By KATRINA BRANDON

ANOTHER year, another trial.

The Berryden Sheepdog Trials are on the way at Boolarra Reserve on November 14 to November 16.

Each day will bring eager pups to showcase the best that they can at working together with their owner to round up sheep, running them around a challenging course.

Last year was a blast, with more than 90 dogs competing in the trial.

Pup luck: The trials attract some of the best working dogs in the country. Photograph: Katrina Brandon

The Berryden Sheepdog Trials are run by the South Gippsland Working Dog Group, which was originally formed after a meeting between the late Jean Moir and Don Jelbart, where they decided to call a meeting and invite numerous interested people to become the founding members.

This three-day event attracts competitors and their families to travel from all regions of Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania. Participants in the trials are passionate about this sport and this event is the final event in Victoria for the year, so it provides a special place for all to meet and celebrate.

It is expected that more than 50 competitors and their families will travel to Boolarra this year to participate and stay in the local community for the three days.

Many trials are done throughout the year, with the Korumburra Sheep Dog Trials featured the week before Berryden, and the Annual State Cattle, Sheep and Duck Dog Championships on the last weekend of November.

At the Berryden trial, each dog will have to bring a small group of sheep to its owner, go around him or her, then up the course, through two lots of panelled obstacles (a gap and a race), up a ramp, and into a pen within a 15-minute timeframe. The dogs also have to keep the sheep (once bringing them to their handlers) at a nine-metre distance from the obstacles or the handler.

A couple of years ago, the trial lost one of its founding members of the club, who was also the owner on the farm where they had practiced and trialled. The search went out to find a new home, where to their delight, the Boolarra Recreation Reserve welcomed them with open arms.

This year is their third year of trialling in Boolarra.