11/05/2026
Stepping out onto the trial ground.
It can be a big step, your first time on the trial ground.
Just remember, everyone trialling must go through this, and it is never as bad as we think.
Nerves pay a big part. This is something we will learn to cope with as we get more experienced. Some nerves are not a bad thing, and it is best not to fight them; just accept them as part of trialling and do our best. We need to focus on our dog and the sheep and forget who is watching and what they may be saying.
People may criticise, comment, and note good and bad points in the dog, but basically no one will remember the run later. We have all had trainwrecks, and focusing on them achieves nothing. We simply learn what we can from them and move on.
If things go bad, we retire and go home with work to do. This will happen even after years of trialling. We can train and train, but ultimately getting our dogs on the trial ground can bring issues we may not have been aware of.
The dog is going to react to noise, other dogs, people at the let-outs, sheep that are different than anything he has worked before, our nerves, flags and any number of things he will encounter that he does not see at home.
We need to observe how the dog copes with these issues and try to support him.
If the sheep are too much for your dog, the best course is to retire, something all of us will do over and over with young dogs.
As an encourage worker in WA, we are permitted five runs with a helper. The helper is there to advise and help guide you around the course.
Information for encourage workers is here. https://www.westaustralianworkingsheepdogs.com.au/getting-started/
Sheepdog trialling is a challenging sport, to say the least. We are constantly learning, adjusting, trying different things and trying to fix issues that appear regularly.
It can be heartbreaking, disappointing, and frustrating, but also exciting. We will have highs and lows, sometimes a lot of lows, but the highs can make up for them. It will take a lot of commitment, and sometimes we will feel like we are going backwards.
Every issue or problem we need to work on is a learning opportunity and will help us in our journey, which can be a long one. There is no end destination; we just keep plugging away. Different sheep will suit different dogs. We might have some great runs at one event, only to fail to get scores at the next.
It’s important to look at the big picture, the people we have met, and those who have helped us; the fun social catchups; sorting out difficult problems with our dogs; and progressing around the ground. Our first score, our first pen, and our first win, which can be a long time coming but is well worth the wait.
We need to look at it as a competition with ourselves, and it’s important not to compare our progress to others. This can be detrimental to our development as we all are on a different journey with different dogs.
As soon as you start trialling you will become more aware of what is required to progress with your dog on the trial ground. This is something you won’t learn at home.
Remember also that it is a sport; we need to keep it fun and not dwell on things if they go wrong. Maybe we had difficult sheep, the grounds were a bit tricky, perhaps we failed to read things correctly or gave the dog the wrong command. Once again this is something that happens more than people realise, even to the top trailers.
Many of us trial because it is difficult and challenging, but even small achievements can feel special.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions about your run to whoever may be watching. People are happy to help and advise. Criticism is something we must learn to cope with, as it is inevitable but usually done to help, not hinder. So don’t get upset if someone tells you what you might have done wrong; this is how we learn. We might get conflicting advice, as there are many ways people deal with issues, but it can all be useful information.
But above all, look on it as a long and exciting journey with an unknown destination.
