Incher wins Murray Valley Championships at Henty

Adaminaby trailer Dean Incher has made it back-to-back wins on 2019 to take out the prestigious Murray Valley Yard Dog Championships at the Henty Machinery Field Days.

Dean and his black and tan Kelpie, Rafa, won the final on 185 points, closely followed by Shane Maurer, Stockinbingal, with Stuart on 177 points and Michael Hedger, Rocky Plain, with Trapper in third on 176 points.

Incher, a sheep and cattle producers, had won the championships in 2019 with the same dog and also placed fourth with Hulk on 175 points and fifth with Oby on 169 points.

Sponsored by Hypro Pet Foods and Wagga Wagga Veterinary Hospital, the trial drew almost 200 entries and was run over the three days of the Henty Machinery Field Days on September 20-22 under judge Matt Brindley.

Dean Incher said to win Henty twice in a row was special with the seven-year-old dog by a homebred Wik Wak sire out of a Tumut Valley bred bitch.

“I had the right dog on the day – it was a big effort by him and I’m pretty proud of him,” he said.

“He has a few pups on the ground and they are shaping up alright.”

In the lead-up to Henty Rafa had placed equal second at Eugowra and won a championship trial at Dalgety, NSW.

“Henty is a prestigious one to win – dog trialling everywhere is competitive so to come out on top is not easy to do,” Mr Incher said.

“From here we head to the Boorowa Championships on October 1.

“The other two dogs are younger and one is a half-brother to Rafa, and both worked well today.”

Meanwhile, in the Hypro Sheepdog Trial, Mick Hudson, Cobar, and his dog MGH Rabbit emerged from the finals to win on 276 points.

It was also a back-to-back win for Hudson from 2019 when he won with Ritchies Finn who placed third in 2022 on 260 points.

Mr Hudson placed second with Daisy on 274 points while Peter Oxley, Orange, was fourth with Caesar on 257 points, John Perry, Bredbo, fifth with Joe on 251 points.

Filling the placings were Paul Elliott, Henty, with Briskett in sixth on 225 points, Paul Darmody, with Marlin on 222 points and in seventh and in eighth Brett Smith, Cowra, and Devil on 173 points.

Mick Hudson said the six-year-old Rabbit had had one litter of pups but had managed to win the Queensland championships and Central West Championships.

"Genetics plays a major part – her father represented Australia six times,” he said.

“Daisy and Rabbit are half-sisters while Finn has been an exceptional dog winning the Commonwealth Champion of Champions twice but after two years of not trialling due to COVID has slowed her down.

“We have 30,000 acres at Nymagee and muster goats, cattle and sheep, and do a lot of mustering goats on a share basis for farmers.”

Mick left Henty bound for the Supreme Australian Championships.

“Hopefully this bitch comes through and represents Australia against the Kiwis,” he said. 

“The sheep were tough here and there was a lot of strong competition but I’m trying to stay calm and focused.

“Henty is a very well-known trial – it’s not a state championship but its equivalent in most people’s eyes and that’s why they get such good entries here.

“It’s exposing our sport to a massive crowd at Henty – it’s good for the sport and the people.”

Judge Liam Cotter, Michelago was judging at Henty for the first time and considered the trial to showcase the very top handlers and dogs in the country.

“It ranks in the top four competitions of the National NSW titles, Supreme and Henty,” he said.