Michael Kelly and his five-year-old dog Jack competing at the national trials in Larne.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Irish national sheepdog trials are being held over three days from 11 to 13 August on the farm of Robin McNinch near Larne, Co Antrim.
In the singles class, 150 dogs are running over the course over the three days. Each run has a 15-minute maximum time limit for handlers to command their dog to move five sheep around the course. Every run is scored by two judges, with the two scores added together to give a mark out of 220.
Brace class
ADVERTISEMENT
There are also nine handlers competing in the brace class, which involves running two dogs at the same time to complete a series of tasks with 10 sheep.
The highest score in the singles class takes the title of Irish national champion, with the top 15 competitors in the singles and top two in the brace class qualifying to compete in the international sheepdog trials in Gwynedd in Wales in September.
A qualifying system is used based on results from local trials throughout Ireland to decide eligible competitors at the Irish national sheepdog trials each year also.
Watch a video explaining the various stages of a run and the scoring system in the singles class below.
Results from the event will be reported on www.farmersjournal.ie over the weekend.
Register for free to read this story and our free stories.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
The Irish national sheepdog trials are being held over three days from 11 to 13 August on the farm of Robin McNinch near Larne, Co Antrim.
In the singles class, 150 dogs are running over the course over the three days. Each run has a 15-minute maximum time limit for handlers to command their dog to move five sheep around the course. Every run is scored by two judges, with the two scores added together to give a mark out of 220.
Brace class
There are also nine handlers competing in the brace class, which involves running two dogs at the same time to complete a series of tasks with 10 sheep.
The highest score in the singles class takes the title of Irish national champion, with the top 15 competitors in the singles and top two in the brace class qualifying to compete in the international sheepdog trials in Gwynedd in Wales in September.
A qualifying system is used based on results from local trials throughout Ireland to decide eligible competitors at the Irish national sheepdog trials each year also.
Watch a video explaining the various stages of a run and the scoring system in the singles class below.
Results from the event will be reported on www.farmersjournal.ie over the weekend.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS