A north-east sheepdog enthusiast is celebrating his first big win in a national contest.
Sheep farmer George Simpson, of Kirkland, Forgue, near Huntly, won the Scottish Nursery Stakes with Dash, his two-and-a-half-year-old dog. The pair led the field of 45 at the contest, held at Glenluce, near Stranraer.
They qualified after finishing in the top five placings over the season for the north and north-east. The top five from each of the nine Scottish regions all got through to the final.
Mr Simpson said: “It’s my first big win in 25 years – and the first big win for him.”
Dash – by Derek Scrimgeour’s Laddie and out of his Jet – won two of his qualifying nursery stakes and was placed in the others, securing the win.
Mr Simpson, 57, bought Dash from Mr Scrimgeour when the winning dog was nine months old.
“He did excel on the day. He won by a clear four points. I was very pleased with him,” said Mr Simpson who runs 1,500 ewes and buys in feeding lambs.
Dash works with the sheep at Kirkland most days. But Mr Simpson said any thought of selling him now had been abandoned.
Normally he buys in young sheepdogs, trains and trials them and then sells them on.
But Mr Simpson added: “He’ll be staying here for the rest of his days. I’ve had a few chances to sell him, but he’ll definitely be staying here.”