Sweep started his training just before he was a year old. He took to training very quickly. He is very natural, clever and willing to listen and learn. His natural outrun was evident right from the start and he is a very enthusiastic shedder. Sweep mastered the basics fairly quickly and he is just starting to be extended and challenged. He has started working on this hill and is competently working 150 ewes with ease. He is just starting to learn to turn back for sheep over larger and larger distances, and is learning to run through gates to get onto the hill and into different fields.

I started him in the nurseries just for a bit of fun in our trial starved 2020 year. Low and behold (and very unexpectedly), Sweep scored two 2nd placings in his first two attempts at 14 months of age.

The following week he was 5th in his third trial after completely mixing up his lefts from his rights, which merely highlighted how little training and experience he had. Unperturbed by this, we immediately turned things around and he had his first win in his fourth nursery trial.

A week later, on his 15 month old 'birthday' Sweep was 3rd in his fifth trial and, in his sixth and final trial in the county nursery trial season, he put on a spectacular display of control by winning with the loss of only 6 points.

Over the winter, Sweep will continue his work around the farm gaining valuable experience on all aspects of managing our flock, including lambing in the Spring. I have very high hopes for this lovely lad.