James Dumbleton is an English sheep farmer and he trains sheepdogs for sheepdog trials. He has been included in English National teams five times and qualified to run in three World Sheepdog Trials
Getting an old dog fit
Bruce is ten and half years old this summer. I had intended to retire him after the World Sheepdog Trial last year but when I had him out working in April, I decided that he still seemed very active and up for it. So I decided to give him one more National.The Irish National Sheepdog Trial is held on the [...] Continue Reading
Stuart Davidson, International Sheepdog Trial Champion
S.L. Davidson shares some of his views and experience
Chatting with George Bonsall at Clough Head Hill Trial in May
George was up early to judge this one and it turned out to be a long day with 89 dogs running the course. George is a well known sheepdog handler and judge. George has been the annual host of the Four Nations Nursery Final since its inception a few years ago. It consists of the best 40 nursery dogs from […] Continue Reading
Con McGarry, renowned Irish sheepdog handler
I asked Con how has he been able to consistently find dogs of the quality that he has needed, to compete at the top level for the last thirty years
Talking to Kilmovee Shires at the Mayo Ploughing championships
Colman Cogan talks to me about shire horses and ploughing the traditional way, at the Mayo ploughing championships
Talking to Sheepdog Handler Alf Kyme
in May of 2021, three of us traveled to the North of England to attend the famous Deerplay Hill Trial run on Jim Cropper’s hill. Myself, Con McGarry and Ger Egan travelled over together by ferry from Ireland, to compete with our sheepdogs. We were fortunate in that we were able to stay at Alf Kyme’s place nearby. Deerplay is […] Continue Reading
The Irish National Sheepdog Trials 2021
My Irish National aspirations were dashed, but in their place I have been left with an experience that will evoke that nice feeling from now on, anytime I think of Killarney
Talking with Michael Longton
Michael comes from a very famous family that have been sheepdog trialing at the top levels for decades going back to before the war. Michael began handling dogs at the age of 12 and by the age of 24 had secured winning his first English National. Michael has gone on to compete in 4 International Supreme finals since, with 3rd […] Continue Reading
Shepherd from Iraq, what are the chances?
How often do you get to meet anyone from Iraq? Well in my case the answer is, not very often! when I ask the same question but put in ‘shepherd’ aswell, then the odds drop significantly. So i thought i better ask Omar Alkubaisy a few questions. Omar told me he got into sheep first and then ran into handlers […] Continue Reading