Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
The modern Border Collie is noted for its working style. A Border Collie with a strong eye will stare at bunched stock until they decide there are better places to be.
The first sheep herding trail was in 1873 at Bala Wales, before this it was every village proclaiming that so & so dog was the best, but with the first trail in 1873 all dogs meet on an even playing field, where all courses were the same, & roughly the same type of sheep, so suddenly it was put up or shut up & may the best man & dog win. It was Britains's system of trials that eventually created the Border Collie.
Twenty years after the first trial, a dog named HEMP was born in the kennels of a well-known trainer & handler Adam Telfer.
Hemp was a calm working dog that moved sheep quietly & efficiently in contrast to other, noisier breeds. His style of work was so impressive that within a few generations most working Collies in Britain had his genes & some his style of work . Hemp is considered the foundation sire of all Border Collies.
In 1906 the International Sheepdog Trails Society was formed & the first thing they did was to establish rules for competition: it is this set of rules that has served as the standard for Border Collies ever since. It is a working standard , it didn't matter what the dog looked like as long it meet the working standard , of working sheep.
The 1965 International Champion, WINSTON CAP. At the age of 6 months he was already working on a farm, even though this was not the normally practice, he won his first trail at 10 months , at 23 months he won the International Championship, his Bristish Trails were phenomenal, not only was he a great worker ,but Cap has since proved his greatness as a stud, many of his sons & grandson have won the Supreme Championship.
Many of these great British Border Collie found their way to New Zealand & then on to us in Australia.
The Border Collie is so versatile, that today , you can see them in the obedience & agility rings, the show ring, doing tracking, at airport as drug sniffer, visiting enclosed & nursing home, in rescue work, the list could go on & on, but last & not least sheep herding, & I should also include in this duck & cattle herding as well.
Back To Home Page
