The Australia Day Sheep Dog Trials will kick off on Monday behind the Farmers’ Arms Hotel on the Vale Road.

There will be three separate rounds of action for keen dogs and their owners, catering to the experience level of all canine athletes.

The day will begin at 8:30am with the novice trials, run in conjunction with the local trials, for dogs who have never competed before.

It will be followed by the encourage level, before the open trials for the most experienced and well-trained dogs get underway later in the afternoon.

Well-known Tarana farmer and Australia Day Sheep Dog Trials 

co-ordinator Peter Moore said the dogs will be judged on their ability to perform every-day farmyard tasks with approximately 20 sheep, donated by the McPhee family. 

“Each competition starts with 100 points and the judges deduct points for poor work or biting,” he explained.

This will be the third year the Australia Day Sheep Dogs Trials have been held in Bathurst, and with more than 60 entrants at last year’s competition, Mr Moore expects 2015 will be another successful year.

“We’ve had a huge crowd down at the Farmers’ Arms on Australia Day before – it’s in a great location,” he said. “We always get a good roll-up on the day.”

Entry for this true-blue Aussie event is $7 for the novice competition, $5 for the local, $5 for the encourage level, and $10 for the open competition.