PEDIGREE WORKING DOG AUSTRALIAN KELPIE MUSTER REACHES NEW HEIGHTS
Casterton has once again set its mark as the true Kelpie Country holding the annual Australian Kelpie Muster over the June long weekend. With thousands attending the weekend, record crowds and prices reached over the two day event, it is clear that the Australian Kelpie Muster is high on the priority list for dog lovers, owners and breeders nation wide.

Nestled on the banks of the Glenelg River at the foothills of the Grampians, picturesque Casterton, with a population of just under 2000, woke Saturday June 7th to the buzz of anticipation and excitement. 

As dawn broke, over 200 volunteers began putting into action the plans that take a full year to compose. Like clock-work, these volunteers pulled together one of Australia’s most unique and highly acclaimed events.

Kicking off the weekend, the Kelpie Festival proved to be once again a huge success. Starting at 8.30am with the Poets Breakfast, audiences were kept entertained with beautiful poetry readings from local artists. Nationally renowned singer/songwriter Kate Rowe, who attended the Muster to record a film-clip, added an interesting dynamic of the Poets breakfast, entertaining audiences with songs she had written and recorded.

Crowd favorites in one of the most popular events of the festival, the Kelpie High Jump, Clare O'Callaghan, Welshpool, and her dog Riley made it a hat trick this year.
Clare, who found Riley in the pound tied with Geoff Burling and his dog Rosie, with both dogs jumping 2.625 meters in the event.

Riley will now be the first Kelpie to enter the Hall of Fame as a three-time winner of the event.

Winners of other popular events included Hannah Barry and Minty, winning the Iron Kelpie Hill Climb and Josie Jackson of Willalooka in South Australia won the Stockman's Challenge, horse, dog and rider event.

New to the program of events this year, the Kelpie Race and the Kelpie Triathlon was a huge success.

The Kelpie Race proving to be extremely popular with 24 entrants was won by “Kamarka Meg” (Joylene Darguan) in an amazing 6.09seconds. The Kelpie Triathlon, incorporating the Iron 

Kelpie Hill Climb (in which there was a record number of 45 participants), the Kelpie High Jump and the Kelpie Race was success with 12 entrants all battling for the winning position. Geoff 

Burling and “Rosie” who also scored equal first in the High Jump ended up with the winning score. 

To end a fantastic day of events, the Kelpie Ball kicked off at 9pm proving to be one of the biggest evenings so far and featuring Warrnambool band B@rbwired.

The Working-Dog Auction, held on the Sunday left the crowds in disbelief as auction prices sky rocketed, with the average price of the Kelpies sold hitting $2485, up from last years average of $1773. 

As the auction got wound up, it was clear that the National record price for a Kelpie bought at Auction would soon be history. As prices rose, the national record was broken not once, not twice but 3 times over.

With a total of 65 Kelpies sold, the top dog price this year hit a massive $7400- which is over $2000 higher than previous national records. 

Top Dog “Red” did his bit to help fight the blues hounding rural Australians. At just an 11-month-old Red broke national working dog auction records when he was knocked down by local boy and national young auctioneer of the year James Tierney for $7400.

The proceeds will go directly to Beyond Blue: the depression initiative to help promote health services in rural Australia.

Red was donated for the auction by renowned breeder Paul Macphail, Beloka Kelpies at Welshpool whose client Jackie Merchant, from Ulverstone in Tasmania, trained the pup.
Red is set to stay in the family, as her dad, Dennis Merchant of Dural in NSW was the winning bidder. As generosity seemed to be the call of the day, Mr. Merchant has been generous enough to donate “Red” back to Jackie. A truly humbling and liberal gesture. 

The quality of the working dogs brought in buyers from all over Australia proves that the Casterton Working-Dog Auction is by far Australia’s premier Working-Dog Auction as the 2006 record of $5600 was trumped five times this year.

Broken Hill breeder Ricky Jones' dog Lofty sold for $7,200 to Kym Dyson from Yass.
Hamilton breeder Ian O'Connell's dog Bagalla Willie _ a full brother of the previous Casterton record holder Bagalla Mick _ made $6500, selling to a breeder from Tanjil.
Fellow Hamilton breeder, Joe Spicer also sold a dog for $6,100 to a Tasmanian buyer.

The Casterton Kelpie Association, essentially a not for profit organization and vital to the Casterton Community, the Muster weekend held the backbone to raise over $30,000 for local charities including Beyond Blue, the Ronald McDonald House, the McGrath Foundation and the Casterton Memorial Hospital on top of the funds raised for local groups and organizations. 

The Auction of the 2008 Volkswagen beetle on behalf of Elders Casterton made $21,000, paid by the Mitchell family of Elthan.
For further information and results from the weekend check out the website: www.kelpie-casterton.org 

Website:
http://www.beyondblue.org.au/ 

 Paw Notes:
- Top price for Dog Auctioned was $7400, standing record was $5600
- Average Price $2485, up from $1773 in 2007
- $7400 was Jackie Merchants dog “Red” (proceeds were donated to Beyond Blue).

Photos: (c)2008 - Anna James
Top left - Jackie Merchant and Beloka Red do their thing!
Right - Jackie and Red at auction
Bottom - L to R Jackie Merchant, Paul Macphail Welshpool who bred and gave Jackie the dog, Leonie Young CEO Beyond Blue
Gay and Dennis Merchant,Dural with Beloka Red. (top priced dog at $7,400 - proceeds donated to Beyond Blue).