IT WAS a resounding win for agricultural student Adam James of Jindivick and his kelpie Buster during the Victorian State Utility Championship at Caramut on Monday.
Mr James, the youngest person to win the championship, swept the opposition aside, remaining calm and inspiring his dog to perform well.
However, it was a nail-biting finish for second and third, between regular State and Australian championship winners, Joe Spicer of Caramut and Gary White of NSW.
Mr James and Buster scored 89 and 77 points respectively, in the first and second rounds of the championship, giving him the win in the open trial.
However, as the final competitor in the championship, the 21-year-old had to watch 17 more seasoned handlers and sheepdogs compete before having his own chance to perform.
He completed the third, and championship round, with a final score of 79 points, giving him a tally of 245.
Mr James finished 30 points ahead of Mr Spicer and his kelpie Go Getta Max, who scored 215 points; one point ahead of third-placed Mr White and White's Fella on a final tally of 214.
Damien Clifford of Dundonnell and his kelpie, Gemma, finished in fourth place with a final score of 205 points.
"He performed really well," Mr James said of Buster, to Stock & Land.
"We penned in each of the three heats and I think that made a difference to the final scores.
"Buster just naturally worked the sheep on Sunday and Monday - they ran a lot in the paddock and he was able to manage them.
"He has been building up his stamina over the summer, working hard on sheep during the hot weeks in January and February and it showed me where his limit was and I was able to work with it.
"It was quite hot at Caramut and a lot of dogs were not performing because of it.
"It didn't feel like a normal trial - Buster was leading at the end of the first round and I kept expecting someone to pull out a 90 [score].
"They were quite unpredictable sheep."
Competitors in the championship had 15 minutes to complete the circuit.
It began with a 150-metre cast for the dog to pick up three sheep, return to the handler and the pair to pen the sheep.
They had to pick up 16 sheep from another yard, move this mob through a force yard, a drenching race and another force yard before drafting the first three and last two sheep; then put away that five.
They drafted the mob of 11 sheep into a larger yard, then left those and picked up the original three sheep and moved these around the paddock, through a gap, over a race and into a pen, where the dog had to hold the sheep from outside while the handler closed the gate.
A large number of competitors were unable to complete the circuit and most did not pen the sheep.
There were 18 sheepdogs competing in the championship trial and seven in the final (96 across all events) which concluded a weekend of working dog competition at Caramut.
Mr James and Buster will compete in the Australian Yard Dog Championships at Lucindale, South Australia, at the South East Field Days and the National Kelpie Field Trial at Tailem Bend, SA, in March before heading back to Victoria and the yard dog trials at Ballarat, Skipton and Warragul in April.
He will also compete at the Victorian Yard Dog Championships at Mansfield next month.
All entry fees for the yard dog trials at Skipton on Sunday, April 6, will be donated to Cancer Council Victoria, as part of a fundraiser organised by the Victorian Yard, Utility and Farm Dog Association.
- Full results in the Stock & Land March 20 edition
