Trials Results 2025

North Eastern Cape Sheepdog Club
DOY Trial –
29 & 30 March 2025
Amajuba Farm, Lady Grey
Amajuba farm, some 30kms from the Eastern Cape town of Lady Grey was the venue for our next set of trials. Owner Johan Nel leases his land to Piet Strydom who runs a flock of Mutton Merinos. A flock of young ewe lambs were used for the event. The field sloped gradually downward from the handler’s post making the sheep visible to the handler at the various set-out posts. For the dogs it was more of a challenge as the ground had a good covering of grass and the field was scattered with ant hills some of which were taller than the lambs.
The lambs however worked well even though getting them to flow was a difficult. On the first day host Johan Nel qualified into the Senior class with Sally and on the second day Ragni Pretorius and Mieke also qualified out of the junior class.
Overall, a very enjoyable and well run event in a picturesque setting. Thank you to Johan and Theresa Nel for all their arrangements, Piet Strydom for the use of his lambs and to our sponsors.
Day 1
Juniors (90): Judge – J vd Vyver
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J Nel Sally 77
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R Pretorius Mieke 75
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J Nel Fly 73
Seniors (100): Judge – A Philip
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B Lloyd Joc 85
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J Nel Bobby 84
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P Philip Nan 83
Top Dogs (110): Judge – A Gunter
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A Philip Mirk 89
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M Trollip Diesel 82
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R Pretorius Tess 78
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J vd Vyver Skye 74
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P Strydom Mac 67
Day 2
Juniors (90): Judge – P Philip
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R Pretorius Mieke 77
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J Nel Fly 76
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J Nel Roy 73
Seniors (100): Judge – M Trollip
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E Jammy Brooklyn 79
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R Pretorius Elke 76
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J Nel Bobby 73
Top Dogs (110): Judge – J vd Vyver
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A Philip Mirk 97
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M Trollip Diesel 94
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A Gunter Faffa 91
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A Gunter Zara 84
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R Pretorius Fia 81
North Eastern Cape Sheepdog Club
DOY Trial –
27 & 28 March 2025
Amajuba Farm, Lady Grey
Amajuba is located some 30kms from the town of Lady Grey in the north-eastern corner of the Eastern Cape Province. The trials field was typical grassland which proved tough going for the young Mutton Merino lambs that we used for the event. On the first day the Top Dogs also had to venture into a patch of long grass beyond the 400m post to cover their sheep on the lift. Many a dog had to be commanded on the outrun to get to the lift. Scores in the Senior and Top Dog classes were very low on the first day with the lambs simply not moving and finding it difficult to negotiate the terrain on the bring.
The junior handlers fared much better with the shorter outrun and the handler being able to walk with the dog on the drive, host Johan Nel qualifying into the Senior class with his dog Bobby. For the second day the Top Dog outrun was shortened to 300m which saw much better scores with the lambs also moving more freely even though they didn’t take a line!
Thank you to hosts Johan and Theresa Nel, Piet Strydom for the use of his sheep and our sponsors for a well-run and enjoyable event.
Day 1
Juniors (90): Judge – A Philip
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J Nel Bobby 82
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J Nel Sally 73
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J Nel Fly 62
Seniors (100): Judge – A Gunter
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B Lloyd Joc 58
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R Pretorius Elke 50
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J vd Vyver Missy 41
TopDogs (100): Judge – M Trollip
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A Philip Mirk 70
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J vd Vyver Cap 61
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A Philip Zap 46
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M Portch Meg 44
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J vd Vyver Skye 38
Day 2
Juniors (90): Judge – P Philip
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R Pretorius Mieke 69
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J Nel Roy 60
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J Nel Sally 60
Seniors (100): Judge – M Trollip
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B Lloyd Zac 63
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R Pretorius Elke 56
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P Philip Nan 50
TopDogs (110): Judge – A Philip
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J vd Vyver Skye 94
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A Gunter Faffa 90
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R Pretorius Fia 83
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J vd Vyver Cap 66
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A Gunter Zara 60
Zimbabwe Sheepdog Club
DOY Trial –
4 & 5 March 2025
Piercy Farm, Ruwa
The second set of trials were held just down the road from Bramber farm on the farm Piercy. Rose and the Zim committee had permission to use the flock of dorpers for this event. The sheep were not used to dogs at all so the committee members had been exposing them to dogs over the past few months and also being worked in smaller packets. Once again, we worked in packets of three and the top-dogs did a maltese cross and the seniors just one leg of the cross.
The field was bounded on the left by a gravel road and then a blue gum forest. On the right the boundary was long grass that could not be cut after the recent good rains. Top-dogs had an outrun of 380m, an away drive of some 85m to the right and then a cross drive of 135m. The packets of three were driven to the release pen in a bakkie and then the pen was opened via a long rope as the dog got to either 3 or 9 o’clock on the outrun. Being wild, most packets either took off down the field to the exhaust area (where the slept) or back to the holding pen. As a result there were a number of retirements and scores were generally on the low side.
This was however a very good test for the dogs and gives one food for thought! Thank you once again to the sponsors and the Zim club for a very well run event.
Day 1
Beginners (75): Judge – Mark Trollip
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A. England Charlie 45
Juniors (90): Judge – Mark Trollip
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K Holme Poppet 45
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J. Ades Bella 34
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R vd Ruit Ren 31
Seniors (100): Judge – Rose vd Ruit
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J Ludick Whisky 69
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W Hundermark Blu 63
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E Jammy Brooklyn 56
TopDogs (110): Judge – Elaine Portch
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M Trollip Diesel 97
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J Ludick Cola 67
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M Portch Hemp 40
Day 2
Beginners (75): Judge – Rose vd Ruit
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D Coleman Max 59
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D Coleman Dougal 55
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A Chiunye Calla 37
Juniors (90): Judge – Mark Trollip
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J Ades Bella 45
Seniors (100): Judge – Mark Trollip
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J Ludick Whisky 87
Top Dogs (110): Judge – Elaine Portch
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N Bowie Skye 76
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W Hundermark Bryn 73
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R vd Ruit Hemp 68
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M Trollip Diesel 61
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E Jammy Maxim 45
Zimbabwe Sheepdog Club
DOY Trial –
1 & 2 March 2025
Bramber Farm, Ruwa
Rose vd Ruit runs a dorper stud on their farm Bramber in the Ruwa district some 30kms east of Harare. She provided a flock of very healthy and fit ewes for the event. The trial took place on a now familiar field, soft under foot, well fenced and allowing for an outrun of just under 400m for the top dogs. The trial was run on packets of three with top dogs doing a maltese cross and the senior class completing just one leg of the cross, almost like a chute!
On the first day the top dogs cast left and had to lift from 9 o’clock and across the field for about 80m at right angles, around the senior post at 300m and then straight down the course. This proved very challenging, if one lifted too soon the sheep would take off for the gate in the top right-hand corner of the field and if the dog went too far round the sheep would run down the field. On the second day the top dogs had an offset bring.
Some very good runs resulted in good scores and on the second day Jo Ades and Bella qualified out of the beginner class and Nola Bowie and Skye qualified out of the senior class with a superb run scoring 95/100.
Thank you to Rose and the Zim club and to our sponsors for a great well run event. These trials are always enjoyable making the long trip from SA well worth the while.
Day 1
Beginners (75) – Judge: Mark Trollip
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D Coleman Max 56
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J Ades Bella 48
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A Chiunye Calla 46
Juniors (90) – Judge: Mark Trollip
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R vd Ruit Ren 69
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M Portch Potter 66
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K Holme Poppet 61
Seniors (100) – Judge: Rose vd Ruit
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N Bowie Skye 84
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W Hundermark Blu 82
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E Jammy Brooklyn 77
TopDogs (110) – Judge: Elaine Portch
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M Trollip Diesel 91
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R vd Ruit Pip 82
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M Portch Hemp 59
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J Ludick Sprite 52
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E Jammy Maxim 41
Day 2
Beginners (75) - Judge: Rose vd Ruit
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J Ades Bella 70 Q
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D Coleman Max 62
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D Coleman Dougal 53
Juniors (90) - Judge: Mark Trollip
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K Holme Poppet 73
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M Portch Potter 69
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V Render Rogue 50
Seniors (100) – Judge: Mark Trollip
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N Bowie Skye 95 Q
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J Ludick Whisky 90
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W Hundermark Blu 81
TopDogs (110) – Judge: Elaine Portch
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W Hundermark Bryn 94
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R vd Ruit Hemp 87
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J Ludick Sprite 80
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M Trollip Diesel 77
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E Jammy Maxim 77
West Coast Sheepdog Club
DOY Trial – 22 & 23 February 2025
Steenbokfontein Farm, Lamberts Bay
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Our 2025 season got underway with the traditional opener at farm Steenbokfontein owned by Herman Burger. Unfortunately we had a couple of last minute withdrawals making for a small entry. This meant that between us we were either judging, spotting or competing! Nevertheless the trialling was good with the healthy dorper ewes proving a real test. They were really skittish requiring delicate handling and one would often just break away. As expected, the TopDogs having more experience, coped with the situation better than the lower classes and some really good scores were posted.
Thanks to WA and the West Coast Club for all their efforts in hosting a well-run event! Also, to our sponsors, we’re indebted for your long term support.
Day 1
Juniors (90) – Judge : Jurie vd Vyver
1. WA Hugo Kaptein 59
2. A Philip Krypto 58
3. L de Waal Vlam 37
Seniors (100) – Judge : Mark Trollip
1. P Philip Nan 71
2. J vd Vyver Missy 61
TopDogs (110) – Judge : Pippa Philip
1. WA Hugo Adam 95
2. A Philip Mirk 94
3. M Trollip Diesel 91
4. J vd Vyver Skye 91
5. WA Hugo Mac 89
Day 2
Juniors (90) – Judge : Mark Trollip
1. A Philip Krypto 74
2. WA Hugo Kaptein 72
3. WA Hugo Clyde 62
Seniors (100) – Judge : Andrew Philip
1. P Philip Nan 83
2. J vd Vyver Missy 81
TopDogs (110) – Judge : Pippa Philip
1. WA Hugo Adam 101
2. WA Hugo Mac 94
3. A Philip Mirk 89
4. M Trollip Diesel 84
5. A Philip Zap 79
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