to me but if I can’t get my farm work completed, I haven’t got
time to trial”.
Milton shares his home with his wife Kylie and their three
adorable children, Aaron, Charlotte and Rhiannon. Sheep dog
trialling has become a “Family hing”. As well as Milton being
President of SAWSDA, Kylie is Co Publicity Oicer. Charlotte
is keen on training and working sheep dogs, whereas Aaron is
showing interest in the judging side, and oen sits alongside
Milton at trials watching the competitors and learning how
and where to deduct points. Rhiannon is hoping to learn the
time keeping side of the sport as she’s watched her Mum doing
this on many occasions.
When asked about his favourite dog Milton said “ It was An-
drina Ji, he was by Alibi he Boss out of Echo Park Gem. He
got injured as a pup and we developed a very special bond. He
oen penned at trials and was a consistent, loyal dog. He was
the ring bearer at my wedding to Kylie. Another was Andrina
Bono, he would have been the perfect dog, however he devel-
oped a rare skin cancer at two years old, and aer spending
thousands of dollars on Chemo treatment, he passed away at
three years old.
Amadeus Mick, who is currently still alive and 16 years old,
has been my most successful dog. He was out of Wanappe
Cole and by Marlowe Kelly 2nd and bred by Gavin and Joanne
Flavel. 5 of his grand kids were in the placings at the 2017 SA
State Championships. He has represented for SA, won the SA
State Championships in 2005 & runner up in 2007. Andrina
Floss, who was by OK Guv and out of Sommerville Josie. I can
win open events with her but she’s also invaluable on the farm,
she’s extremely versatile”.
his is Milton’s second stint at Presidency with a combined
total of approximately six years in the position. Milton said
“I started out this time to use the “Aim of the Association”
as the guide for where I should lead the association, especial-
ly the reference to “To promote amongst sheep breeders and
the general public a wide human interest of the working sheep
dog and its work”.
he second point being “Encourage, develop and maintain
a high standard of working sheep dogs”, of which I make no
apologies for, because that’s what the old fella’s that started this
thing wanted to achieve. I believe that’s what we should con-
tinue to aspire to.”During this time SAWSDA have started running regular train-
ing days to assist new triallers or members of the public want-
ing to develop their skills at training young dogs for sheep
work. Not only is it encouraging new people to the sport, it
is also increasing funds to the association which makes it an
extremely productive exercise.he training days are mostly held in Strathalbyn, however they
did put on a school in the North at Paskeville and are hoping
to ofer one on Kangaroo Island in the future due to some in-
terest there. As far as the running of the Training Schools and
the Association goes, Milton has a very proactive and support-
ive Council. “he SAWSDA Association is in good hands. I
have conidence in my council members” Milton said.When asked about his vision for SAWSDA Milton said “I’d like
to see SAWSDA’s membership increased and our relevance in
the rural industry also increased. Our involvement with the
Dog/Cat Management Board here in S.A. over the new chang-
es in the Dog/Cat laws has seen our association go from rela-
tively unknown, to actually having a voice and being included
and involved in decisions regarding the changes in the canine
Industry at a State Government level.” He added, “I believe re-
ferring to sheep dog trialling solely as a sport limits the impor-
tance of what it truly is. Ultimately a trial is the testing ground
to ensure our breeding lines are on track and relevant for the
Rural Industry”.Miltons inal words were “Trialling and training sheep dogs
has given me so much and I want to see our SA Association be
strong once again. he landscape for sheep dogs has changed
so much over the years, particularly in paddock work, muster-
ing styles, mob sizes etc. here are far less work requirements
for the paddock dog. I take the responsibility now, having
spent time with past stockmen, to pass on the knowledge they
gave to me, along with the things I’ve learned through trial
and error myself.”8 AWSDM http://www.stockdogs.com.au