Elite sheep dogs to go head-to-head at Ashburton A&P Show

They compete for the Wayleggo Cup, first presented by the New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Association (NZSDTA) in 1994. New Zealand has claimed 21 of the 37 contests since, although Australia took the title in Geelong last year.

NZSDTA president David Sheild says the Trans Tasman test represents the pinnacle of heading dog competition, bringing together the finest handlers and dogs from both countries.

“The rivalry is always intense; these are the absolute elite of the sport, and every run counts. Each competitor gets 15 minutes to complete the course, and the standard is always exceptional,” said Sheild.

Sheild’s father, the then NZSDTA president Tony Sheild, named the cup the “Wayleggo” in reference to the traditional musterers’ call - “come away and let go” - used to call dogs back from their work.

Each nation’s four-strong team is selected through national competitions and championship results. The Purina PRO PLAN® New Zealand Test Team is drawn from finalists at the North and South Island Championships, while Australia’s representatives earn their place through a national qualifying series.

However, the two countries have traditionally different handling styles, New Zealand rules allowing handlers more body movement to guide the dog, while Australian rules put more reliance on the dogs’ understanding while the handler remains still.

The course is therefore a hybrid of New Zealand and Australian sections, with four obstacles – a gate, a maltese cross, a ramp and a pen. Australian rules apply as far as the gate, followed by a NZ drive through the Maltese cross and over the ramp, then back into an Australian carry to the pen.

The course must be completed in 15 minutes. There are two judges, one from each country, whose scores are averaged.

The test will consist of two full contests, scheduled for 3.30pm on each of the two days of the show.

Matches are scored on an aggregate of points, each dog starting out with 100 points, with points deducted for mistakes.

But Sheild explains that at this level of competition, penalties are few.

“They’ll sit somewhere between 330 and -  if they're really good -  it could be as high as 380 over the whole team, over the four dogs.”

But Sheild predicts scores more like 360 since it would not be an easy course.

With the venue alternating annually between New Zealand and Australia, the test was last at Ashburton two years ago but Sheild says it will be at a North Island venue when it returns in 2027, following Toowoomba, Queensland, next year.

Sheild says dog trialling is still very relevant to modern farming, with the association very heavily involved with teaching farmers how to work their dogs in a nice controlled manner, and it is growing as a sport.

When his father was judging in the 1990s there might be 160 dogs at an event but now they were judging “closer to 260,” he said.

“The Tux Yarding competition I've just been to, they’ve done 150 dogs in two and a half days, but that was on a very small course on about a quarter acre section.”

The 2025 PRO PLAN® New Zealand Test Team will be captained by Mark Copland and Guy (Canterbury) with Leo Jecentho and Jake (Waikato); Lloyd Smith and Code (North Otago); Ben Millar and King (Canterbury), and reserve Brian Dickison and Dan (Southland).