SOUTHLAND FARMER SCORES HOME GROUND WIN

It’s a crisp autumn afternoon in Southland and Brian Dickison is feeding the pups while four older dogs bounce and bound about excitedly, waiting for him.

They’ve earned the chance to relax at home, he says – they’ve been training hard for months.

Dickison might just take a small break too, before he starts working towards representing New Zealand at the trans-Tasman Wayleggo Cup in October, in Tasmania.

He qualified for the national team when he achieved his dream of winning the New Zealand Champion long head 2021 title last week.

Being able to do so in front of his friends and family at the Greenvale Sheep Dog Trial Club made the win even more special.

But Dickison reckoned it was his once-in-a-lifetime bond with his X-factor dog Cole that made it possible.

“If I was ever going to do it, it was with him,” he said.

The Waikaka sheep farmer has been competing for 35 years, and although he has won North and South Island championships, this is his first national title.

His trialling career really blossomed in recent years, he said, having placed in nine runoffs in the past two years.

He sacrificed many hours working with his eight dogs in the lead up to the national competition, Dickison said.

“I haven’t spent so much time with family. I probably haven’t been farming well either.”

Instead, he’s formed an indelible bond with his animals.

“The bond that I have with Cole is like a marriage. He’s committed to me, and I’m committed to him.”

It took at least two-to-three years to get a dog ready to compete, and then they had to mature into it, Dickison explained.

But the precision of competitions was also down to the man, he said.

“If you portray any nervousness or doubt to your dog, it’s not going to go very well.”

Cole’s sensitive and honest nature made him easy to train and great at competing, Dickison said.

“Especially when it comes to handling sheep. He handles sheep kindly.”

And although he was part of a pack on the farm, he never got into scraps with the others, Dickison said.

“He’s even-natured.”

The combination of a skilled dog with an honest nature, paired with a good and experienced trainer, and a strong bond didn’t happen too often, Dickison said.

“This doesn’t happen very often in a lifetime. When it does, you have to maximise it.”

Dickison has been involved behind the scenes as former president of the Southland Sheep Dog Trial Association and often invites younger guys up to the family farm to share his knowledge.

It was a way for him to give back to the sport that had given him so much while trying to help it grow, he said.

“It’s not about the money. It’s about the respect you get from your peers.”

The biggest gift trialling had given him was friendship, Dickison said.

“Dog trials are full of good people. The social side of dog trials is very important to me.”

The opportunity to represent his country at a national level is the icing on the cake for the former rugby player.

“I was never an All Black, but I am in the dog world,” he joked.

The last win on his bucket list is taking the NZ Championship title with a Huntaway.

“That might be next with Radna, really,” Dickison said, referring to the three-year-old dog who placed sixth in the straight hunt runoff.