up Weekend with Cattle Dogs
YESTERDAY the picturesque East Rossgole was the scene for cattle dog trials which drew dogs and their handlers from across the state and a few visitors for the Horse Festival who ventured up the dirt road.
David and Val Wright with dog Zoe made the trip from Galston to enjoy the Horse Festival.
David and Val Wright made the trip to Scone from Glaston to enjoy the Festival arriving just in time for the parade and finishing their weekend relaxing with their labrador Zoe at the cattle dog trials.
“We came up for the festival, we arrived just in time for the parade, we saw the tent pegging this morning, all the cutting out and everything yesterday, the rodeo last night and we loved every minute of it,” said Val Wright.
“As we were driving up here though we thought is this van going to get up here?” laughed David.
“We passed through here about 12 months ago and heard about the festival, so we put it in our diary and here we are,” he said.
“It is only three and a half hours from home so I’d say we’ll be back,” said David Wright.
Graham Hook, secretary and treasurer of the local working stock dogs association said the cattle dog trials attracted 46 runs which was a good number and people were enjoying the day with their dogs.
Raffa eagerly waiting his turn at the Cattle Dog Trials at ‘East Rossgole’.
“We’ve had people travel from Kempsey, Dunnedo, Coolah, Yass and a smattering of local people,” said Mr Hook.
“This is as many as we want really, if there is anymore we’d run out of time, so we are really at capacity,” he said.
“Most don’t worry about points, they are here for the enjoyment and they love their dogs,” Graham Hook said.
Fred Cook is usually a ‘three sheep trialer’ from Scone who is described by Graham Hook as “a pretty good dog man”.
Fred also turns his hand to cattle work and yesterday won the novice class and came second in the open.
“I’ve been doing three-sheep-trialing for 17 years and this I do on and off,” said Mr Cook.
“Some dogs will do both sheep and cattle, but others have different teams, I tend to use them to do both,” he said.
“You’ve got to have the right dog to do both,” he said.
“I got lucky with my last dog there I got 92 and got to put them away.
“It just depends what you get out there, if you get three good cattle you can sort of put them around, but if you get one fella that doesn’t want to cooperate it can be an issue,” he said.
“Sometimes you can go and win everything and the next you might not get a score, it is a good leveler.
Will Harvey with Monto going through his paces.
Fred Cook said while sheep trialing was attracting more competitors, especially from the city, cattle work is different.
“It is becoming more popular, especially for the city folk in the three sheep world, we are getting a lot of lady workers from Sydney and they are very competitive,” he said.
“At Hawkesbury Showground they’ve got a few sheep that they can go and work there of a weekend or of an afternoon and they never get to work on a farm in big mobs, but they go there and they’re kicking our butts,” he laughs.
“It’s a bit different working cattle though because access to cattle down there you just can’t get but a few sheep you can organise,” he said.
“It’s a good sport, it’s a good family sport,” he said.
“With cattle trialling you get younger people more involved, whereas with the sheep the average age is probably 55 or 60, I think with three sheep you have to have your dogs really tuned up, whereas the younger generation are busy at work and with family so they can’t spend that kind of time with their dogs,” Fred Cook said.
Final Results:
Open Event:
- 1st Cameron Douglas with Basil (Nundle)
- 2nd Fred Cook with Roy (Scone)
- 3rd Matthew Bogie with Lucy (Mendooran)
- 4th Peter Crowe with Skid (Timor)
Novice Event:
- 1st Fred Cook with Roy (Scone)
- 2nd Matthew Bogie with Lucy (Mendooran)
- 3rd Danielle Douglas with Ginge (Nundle)