The Sheepdog Championship That Refuses to Publish Its Scores Was Held in the Cotswolds for the First Time
Handlers may use only voice and whistle commands at the International Supreme, which the organisers say will announce placings only at the awards ceremony.
The International Supreme Sheep Dog Championship was staged at Daylesford Organic Farm near Kingham in Gloucestershire from 11 to 13 September 2026, the first time the trial has been held at the venue.
The championship is run by the International Sheep Dog Society, founded in 1906 and marking its 120th anniversary in 2026. It has been held every year except during the two world wars and major disease outbreaks. Handlers may direct their dogs using only voice and whistle commands.
The competition covers singles, brace, in which a handler works two dogs at once, and a young handler award. The top sixty singles dogs qualify, and fifteen finalists run the double-lift final on the Sunday. Thirty two qualifying runs and the first brace trial were held on the Friday, twenty eight qualifying runs and the conclusion of the brace championship on the Saturday, and the final and young handlers on the Sunday, with awards at five o'clock.
The society states that scores for the Supreme will not be published and that placings are announced only at the awards ceremony at the end of the day. There is no live scoreboard.
Admission was ten pounds for adults and free for under-sixteens and society members, with gates open from half past seven in the morning until six in the evening. A side programme covered drystone walling, hedge laying, cidermaking, wool weaving and beekeeping. The event was hosted by Lord and Lady Bamford.