Swan Hill Yard Trial
On Sunday the 22nd of May Swan Hill in Northam held it’s inaugural yard trial.
The event was organized and run by Neil Kristianson with help from his partner Donna.
Neil also judged the novice and the open events.
Those who attended enjoyed a well run, challenging trial, and if you missed it you should make an effort to get there next year as it was well worth the trip.
The course was well set up by Neil and involved a gather from a large pen into the force and then into a race, where competitors had to raddle five sheep. The sheep where then moved into another pen before going into the draft where the marked sheep were drafted off and worked into the shearing shed.
The remaining sheep were then moved through a sheep shower and finally into the last yard.
We were allowed 9 minutes and any dallying on the way meant you ran out of time. You also needed to concentrate on the job as a few competitors made mistakes, by misdrafting or forgetting to mark sheep or shut/open gates.
The sheep were a little flighty for the novice but settled for the open events.
The trial was run in conjunction with the Historical, Agricultural and Environmental Festival, and there were clydesdales in harness, scottish bands, dancers and other interesting events.
There was also a giant horse sculpture made out of wire, very clever.
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