About

The association was established in 1970 as the Crows Nest Working Cattledog Club. In 1985 the Association name was changed and became the Queensland Working Cattle Dog Trial Association Inc (QWCDTAInc).

Our Aim:
Provide a competitive way to foster and encourage the use and training of herding dogs in the cattle industry – by providing a course that simulates a mini paddock situation with all the skill requirements that may be needed on a day to day basis in the paddock.

Membership:
There are approximately 230 members (some of whom were members of the original club). Our membership originates from all states within Australia. If you are interested in joining, please visit our Membership page.

Dog Registrations:
It is a member privilege to register their dogs with the association for a minimal fee. Dogs must be registered to be eligible for Dog of the Year points. Information about the process for registering dogs, including blank pedigree forms, is available on the Dog Registration page.

When Do We Trial?

Our trialling calendar begins in February each year and goes through until October, over the cooler months of the year.

There are around 26 QWCDTAI affiliated trials held in Queensland per calendar year, and our members and their dogs hotly contest the following annual Championship events:

QWCDTAI Futurity
QWCDTAI Annual Derby Day

Queensland Championships
Australian Championships
Queensland vrs New South Wales State of Origin competition.
(check out our Calendar for upcoming trail dates and locations)

Spectators are more than welcome at all trials. Come along, watch, have a chat end even give it a go – once you start, you won't stop! There are always plenty of people around happy to share their knowledge.

For Trial Committees:

For committees who are running a QWCDTAI trial, go to the For Trial Committees Page to gain an overview of the process of planning and running your trial, along with a range of templates that you can download and customise with your trial information.

State of Origin – Who Makes the Queensland Team?
The State of Origin team is made up of 6 triallers, including the top 5 Queensland dogs (coming from the Open Dog of the Year points tally). If a trialler has more than one dog in the top 5, then they get to choose which dog is in the team with them (1 dog per handler only). The sixth member of the team – the “Wildcard” – is the Queensland handler with the top score in the Open Trial event selected on the day of the State Of Origin competition.

Dog of the Year Competition
Our QWCDTAI Dog of the Year Page provides information about this competition of the top dogs in Queensland.