With only 67 km separating them on Friday afternoon, Western Australia’s Elsie, Tasmania’s Hurricane and NSW's Buddy were all hoping for a big weekend, with kelpie-cross Buddy seizing the win at the final moment.
Buddy and owner Glenda Rogan work on the family’s beef cattle property in northern NSW.
The team set a new Cobber Challenge record by doing 835 km over the three-week competition.
The competition coincided with a busy three weeks for Buddy and Glenda including weaning calves and educating the young cattle.
They worked 98 hours, to record an average speed of 8.51 km/h.
Buddy is one of 12 working dogs from around Australia that competed in the 2020 Cobber Challenge: All Stars vs Contenders.
The three-week competition saw dogs from each state wear GPS collars to track their distance, speed and working duration on-farm.
All Star Buddy’s win is all the sweeter for Ms Rogan, after her dog finished in second place during their first attempt in the 2018 Cobber Challenge.
“I’m surprised by the kilometres they do, but I knew Buddy would be a strong competitor because he’s got a great work ethic, he’s a young, energetic dog, and he never gives up,” Ms Rogan said.
“I couldn’t do my job without a good dog.
“It’s a privilege to have a dog like Buddy.”
Tasmania’s Pip Flower and her 16-month-old border collie Hurricane came in second, narrowly beating Western Australia’s Harrison Scott and his kelpie Elsie in third place.
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