Champs loom for a man and his dog

Patearoa Collie Club member Ethan Smith and his huntaway Chub are no strangers to success.

The duo won the straight hunt run-off at the New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Championships in Warepa in 2023.

He was given a green tie for the win.

‘‘It’s pretty special getting that.’’

Their other top results include finishing sixth in the zig zag hunt run-off in the North Island Championship in Masterton in 2021.

This season they won the zig zag hunt and straight hunt at the Patearoa Collie Club trial grounds in March.

Also this season they placed third in the straight hunt at Mt Linton Dog Trial Club in November, fourth in the zig zag hunt at the Taieri Collie Club in March, and won the zig zag hunt at St Bathans in January.

At the North Otago Centre Championships on their home ground last week, they placed fifth in the zig zag run-off.

He decided against competing at the North Island Championships in Taihape this week as he was busy with work.

He manages 6500ha sheep and beef station Styx Station, running about 8000 ewes and 600 cows.

The winter crops were looking good despite a dry summer.

He and Chub would down tools to compete at the South Island and New Zealand Championships at Lochiel Station in Hanmer Springs from May 25.

Smith treated a national championship like any other dog trial.

‘‘You just go and try and do what you can.’’

He said the aim was always to win but it did not always go your way, as with the zig zag run-off at the centre champs last week.

‘‘I didn’t complete. The sheep beat me under the top set [of markers] and I wasn’t able to regather them and put them through.

‘‘It’s just the way they go, there’s a fair bit of luck in the sheep you draw and you’ve just got to try to do what you do.’’

Merino two tooth wethers were run at the centre championships.

Crossbred sheep would most likely be run at Lochiel Station, which was his preferred breed at trials.

‘‘Just for the way I’ll work a dog — I don’t like to sit back, I like to hunt them, and you can’t really do that with merinos, [though] I’ve had a lot of success on merinos — but they’re certainly not my preferred sheep to hunt.’’

The pair were hunting crossbred sheep when they won the green tie in Warepa.

Making a run-off at the North Otago centre championships at the end of a season was a great way to prepare for a national event.

‘‘It gets you halfway ready — you get in the championship mode because it brings out the best.’’

More than seven years ago, Smith bred Chub from one of his bitches and a dog of his boss, stock manager Tom Harris, who he worked for casually in Hanmer Springs.

‘‘Chub was the only one to survive out of the litter . . .we hand-fed him for about a week.’’

Chub had plenty of go left in him, and he hoped to get another two years’ of work out of him.

‘‘It’s no fun watching an old dog run up the hill.’’

As Chub ages, life gets easier at work.

‘‘He still comes to work every day, but he doesn’t get the hard jobs any more.’’

Smith had been running three younger dogs at southern trials this season.

‘‘They’ve got better as the season’s going on so hopefully next year they’ll be reasonably sharp.’’

Smith was once a member of the Amuri Collie Club in the Canterbury Centre for six years, and had competed at the club’s grounds at Lochiel Station many times before.

‘‘I’ve never done any good,’’ he ruefully admitted. Smith was born and raised in Whanganui and moved to the South Island about 13 years ago.

About six years of that time was spent in The Styx.

‘‘It's a beautiful bit of land and a good community.’’

The appeal of the sport was breaking a dog in and being competitive with it and meeting like-minded people.

Training and competing in the sport did though take him away from his wife Kate and sons Fergus, 6, and Charlie, 3.

‘‘I’m very very lucky to have a supportive wife and kids to allow me to do what I do.’’

North Otago Centre president Russell Smillie, of Hakataramea Valley, said about 70 triallists competed over the two-day centre champs in Patearoa.

‘‘It has been good and run, very, very smoothly.’’

Triallists had travelled from between Southland to Banks Peninsula to compete in what was all about competition and camaraderie, he said.

One difference between a club trial and a centre trial was that triallists get to compete in a runoff at the centre event.

Any dog with a top-five finish in a run-off qualified for the South Island and New Zealand Championships.

‘‘If you are in the top five — straight to Hanmer.’’

Results

Results of the North Otago Centre Championships held at the Patearoa Collie Club trial grounds on April 29 —

Long head: Michael Lucas (Kate) 190 1, Neville Hore (Taff) 187 2, Lloyd Smith (Guide) 186.5 3, Ben Mason (Danny) 184.75 4, Robbie Calder (Deak) 184.5 5. Short head and yard: Roger Tweed (Kane) 185.5 1, Roger Tweed (Rick) 182.5 2, Ben Manson (Danny) 181.5 3, Logan Bain (Pru) 181 4, Charlie Croft (Pearl) 178 5. Zig-zag hunt: Dan Broughton (Harry) 185 1, Murray Dodds (Krugar) 184.75 2, Greg Metherell (Brin) 183 3, Michael Lucas (Chook) 179.5 4, Ethan Smith (Chub) 168 5. Straight hunt: Craig Stanway (Grace) 185.5 1, Logan Bain (Charlie) 185 2, Dave Kenny (Raki) 184 3, Robbie Calder (Angus) 179 4, Daniel Adam (Digger) 177 5.