The South Island sheep dog trial championships will be held at the Waitaki Collie Dog Club's trial grounds from May 9-13, drawing many of the country's top triallists.
With more than 200 entries in each of the four events, it is a major undertaking to arrange sponsorship and organise all trials activities.
It has been a big couple of years for the Waitaki Collie Dog Club, which held its 125th anniversary trials last year.
Originally known as the Waitaki Dog Trial Club, [the name was changed in 1889] the club held its inaugural trials on March 13, 1886.
It has the distinction of being the oldest dog trial club in the southern hemisphere and is believed to be the only club in the world to have run competitions every year since its formation.
Over the years, the club has hosted the North Otago championships, the South Island championships and, in 1986, the five-day New Zealand championships.
A sub-committee was formed to organise next month's event and has been backed by committee members along with strong suppport from the wider committee.
The club's president Les Scott, who farms with his wife, Tracey, in the Hakataramea Valley, was thrilled with the response to the championships, saying the community had rallied.
After months of meetings and preparations, Mr Scott was looking forward to finally getting underway.
The past six months had been "pretty full on", he said.
The championships will be held on the properties of Glen Cary and Collie Hills. More than 1000 sheep will be needed. Hugh and Mandy Cameron, from Otematata Station, will supply merino wethers for the hunt events, while Simon and Kate Taylor will provide Corriedale ewe lambs for heading.
Mrs Scott is at the helm of the women's committee, organising the catering of breakfasts, smoko breaks, lunches and barbecues at night. Backed by a "great team", she was "well under control" to cope with the visitors, she said.
Mr Scott, who only recently got back into dog trialling, grew up on a farm on the coast at Otaio and always wanted to be a farmer. After leaving school aged 17, he worked at Ben Nevis, south of Cromwell. He got a team of dogs together - "they were pretty patchy then", and worked on various properties, before going farming with his wife.
Despite being busy organising the championships, he has managed to attend a few trials this season, mostly in North Otago, and qualified for the championships with 6-year-old huntaway Matt. The combination had "as good a chance as everyone else", Mr Scott said.
Matt is one of about eight dogs who play a crucial role in daily working life on the Scotts' large property.
The couple were community-minded and being involved with the dog trials was just a part of that.
The community was something that attracted them to the district.
"It's a special district," Mrs Scott said.
It was hoped the community would get involved with the championships. On the Tuesday night, a social gathering will be held in a marquee at the trial grounds and anyone was welcome to attend, and to participate in an auction.
Hakataramea Valley farmer Hamish Benny will auction some special items, including a commissioned painting by high-country artist Norman Sinclair, a guided hunt at Foveran Deer Park Game Estate, to hunt a red stage of between 14 and 18 points, and four rams from Kelso Genetics.
Two well-bred pups will be auctioned - a heading pup by Lloyd Smith's Ace, who won the short head and yard title at the New Zealand championships in Gore last year and later represented New Zealand in a transtasman challenge, and the other a huntaway pup by Russell Peek's Task, who won the zigzag hunt at the South Island championships last year.
A club rugby fixture between Kurow and Valley has been shifted to Kurow on the Wednesday night at 7.30pm, to coincide with the championships. Asked who would win, a possibly-biased Mr Scott said: "There's only one team in it".
A bus trip in North Otago has also been organised to cater for the wives and partners of the triallists.
The judges for the championships are Brent Matthews (Mangaweka), Andy Clarke (Christchurch), Colin Bayliss (Napier) and John Tweed (Lawrence).