The event, hosted by the Alstonville Show Society, saw seasoned competitors travel from Goulburn, New England, southeast Queensland and the Northern Rivers with about 180 cattle dogs competing in total.

Ben won the open category with his dog Snip and took third place with his dog Trigger. Ben also came third in the maiden/novice category with his bitch Zena.

“I have always liked working with dogs,” said Ben.

“One weekend about three years ago when I was travelling around with Trevor McKinnon I decided to give trialling a go with a bitch called Hope but she wasn’t cut out for it. Since then I’ve had a few wins but this is the biggest event I’ve ever won.”

Ben said he can tell if a dog is any good by the time it is one year old.

“I’ve broken in and worked with about 10 pups over the last three years and most of them aren’t competitor material,” he said. “They need to be keen and want to work.”

Ben says his border collie Snip is probably his best dog to date.

Cattle dog trialling is similar to sheep dog trialling and was born at Bonalbo about 55 years ago.

Since then the sport has spread across Australia, although it is strongest in NSW and Queensland.

It aims to show off the skills of the highly trained working cattle dogs as well as those of the handlers.

The handler and the dog must guide three cattle through a series of three obstacles in a five-minute period.

The handler must stand still at each obstacle and, using only hand singles, voice commands or whistles, instruct the dog to guide the cattle through a gate, a race and into a holding pen.

Points are awarded for each obstacle achieved and deducted for indiscretions such as the cattle going off course, the dog tail-turning or the dog crossing between the cattle and the handler. The point score is out of 100.