South African Sheepdog Association
National Championships: 20 th – 23 rd August 2026

Watergat Farm, Riversdale

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Our 65th national championships were held in the Riversdale area in the Western
Cape on the farm Watergat of Jurie and Suzette van de Vyver. Jurie runs a large
flock of SA Mutton Merinos, a breed which is derived from the German Mutton
Merino imported into South Africa in the early 1930’s. The dual purpose sheep, wool
and meat, are large framed with ewes reaching 95kg. For the event Jurie provided a
flock of some 320 ewes with a good covering of wool.

The large flat rectangular field had a thick covering of lucerne and various grasses
making for heavy going for both sheep and dogs. With a covering of dew in the
mornings the sound was a challenge especially if the light breeze was from the
wrong direction. The event got underway on Thursday the 20 th with the Novice
Championship judged by local handler Mark Trollip. The championship is run on a
standard junior course with a 200m outrun, full drive where the handler may walk
with the dog but is penalised the more they assist and finally a pen, total 90 points.
With the heavy sheep and going underfoot, the ewes had to be pushed and the less
experienced dogs battled to get them to flow. However, Johan Nel, from Lady Grey,
and his homebred dog Tip had an excellent run standing out head and shoulders
above the rest and taking the novice title for 2026. Top placings as follows;

1. Johan Nel Tip 75 SA Novice Champion
2. Martyn Portch Potter 55 Reserve Novice Champion
3. WA Hugo Piet 54
4. Johan Nel Kira 53
5. Ragni Pretorius Kilty 52

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As is customary, the society’s AGM was held in the evening. The committee was re-
elected as is, with Bridget Lloyd remaining as president and Mark Trollip as vice-
president.

Friday morning saw the start of the main event with the first run being delayed by an
hour and a half due to heavy mist. We were very privileged to have Faansie Basson
from Kentucky USA, judge our championships. Faansie was born and raised in
South Africa and was very successful with his working dogs, winning the SA
Championships on a number of occasions as well as the Dog of the Year award. He
is now residing in the USA where he conducts training clinics and actively competes
on their trialling circuit. The course for the first round is a standard senior course,
300m outrun, full drive, unmarked shed where any two can be taken and then a pen,
time limit 12 minutes. As with the previous day the ewes were very heavy and pulled
to the exhaust on the fetch. It was really difficult to get them going and get a good

flow. Also, at the pen they could be manoeuvred to the mouth and then would just
stand, it took a lot of stomping and “dancing” to get the final push in to close the
gate. The top five places were as follows;

1. Yvan Fourie Wimpie 78
2. Andrew Philip Zap 71
3. Mark Trollip Diesel 70
4. Ragni Pretorius Mieke 66
5. Regni Pretorius Tess 66

This event also sees the crowning of the Junior Champion which is awarded to the
highest placed dog that started the season in the junior class.
1. Johan Nel Cheese 65 SA Junior Champion
2. Pippa Philip Vic 62 Reserve Junior Champion

The top 30 dogs advanced to the semi-finals on the Saturday where the course run
is a standard international qualifying course. A 400m outrun, full drive, marked shed,
pen and single with a time of 15 minutes. The wind had changed direction and was
blowing in to the handler’s backs making for clear whistles at the top. As before the
sheep proved a challenge needing to be pushed and not flowing, with the pen again
proving a test. Henry van der Merwe who has just celebrated his 88 th birthday
proved that age is but a number when he and 10yr old Jem had an exceptional run
scoring 93 and easily winning the day. Top five places a s follows;

1. Henry van der Merwe Jem 93
2. Yvan Fourie Wimpie 88
3. Pierre Strydom Roy 83
4. Ragni Pretorius Elke 82
5. Andrew Philip Zap 82

Saturday evening was our annual gala dinner where the top achievements
throughout the year a recognised.
Best Beginner Davide Codebue
Junior Dog of the Year Pippa Philip and Vic
Senior Dog of the Year Pippa Philip and Nan
SA Dog of the Year Mark Trollip and Diesel
Reserve Dog of the Year Andrew Philip and Mirk
Most Consistent dog over 2 years Mark Trollip and Diesel.

The finals on Sunday featured the top 15 dogs from the previous day running a full
international course with two packets of 10 sheep, five being collared and a time limit
of 25 minutes. The sheep remained very heavy and getting gates with the two offset
brings was a real challenge, not to mention the drive. Most teams were timed out in

the shedding ring with only two handlers completing the course and a couple
completing the shed, but timing out before getting to the pen. In the ring the ewes
stuck together like Velcro so getting the draft completed was a real test.

Andrew Philip and Zap running third were the first to complete the course and posted
a score of 108. They remained in the lead until Ragni Pretorius and Tess running 8 th
posted 114 with good outwork and a completed shed but timed out on approach to
the pen. It was the second last run when Mark Trollip and Diesel posted 136 after
completing a good steady run that Rangi’s score was beaten. They would eventually
be crowned Champions for 2026. Top five places as follows;

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Mark Trollip and Diesel 136 SA Champion 2026
Ragni Pretorius and Tess 114 Reserve SA Champion
Andrew Philip and Zap 108
Henry van der Merwe and Lisa 96
Yvan Fourie and Wimpie 93

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Thank you to our hosts, Jurie and Suzette van de Vyver for their hospitality and all
the efforts behind the scenes to make the event a great success. Also, our sponsors
SSK, Optimizor and Seeff for their support.