2026 Australian Utility Championships Results and Highlights

By Angie White.

The 5th annual Australian Utility Championships were held in Nyngan recently and if we could have bottled the fantastic atmosphere and sense of community we would have. The Championships have become a staple on the trialling calendar drawing workers from across Australia and the standard of both handlers and dogs is on the rise. While the weather was great, the sheep were a challenge and low scores in the early days were the norm, but in no way did that dampen the spirits of anyone, that a laugh and a beer didn’t fix. With Utility trialling becoming increasingly popular and earning its place as the pinnacle of true all-round stockmanship, it is great to see so many young people keen to have a go and take part. After a top 15 and the final the 2026 Championship winner for this year was Danny Kerr with his dog Mingle, showing stylish work to take home the big trophy.

Danny won the very first AU Championships also with Mingle and said he was absolutely thrilled to win this year.

“I love competing against all the great handlers and dogs,” said Danny.

“After winning my first AUC, I’ve had some big life changes, so it has taken a little bit of time to get settled, so trialling got moved to the side.

“This year though, I really worked out a lead up to the AUC with some days off, a three sheep trial, a yard trial and a fair bit of schooling in between. Still not thinking I’d be at the pointy end of the AUC but just keen to shut some pens and see where my dogs were at.

“As the comp went on, I started taking it a little bit more serious because my young dog and mingle were in the running,” laughed Danny.

“I put my watch on and slowed things down a bit.

“After competing in my first utility trial 6 years ago I saw these unbelievable handlers and dogs have multiple dogs in these finals and that was really the bar that was set, so to have two dogs in the top 15 blew my mind.

“Thank you so much to Gary and team for putting on a trial that is really the pinnacle of utility trialling,” added Danny.

A top array of the country’s best utility handlers contested the final and it was great to see the comradery and friendly banter amongst the competitors.

Tasmania’s Adrian Carpenter took out the Improver while Queensland’s Rick Marshall took home the top award for the Novice.

The Nursery was won by Mitch Burns from Orange in NSW.

A highlight of the four days was the Interstate Challenge under lights. Adrian Carpenter representing Tasmania claimed the Shield once again for the third time in as many years, with NSW taking out second, Victoria in third place and Queensland fourth position. “The Australian Utility Championships is an event I really enjoy competing at, it is very well run,” said Adrian Carpenter.

“I enjoy the honour of representing my state of Tasmania in the Interstate Challenge, it is a great concept competing against fellow representatives.

President of Nyngan Sheepdog Workers Association Gary White said the event was so successful thanks to the spirit of the people who attended.

“We were overwhelmed by the support of the competitors who attended our trial this year,” said Gary.

“We only have a small committee so it’s a big job. Every single competitor jumped in to help us, whether it be in the let out, in the office, to commentate on our livestream, you name it everyone pitched in.

“The success of the event can only be accredited to the community of people around us and to our sponsors.

“We have some great new plans for next year’s event that we hope to put in place so 2027 will be bigger and better.

“We were so happy to see so many young competitors have a go and the support on the sidelines for them was fantastic to see.

"It was a feel-good event, and we hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did,” said Gary.

2026 Results:

Open:

Judge: Geoff McDougall

1st Danny Kerr -Mingle

2nd Gary White -White's Bindi

3rd Adrian Carpenter - Tumut Valley Sue 4th Dan Camilleri -Sting

5th Gary White - Whites Albert

6th Kevin Howell - Karana Nulla

7th Dan Camilleri -Eveready J

Improver:

Judge: Geoff McDougall

1st Adrian Carpenter -Tumut Valley Sue 2nd Kevin Howell -Karana Nulla

3rd Dan Camilleri -Eveready J

U/P Dave Motley-Motley's Crew

Novice:

Judge: Barrick Parker

1st Rick Marshall -Rockin J Bonnie

2nd Geoff McDougall -Ace

3rd Dan Camilleri -Eveready J

4th Matt Adams -Mia

5th Ado Scholari - Jill

U/P Dave Motley - Motley's Sweet

Nursery:

Judge: Dan Camilleri

1st Mitch Burns -Reg

2nd Nina Taylor -Bowie

3rd Matt Kelly -Wes

Interstate Challenge:

Judge: Kevin Howell

1st Tasmania

2nd New South Wales

3rd Victoria

4th Queensland