Manannan Sheepdog Trials held their two-day trial at Bishopscourt Farm and we are grateful to Ian Kelly for this report...

The Manannan Sheepdog Trial was held over the weekend of September 24 and 25 with two great days of trialing, with one day being T-shirt and shorts weather and the following day very much woolly hats and big jumpers weather.

The new Manannan trials champion is Frankie Whitfield with Jock. The pair put on a majestic display in the double lift final with a score of 149 out of 150.

Day one qualifier

It was Frank Satterthwaite and Tweed who opened the trial with a respectable score of 81. The sheep were well behaved over the course but proved tricky at the pen and the shedding ring. Lots of really good runs were derailed due to this, however Dennis Purdam stepped out to the post with his dog Tag and put on a class display to score an excellent 98 out of 100. The only one beating this was Arthur Temple with Jan with an almost faultless run of 99 out of 100. A real pleasure to watch a true master at work and a thoroughly deserved win.

Top six qualifying scores were as follows: Arthur Temple and Jan, 99; Dennis Purdam and Tag, 98; Richard Crowe and Pat, 97; Mathew Fearon and Tim, 96; Frank Whitfield and Jock, 96; Dennis Purdam and Kippi, 93.

At the conclusion of the first day of qualifying there was a nursery trial held. There was a good entry with sixteen dogs entered comprising local competitors and visiting competitors looking to give some of their young dogs a run.

Nursery trial results were as follows: 1st, Ian Kelly with Bella; 2nd, Rod Green with Sam; 3rd, Orry Martin with Ace.

Day two qualifier

Sunday saw day two of the qualifying round with a move to a different field where spectators had a bird’s-eye view of the course due to the field having a gentle slope in it and dogs being sent from the top of the hill to collect their sheep.

The sheep early on proved a little stroppy and stubborn but soon got better and better. In the middle of the trial there were two exceptional runs worthy of a mention, the first being Jackie Goulder with Valmis Kismet who put on a majestic display. The judge, Mr Norman Christian, commented that he could not find fault with it and awarded top marks of 100 points for the run.

This run was closely followed by Frank Satterthwaite and Tweed who also put on a faultless run and joined Jackie on the top of the scoreboard. After these two runs lots of the handlers had very strong runs up to the pen or shed but just couldn’t quite finish so points were lost.

Results for day two, the top six were as follows: Jackie Goulder and Valmis Kismet, 100; Frank Satterthwaite and Tweed, 100; Arthur Temple and Jan, 97; Dennis Purdam and Kippi, 93; Lynn Morland and Moss, 90; Tom Rome and Cap, 90.

Special mention to local man Dan Moore and Bear, competing in an open trial for the first time and showing great promise. Also 13-year-old Freddie Crowe who once again demonstrated his precocious talent for sheepdog trialing by winning first prize in the young handlers.

The double gather final

After qualifying on the second day the afternoon drew to a close with a double gather final with the top four dogs from each of the qualifying trials.

This proved to be a high class affair with just six points separating the top four. All dogs were asked to gather left first and turn back right. Frankie Whitfield and Jock set the bar high with a score of 149. Jock took the turn back command instantly much to the bewilderment of the sheep and then followed with a calm and steady approach around the course. The partnership demonstrated an expert display and a brilliant finish on the tricky pen section.

Dennis Purdam and Arthur Temple also had very good gathers and only dropped an odd point at the pen or shed to leave Frankie and Jock at the top of the leaderboard to become the new Manannan champions.

Manannan trials chairman Richard Crowe said: ‘We couldn’t be more delighted for Frankie, he’s been a pleasure to get to know over the weekend and we thank all our handlers who have travelled over to compete in our trial.’

The event was once again sponsored by the NFU Mutual Insurance.

The organisers are grateful for their continued support, and would to thank Voirrey Horne for presenting the prizes on their behalf; Skinners dog food who also sponsored the event for the first time, and Frank Satterthwaite for organising all our competitors from England.’

The event wouldn’t have been able to happen without the help of so many people and businesses on and off the island. We would like to express a huge debt of thanks to everyone who had helped us to put this trial on, and most of all, to the people that came to watch and support and brought and bought raffle prizes. We were delighted to be able to make a donation of £300 from the raffle to Isle of Man Hospice.