The secret skills of a top rate dog trialist
Is being able to think like a sheep a valuable skill for a farmer to become a successful dog trialist? Eion Herbert disagrees. He reckons the key is to train your dog to be able to think like the woolly beasts it’s working with. Eion should have a fair idea as he and his canine team have enjoyed serious success over successive years.
The Dog Trial Association archives hold long lists with dates, trial venues, hundreds of names of dogs and men and women who worked with them. Checking
‘‘Eion Herbert’’ records show he had 38 placings in North Island or South Island competitions or the national championships beginning at Blenheim 1983 until Gisborne last year.
Heading dogs are his strength with nine prize winners in heading events, plus one high achieving huntaway. Herbert dogs have names from Joe, Mac, Jan to Ben and a trio on a theme, Cloud, Storm and Rain. Championships usually have 250 dogs in the heading competition on both short and long head courses.
They are the smooth silent workers. The same number of huntaways, which bark and are more boisterous, compete on straight and zigzag courses. To qualify for this top level each dog must build up enough points over the season in local trials. After all entrants have run, the seven top scorers are identified for the ‘‘runoff’’.
Eion and one of his well trained team have been in 38 of these finals. Every competitor in runoffs earns a sought after blue shirt, so Eion has a fair selection of those to wear. In his wardrobe he also has two auspicious green ties awarded to national title winners, and two blue ones from winning Tux yarding competitions.
Plus Eion has competed in Australia representing New Zealand seven times with four different dogs, and travelled to Ireland for the world championships. So is there a secret Eion has which gets his dogs to perform so successfully, whether employing sheepy thoughts or not?
To start with, the breeding of dogs is important and Eion mainly breeds his own along proven lineage and knows the genealogy of each one. Many of Eion’s retired champions go to a good home with Eion’s retired friend who rears litters of prospective winners.
Next comes patient practise, working together building up confidence and trust in the man/ dog team. Living on a farm, Eion dogs are working dogs, not just trial performers.
Eion was brought up on a farm at Glenray, near Nelson and his Dad dog trialled. His Grandad was a drover with a good team of dogs. At 15-years-old Eion was timekeeping for the judge at Tapawera. He competed at a
Young Farmer’s field-day with his Grandfather’s old dog, owned his first dog when he was 19 and has worked with and learnt from dozens of dogs in the years since.
Eion’s wife Mandy is also an important part of their successful team and he appreciates her huge contribution and encouragement. She knows a good run when she sees one, and also when her man and dog have a bad one.
Most sports are challenging enough with the inconsistencies of one human competitor, but dog trialling adds the factors of a canine partner, plus three ovine participants, not to mention complications of weather conditions. With no handicap, novices are on the same playing field as seasoned operators.
Eion, often with Mandy, travels long distances to trial grounds, mainly in the Nelson /Marlborough region. Some days are just plain frustrating when the dog doesn’t listen, the man stuffs up, the sheep are wild or wind blows commands and control away. When I talked to Eion at Takaka Dog trials it had been one of those rare also-ran days for him with no prize money or cups to take home.
This is my tribute to Eion Herbert for his skills honed, success and contribution to the challenging sport of dog trials.
Joyce Wyllie is a sheep farmer at Kaihoka in Golden Bay.