Otorohanga Championship Show 2025
Boston terrier Cuba with owner Amanda Easterbrook and, left, judge Heather Morrison at the 2024 Championship show.
King Country News
Top dogs are heading our way
19 Sep 2025 • By Staff Reporters:
It will be staged in Ōtorohanga for the first time next month.
“Just as any stockman values good breeding for his animals, we do the same with our dogs,” the association’s secretary, Claire Trevelyan, told The News.
“Within the King Country area, there are quite a few of us quietly getting on with breeding our dogs. We’re all striving to produce the best so people can appreciate what beautiful dogs we have in New Zealand.”
Claire and her daughter, Alice Trevelyan, the association’s president, live in the Ōtorohanga area and breed retrievers. Approximately half of the association’s members are based in the Waipā and northern King Country regions.
Originally held in Huntly, then in Cambridge, the Huntly and District Kennel Association’s next championship will take place on September 6–7.
“We’re getting bigger and bigger,” Claire Trevelyan said. “We were in Cambridge for the last few years, at Cambridge Dog Obedience, but we’ve outgrown that now. The Island Reserve is a beautiful venue; it’s flat, ideal for camping and big enough for us.”
The event is run in association with the Waikato Gundog Club, the Hound Club of Auckland and the Waikato and Districts Collie Club, all of which will bring the pick of their litters to Ōtorohanga.
Across various classes, a wide variety of pedigree pooches will be featured, such as great danes, chihuahuas, dalmatians, rottweilers, retrievers, beagles, collies and more.
“We’ll have popular breeds, but also rarer breeds exhibited at the show including a Slovakian wirehaired pointer from Te Kūiti – there aren’t many of those in the country,” Trevelyan said.
The event is an important contest for Kiwi dog show devotees.
“Our entry number last year, 550, wasn’t too far off what the National Dog Show would expect.”
The 2025 National Dog Show is set for September in Rangiora, Canterbury.
While dogs and their handlers will come to Ōtorohanga from across the region and beyond, judges are being flown in from Australia and South Africa.
“We support New Zealand judges, but there’s a lot of shows and they can only judge so many times before they’re judging the same dogs again and again,” Trevelyan said. “While many of our judges travel all over the world, we also have judges coming here from overseas.”
From movement, temperament and behaviour to physicality and presentation, judging is based on how well dogs conform to their breed’s standards. Training and handling are important, but it’s the dogs that take centre stage.
“It really should come down to judging against the standard for the breed, but if you have two beautiful dogs and one handler is getting that little bit more from their dog, that can make all the difference.”
The best dogs will fetch prizes, but it’s the ribbons that are priceless.
“The dogs compete for challenge certificates, which identify them as champions, then go on to try and win their groups and even Best in Show.”
Although owners tend to make up the bulk of the crowd, this free event is also expected to attract spectators.
“Our shows make for a nice family day out. It’s a fantastic opportunity for people to meet passionate dog enthusiasts and see some of New Zealand’s finest pedigree dogs in the show ring.”