With all the trial schedules being posted up over the past couple of months I thought I would check on the number of trials being held. Firstly, Tasmania, who I think have the 3 stakes held on each date, are having 17 days of trials, so they have a very healthy number for such a small contingent of people in the sport there.
I looked at Victoria, and they have 8 trials before we even start our season over here in W.A. Yes, 8 !! I couldn't quite believe it either. In total they have 21 trials over the season. In W.A. we have 14 All age trials including the State Champs, with separate trial dates for Novice & Restricted and all fitted into 5 months. NSW has a total of 22 trials and Queensland has 26 trial dates. South Australia even beat us in W.A. with 17 trial dates and of course this year they have the Nationals to add to that. Again, I think all bar W.A., hold all three stakes on one trial day.
The balance between the states is never going to be even. Being a "separate country" to the rest of Australia certainly seems to have put WA on the back foot. We are too far away from everyone for it to be a viable option to visit other states to compete very often, with the high expense of doing so making it a reality for only a few. Time and money make this trek to try and get more trials under the belt, a frustrating exercise and one which must be planned and budgeted for well in advance.
Our trial numbers in WA have been reduced by a couple of clubs over recent years, and we can't afford to lose any more, but also I can't see that any more trials can be added to the list, either, as people aren't prepared to take on the work load that additional trials would create.
Looking east and a handler has the option of travelling to nearby states to compete, as well as their own state, and in doing so can double the amount of trials available to them, then this puts the balance of trials off the scale. quite a few of the top dogs on the AWRC national topscore, have travelled up and down the east coast, to S.A., Tassie and even over here to compete and boost their winnings. So, a dog may have competed in 30 or more trials in a year and be hailed as the best, and yet another may not have had that opportunity to travel but still been a prolific winner in their own area, and is still a great dog, but never will have the number of trials under the belt to compare.
I'm sure most of us would like to be able to get out to more trials, visit other states, test our dogs, and get more experience in different trialing conditions, but the majority are not able to do so, although I reckon being a retiree must be a pretty good way to go, (if you live on the East coast), as several grey nomads do the rounds of the trials each season.
Oh well, retirement is some years off so Ian and I won't be amongst the caravanning set just yet. Hope I still have enthusiasm, and dogs, by the time that arrives and maybe I can balance up the competitions for myself, then.