NSW Kelpie Team are top dogs for 2022 Cobber Challenge Relay Article and Photos Provided by Cobber Chall bnnnnnnenge
NSW Kelpies team are the top dogs for 2022 Cobber Challenge Relay This year’s Cobber Challenge introduced a new relay format for competitors, with teams of farm dogs competing across Australia and New Zealand to be crowned the hardest-working crew. The 2022 Cobber Challenge Relay winners are a team of four, Koonama Working Kelpies. Cracka, Drake, Sorcha and Bundy have done their owner, Nick Foster – a stockman from Boorowa, New South Wales – proud. “I’m on top of the world,” says Nick. The team have been busy managing over 20,000 sheep and cattle – mainly mustering and herding for the duration of the competition. “I loved every minute of it. It’s helped me understand how my dogs work. For example, yard work is really tiring on them, but it was interesting to see they don’t actually do that many kilometres in the yard. It’s the mental effort that’s the challenge.” Nick describes the Kelpies as part of his family, and in fact the four dogs are related. Cracka and Drake are brothers, and Cracka sired Scorcha and Bundy.
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“My dogs have also been doing trials throughout the entire competition. Cracka took home third place in the NSW Championship trials, and we’ve been in some local comps too. He won Murringo, an open yard trial during the competition as well. “I can’t believe they can be doing this many kilometres, and then placing in trials on the weekends. I’m extremely proud of all my dogs.”
