The first father and son to both be crowned champions at the Sheep Dog World Trial said they "never in million years" thought they would win the double. Farmer David Howells and his son, Jack, 19, from Cymmer, Neath Port Talbot, travelled to the trials in Scotland last weekend. David took the world title with his Border Collie dog, Wyverne Pip, in a field of about 300 competitors from 34 different countries.
Meanwhile his son, Jack, won the Young Handler world title with his dog, Cydros Boss. I can't quite believe it, to be honest," said David. Speaking on BBC Radio Wales on Wednesday, he added it was a "crazy" experience to win alongside his son and pick up the trophies.
It marks the first time that a parent and child have won both titles at the same world trial. "We both live on a farm, and it's a hill farm with lots of sheep, so we need the sheep dogs as every day work," he said. "Then we've got into trials as well.
To do a job that you enjoy, and then get to do a hobby alongside it, is extra special." David said he was "proud" that his son had followed in his footsteps. "He's grown up on the farm, and he started with the sheep dogs when he was about 10. "During the Covid years, when he wasn't in school, he got more involved because he was home.
He caught the bug, and he was mad on the sheep dogs." The pair travelled to Lauder in Scotland over the weekend to compete, and Jack said the victory "still hasn't sunk in yet". "My mam, sister and the girlfriend all flew up to Edinburgh and came to watch. My uncle, my grandpa, were all watching from home." David explained there were competitors from tens of countries, and that his son was in the final with two other young men from Belgium and Uruguay.
"The dog has to run up the field, picks up five sheep, and they're brought down to a set of gates," he said. "Then, they have to drive up through a set of gates, across to another set of gates, and the sheep have to be split apart, and then they have to be put in the pen. That's the qualifying stages.
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