Team Ireland triumph at World Sheepdog Trials
Team Ireland clinched the top spot in the teams competition during the World Sheepdog Trials, organised by the International Sheep Dog Society and taking place at Gill Hall Estate, Dromore this week.
Team Ireland scored impressively against tough competition from 20-plus other teams from all corners of the globe including the United States, Brazil, South Africa and Norway.
Team Ireland were Eamonn Connell from Tyrrellspass, Martin O’Malley, from Keel, County Mayo, Paddy Fanning, from Glenealy, County Wicklow, and James McCloskey, from Carndonagh, and Allistar Lyttle, also from County Donegal.
Describing their performance as “outstanding”, John McCullough, chairman of the World Trial Committee, congratulated Team Ireland. “The standards shown during the teams competition were extremely high, which means that clinching the title was certainly no mean feat. A huge well done to the members of Team Ireland on what is a truly momentous achievement.
“Competing on the world stage requires many years of training and it’s fantastic for us to be able to showcase these talented handlers and their highly trained dogs in Northern Ireland for the first time. We have such a rich farming history in this country and for the World Sheepdog Trials to be a part of it is very special to us as a committee.
“This event is the Olympics of the sheep dog world and we hope that the thousands of spectators coming to join us during the week will enjoy being able to witness such a great partnership between handler and dog.”
The teams competition has concluded, but during the individual competitions tomorrow, Saturday, a world champion and young handler world champion will be unveiled.
Isabel Branch, CEO of the International Sheep Dog Society, said: “We’re expecting lots of tough competition in the individual competitions. Qualifiers have been running over the last few days and the top 16 individuals will go forward to compete for the World Champion and Young Handler World Champion Titles on Saturday.
“Judging by the number of global spectators we’ve welcomed to the Trials in recent days, this event has had a positive ripple effect on local businesses and the tourist economy as a whole – and we’re expecting to see even more descending on Gill Hall Estate for the final few days of the competition.”
The World Sheepdog Trials are at Gill Hall Estate, Dromore until Saturday September 16.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.worldsheepdogtrials.org or pay at the gate.