Merriwa Festival of the Fleeces BUSH SHEEP DOG TRIAL

11/06/2024

It was awesome to have the BackTrack Youth Works come to the festival on the weekend! The crew helped putting socks on the sheep- not one you get to put on your resume everyday! Plus they were a great spectacle at the dog high jump competition where they always excel! Thanks for making the trip to Merriwa, BackTrack!

11/06/2024

09/06/2024

Weather has turned on for us today with our dog school with Zac Ede!

07/06/2024

Sorry everyone the sheep dog competition has had to be cancelled. We’ve had a big fall of rain this morning and the grounds are just too wet to do it. We are really disappointed and it took some agonising over. Rain is lovely, but it’s a shame. Sheep will still be running up the main street and the festival will go ahead as well as the dog high jump so please still come in for the day. Dog school on Sunday will still go ahead.

06/06/2024

🐑Massive thank you to Nutrien Ag Merriwa for their support this year! Thanks to Cate at Nutrien for organising. We are so lucky to have our local business's supporting these small events.

06/06/2024

The draw is finalised for the Bush Sheep Dog Competition. Judges talk will be at 7:30am, for an 8am commencement.

Please make sure to pay entries prior to your run.

Look forward to seeing you all there!

06/06/2024

🐑A huge thank you to ELDERS MERRIWA for their support for a second year in a row! The team there are always cheery and happy to help. We are so appreciative of your donation for the Encouragement prize this year! 🐑

04/06/2024

We are very appreciative to have Merriwa Petroleum & Ag Supplies sponsoring again this year! A one-stop-shop for everything rural! Thanks CRT for your support!

04/06/2024

We are entering countdown for Festival this weekend! Looking forward to seeing everyone! Please contact Molly if you are interested in helping with setting up/loading and unloading sheep/keeping sheep flowing in the backyards on the day. We do have a good group of volunteers, but every extra hand helps! See you there 🐑

31/05/2024

🐑🐑Big thanks to Dan & Marina Lee-Warner at ⭐️⭐️Weetah Screen-printing⭐️⭐️ for their kind donation of the wonderful ribbons for winners and place getters at our festival bush sheep dog trial! We are so appreciative of this small business supporting local events. Thank you for your support again this year! I believe Sparkles the Clown will be in town too for the kids! Thanks Marina 😀

28/05/2024

We are excited to announce our dog trial entries are full! If you would still like a run, just message Molly and she can put you on a waiting list in case of any cancellations.

There are still positions available at the dog clinic on Sunday- we have opened it up to beginner level as well so please don't be afraid to have a go! Zac and Grace are great teachers, and it will be a very casual and fun day!

See entry form attached. Forms also available on Festival website https://festivalofthefleeces.com.au/

Merriwa Festival of the Fleeces

22/05/2024

🐑 🐕 Sponsor shout out to Merriwa LLS who are one of the most proactive and community engaging LLS groups there is. They are heavily involved in farmer consultation and field days. We are very appreciative of their donation of sheep yards and panels again this year for the dog trial. Tess Hogan is a largely involved in the running of the dog trial and her help is much appreciated. Thanks for your support LLS!

21/05/2024

Reminder everyone that entries close Monday 27th of May!

15/05/2024

In the lead up to our Annual Festival of the Fleeces Bush Sheep Dog Trial, we would love to thank our very special sponsors who kindly donate prizes each year.

Our first shout out post goes to repeat supporters and much loved local business, Sutton's Livestock Veterinary Services! Pete and Bronte Sutton are a huge asset to the Merriwa and surrounding area and their services do not go unnoticed! Thanks Suttons for your very generous donation of 8 dog vaccinations to the highest placing Sutton's Livestock Client! We look forward to seeing who the lucky winner of that might be!

04/05/2024

We are excited this year to be hosting a dog training clinic on Sunday the 9th of June 2024 with experienced dog handlers and trial competitors Zac Ede and Gracie Halsted! Bring a young pup and learn some discipline or older dog and work on trial skills! Fence sitting positions also available for those without dogs.

Grace & Zac have some incredible skills to share and have won many dog trials with their talented team.

"We are passionate about basic pup education through to competition level with the main focus being practical work dogs.
We strive to be competitive through multiple disciplines with our small team of dogs."

Entries for the dog school close on May 27th or earlier if numbers are filled. Only 10 spots for people with dogs so get in quickly!

Merriwa Festival of the Fleeces

02/05/2024

23/04/2024

The Bush Sheep dog trial and Dog training school entries are officially open! See forms for details. Entries close Monday 27th May. Merriwa Festival of the Fleeces

04/04/2024

Hi All,

Just an update on the dog trial.

The trial will be run again on Saturday the 8th of June in conjunction with the Festival of the Fleeces. It will be a bush sheep dog trial which is a fun event designed to show off practical everyday stock skills. Competitors will be able to help their dogs and it will be a combination of obstacle course and yard trial as it was last year. Any dogs that bite will be asked to use a muzzle (you won't lose points for Muzzles). Livestock welfare is our utmost priority. The event will start at 8am, have a break during the parade at midday and then recommence at 1pm to finish off at around 5pm after a final. Due to time, we will only be able to take a limited number of competitors so when entries open it will be first in best dressed.

Entries for the dog trial will be opening towards the end of April. we will keep you updated here on Facebook.

There will also be a dog training school run on the Sunday with the very talented Zac Ede and Gracie Halsted. It will be limited to 10 participants with dogs (competitors from Saturday will take precedence) and fence sitters will also be able to join in for a lesser fee. More details will be released on this soon.

There is limited camping available at the show grounds which is running out quickly with Caravans so if you would like to camp make sure to visit https://festivalofthefleeces.com.au/accommodation/ and book soon. There will be an area allocated for dog trial competitors also but it wont have power.

Please comment here or DM if you have any questions.
We are looking forward to another fun event this year!

Merriwa Festival of the Fleeces

Please note, the festival does not take bookings for any accommodation listed here. Please see the relevant links and make bookings directly with the accommodation owner.