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.
But he was also a good example of someone who had enjoyed success in trialling without having the work for his sheep.
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".
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.
He described the sport as a disease, a little like golf which he also played but dog trials finished halfway through the golf season so it was a bit of a juggle — and you also had to be a little fitter for golf.
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.
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".
Down the far end of the indoor centre was what was known as the Naughty Boys’ Corner — the home to the liberators, releasing the sheep for each run.
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".
Involved since its inception, he estimated the event had raised about $150,000 for charity.
The Hospice Southland crew were on food and hot drink duty for the weekend.
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.
