Miss Clarke (28) was competing at the Southern Indoor Charity Dog Trial at Waimumu, near Gore, yesterday, with 2-year-old Faye.
The event, which continues today, is possibly the South Island's first indoor dog trial, and has attracted more than 170 entries.
It is being held in the Southern Field Days Cowhouse Construction Agri Centre on the Southern Field Days site, to raise money for the Gore St John rebuild.
Miss Clarke spent her early years living on a farm before moving to Dunedin. She spent four years working at a veterinary clinic at Arrowtown before deciding she really wanted to be farming.
She is now working on a 1500ha sheep and beef property, near Milton, and local farmer and triallist Geoff Finch has been helping her with her dogs.
Admitting to being slightly nervous before her first-ever run, she was full of praise for Faye, her ''wee star''. ''She's been a full-on wee thing, she's been great ... taught me a lot.
While it was also a little intimidating as a ''young, newbie female'', her fellow triallists had all been very helpful.
''Everyone's got their own opinion and you just go with it. You always pick something up,'' she said.
Faye was undaunted by the gravel, rather than grass, surface in the 5000sq m building which, along with the trial course, also housed sponsors' stalls, but the pair failed to pen their three sheep.
''It was a bit messy at the start. Towards the end, it was getting better, then we ran out of time,'' Miss Clarke said.
But she loved the experience, saying Faye was also ''in her element'', and she would definitely return next year.
Her mentor, Mr Finch, was also competing yesterday and he described the venue as ''magic''.
For a winter venue, it's just perfect ... no frost on the ground even though it's ... cold,'' Mr Finch joked.
One of the organisers, Sharon Paterson, said it was expected to raise more than $10,000 from the inaugural event. She was thrilled with the success of it, saying they wanted to create something with atmosphere and also ''a bit quirky, a bit different''.
