Canines from six states have been selected to compete in the three-week trial of endurance and speed that will crown Australia’s toughest working dog. 

And, representing NSW in 2017 is Gundy’s Patsy Trevor – along with her trusty companion Boss.

After leaving the land several years ago, the Upper Hunter beef and sheep farmer stepped away from working dogs, instead keeping Arabian horses for endurance riding. 

But, she couldn’t escape her love of the land. 

Returning to stock work two-and-a-half years ago, there’s nothing she loves more than being out and about working with her dogs. 

As a plus, loading dogs into the back of the truck is a fair bit easier than loading horses.

“I’m looking forward to it [Cobber Challenge],” Ms Trevor said.

“And, so is Boss.

“His real name is Stockman’s Bush.

“However, I call him Boss because he is the boss of everyone else. 

“He’s really loyal and I can always rely on him to be there for me.

“When he’s not chasing beef cows and sheep, Boss is chasing frisbees or my other dogs down the creek, which is the perfect reward after a hard day.”

Cobber brand manager Marika O’Leary said the interest in entering this year’s challenge was high – and the selection process tough. 

“There are four more dogs in the 2017 event and we’re absolutely thrilled to have competitors from across the country,” she explained.

“The challenge is going to be a wonderful showcase of Australian rural life and highlight the vital role working dogs play on every farm.” 

The Cobber Challenge will place a GPS collar on each of these dogs and track how fast, far and long each of these dogs run on an average working day. 

The combination of speed, distance and duration will be calculated and provide organisers with Australia’s top working dog. 

The challenge begins on August 28 and will continue for three weeks. 

The dogs will wear their GPS collars every day they work, and their owners will send the data in every night to be cleaned and loaded to the website so that people can follow their state representatives or favourite dog. 

“Many competitors say part of the reason they entered the competition was to know exactly what it is their dogs do for them,” Ms O’Leary said.

“Last year’s winner ran upwards of 60km in a single day, which highlights the crucial role nutrition must play in sustaining working dogs on farms across Australia.

“Ridley has sponsored the Cobber Challenge to promote the unique abilities of Australian-bred working dogs and their ability to help Australian farmers, day in and day out, in some of the most demanding conditions in the world.”

Visit www.cobberchallenge.com.au to keep up to date with the challenge.

The 12 competitors announced are:

NSW –

Bec Sneath from Kyogle with Riley 

Patsy Trevor from Gundy with Boss 

Queensland –

Liz Miller from Mingela with Bear 

James Bargenquast from Monto with Ruby

Tasmania –

Alexander Gregory from Ross with Angel 

Bradley McDonald from Fingal with Flow

South Australia –

Sam McCarthy from Spalding with Max

Suzi Northcott from German Creek with Sting

Victoria –

Jandre Slabbert from Grassdale with Rex

Sarah Richards from Barrabool with Futura Mate

Western Australia –

Paul Duffield from Darkan with Blue

Hayden Harries from Boyup Brook with Astor