Mr Evans, who lives in Amberley, North Canterbury, was campaigning Blue and Blue’s father and mother Ted and Liz at the event which raises money for Hospice Southland.
Ask how a publican ended up dog trialling — the colourful character previously ran pubs in Springfield and Greta Valley — and he laughs. "Good question."
The much-photographed bronze statue of a dog on the shores of Lake Tekapo was actually modelled on one of his father’s dogs, Haig, who was tragically run over a week after the statue arrived from England.
"It was a disaster," Mr Evans recalled.
Mr Evans got his own dog in 1969 and had followed trials ever since.
He now leased some ground at West Melton and said that he was "a bit up against it" as he was not farming on a daily basis.
What it was about was training at home and consistency and sometimes no work was better than poor work which could lead to bad habits, he said.
Mr Evans won an island title in the yarding at Masterton in 2021, and he was seventh in the North Island championships this year with Ted.
He had a good season in Canterbury, winning top heading dog, and qualified three dogs for the New Zealand championships.
He enjoyed the challenge of dog trialling — working with three sheep, a man (or woman) and a dog — "and getting the whole thing to gel".
As he watched the trials get under way at the Southern Field Days site on Friday, he said the sheep were a little jumpy and it was about drawing the right sheep and making the most of them.
Asked if he still had the desire to win, he quickly said "bloody oath — that’s what it’s all about" — and his goal was to be presented with a green tie as the winner of a New Zealand championship.
"That’s the thing that keeps me going, keeps most fellas going," he said.
While his own Loburn club — which is preparing to celebrate its centennial — was struggling for numbers, Mr Evans was delighted to see the number of young competitors in the sport.
He admitted he still got a little nervous before a run, although not as much as he used to when his nose would start to bleed as soon as he put on his competitor number.
Mr Evans had bred all three of the dogs he was campaigning, and he reckoned Liz was probably the best.
He had loaned Ted to Erin Cassie, at Erewhon Station, who was short of a dog, picking him up shortly before the trials, and it was likely he would head back to the Mid Canterbury hills.
He had bred some good dogs, probably breeding more champions than he had owned, he said.
Dog trials used to feature in some of the poetry Mr Evans wrote as part of a fairly earthy show that he performed with his late mate Mac, called Outside Bob.
The pair performed from Woodlands to Auckland, although Mr Evans regretted the Aucklanders were not so fond of the "raw country humour".
There was some discussion about how much rubbish was talked over the duration of the event in that corner, with Steve Bellew quipping "there isn’t much we don’t know".
One of the event organisers, Mike Joyce, was thrilled with how the 10th annual event was unfolding, with 173 entries from throughout the South Island.
Involved since its inception, he estimated the event had raised about $150,000 for charity.
As part of the event, triallist Andy Clark was taking some young dog enthusiasts, who were not entered in the competition, for training.
Results
Trevor Stark, with dog Jess, 97 points, 1; Brian Dickison, Don, 96.5, 2; Andy Clark, Kip, 95.5, 3; Levi McCall, Jane, 94.5, 4; Vic Stanley, Jay, 93.5, 5; Paul McCarthy, Meg, 92.5, 6; Ian Stevenson, Zach, 92, 7; Des McGregor, Jan, 91.5, 8; Barry Hobbs, Fleur, 87.5, 9; Ian Broadhurst, Nell, 87, 10; Margaret Evans, Prince, 84, 11; Quinton Whitehead, Ted, 67, 12; Paul McCarthy, Von, 64.5, 13.
