THIS Saturday, March 23 the Manning family will host the Kelly Country Cattle Dog Trials - the third event in the series - with the trials taking place at the Davilak Pastoral Company main cattle yards on Mt Buller Road, Mansfield.
Established in 2014 and currently in its eighth year after a COVID hiatus, the Kelly Country Cattle Dog Trial is a multiple-event series that takes place annually in the region.
What began as a group of likeminded and passionate farmers with an interest in dogs, cattle and working stock evolved into the Kelly Country Cattle Dog Trial Association (KCCDTA), with the group hosting stock handling trials and dog training days throughout the year.
This year the series kicked off early in November at Bonnie Doon Wagyu in Morven New South Wales, with KCCDTA’s Dr Rod Manning anticipating around five to six trials for the season across the North East and just over the border.
However, as the association fields increasing interest and participants come onboard and look to host their own event on-farm, he envisages the number of trial days to grow and locations to spread.
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“We only slow down or stop during the winter when it gets too wet,” he said.
“But as long as the weather is half reasonable, we’re not really limited to a time frame for the sport.”
Dr Manning said the event is for people who love their dogs and love their stock, but also admits that the series has a wider application.
“One of our goals is to educate young people interested in entering the industry,” Dr Manning said.
“There is a big push for low stress, humane handling of stock, and on that basis we are looking to set up an encouragement program so that those without experience can come and learn how to handle stock, how to break cattle so that they can be handled quietly and how to handle dogs.
“It’s such an important aspect of our business and trying to find young people who’ve had any sort of exposure to this sort of handling is proving difficult.
“Back 30 or 40 years ago that’s what country kids did, but this doesn’t really happen anymore.
“For young people - those in their early to late teens who are considering a path in agriculture and are keen to work on farm - we would be more than happy to introduce them to the concepts of stockmanship.
“We are looking to run courses, teaching them to appreciate how cattle and sheep should be handled, with an emphasis on occupational health and safety (OH&S)."
Dr Manning already runs courses in Gippsland on low-stress livestock handling for adults, teaching how to read stock.
“OH&S is a major concern on farm and we need to have those systems in place to prevent injuries by providing that necessary educational aspect for staff, starting off with young teenagers to build their confidence and understanding,” he said.
The association is also considering hosting dog training days for “newbies”, with participants able to bring their dog out, learn how to get their dog under control and responding to them, whilst also building that understanding of stock and how to move around cattle.
“Apart from the pleasure we get from competing and participating in the trials, we all share a common desire to bring the skill of stockmanship back to prominence, as stock work is such an integral part of farm management,” Dr Manning said.
“The further north you go the bigger the sport is, and its only growing in numbers and popularity stimulated by such things as the Muster Dog series which has proven to be a major catalyst.
“Working dog trials are one of the fastest growing animal sports and its become quite professional, lifting the standard overall.”
Kelly Country Cattle Dog Trials will kick off at 8am this Saturday, with the encouragement section first off for those with limited experience, followed by the maiden, novice and open sections.
The maiden trial is for young dogs or dogs who haven’t won a previous trial and are still learning.
Whereas the novice is for more experienced dogs, and once those dogs have won a few novice events they then compete in the open.
“We are expecting around 40 to 50 dogs on Saturday completing one to two runs each – so 60 runs in total over the course of the day - of a five-to-six-minute course,” said Dr Manning.
“Handlers and their dogs put three beasts through an obstacle course, either in the yard or the paddock and are scored accordingly.
“The vast majority of the dogs are either border collies or kelpies, and of course each of us have individual preferences.
“Regardless of the breed though, it’s all about the same thing on the day - educating dogs, educating cattle and learning good stock sense and stockmanship."
Entry is free with a food caravan and amenities on-site at Davilak Pastoral Company on Mt Buller Road.
The event would not be possible without sponsorship from Corcoran Parker, Nutrien Ag Solutions and Brown’s Fertilisers.
