Farmer Focus: Sheepdog trials and shearing worth Olympic medals
Joe Mault © Richard Stanton Our farm’s annual sheepdog trial has just finished. The two-day show on our fields is one of the highlights of our year.
There is something quite nostalgic about the white fences, the smell of bacon cooking, and the sound of whistles trying to control an eager dog.
I get quite enthusiastic about it and can easily lose an hour or two watching.
One thing that struck me more than any other year, though, was the triallists we had from abroad.
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They came from all over Europe, with hopefuls from Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal all descending on our little trial in North Wales.
We have a rich history of sheepdog trialling. In 1873, the first recorded sheepdog trials were held in Bala (only 15 miles from here). Traditionally, they were local events but now are international affairs.
It makes me think, as the Paris Olympics have just finished, why are we not pushing the International Olympic Committee for sheepdog trialling to be an Olympic sport?
It ticks so many boxes for it to offer the same appeal as some of the other sports already in the Olympic programme.
While we’re at it, why not ask for sheep shearing to become an Olympic sport too? Both these agricultural sports are competitive, have international recognition with their own governing bodies, and have a global appeal.
Imagine the spotlight the industry would have if the shearing and trialling highlights were being broadcast between highlights of the 4x200m freestyle swimming relay and cycling team sprint.
Bringing our sports into the Olympic circles would also allow funding to be allocated to the professions from UK Sport.
I was gobsmacked at the level of funding awarded to some of the sports already under the Olympic banner.
Cycling, albeit one of the most successful sports at the Olympics, received more than £29.3m in the latest funding block (2021-25).
If we were to look at a discipline involving animals, like our sports do, equestrian, for example, received £12.3m.
That level of funding could change ours for the better, helping numerous shows attended by competitors with running costs.
At the minute, we rely heavily on sponsorship, good will and luck to put on a competition.