Last updated 11:43, Friday, 08 August 2008

New English National sheepdog trials champion Derek Scrimgeour, from Lonscale Farm near Keswick, has achieved a lifetime’s ambition by being appointed captain of the English squad for a forthcoming home nations international.Derek and wife Helen came to the Lake District from Perthshire, where he had been a farm manager, 20 years ago.

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Ready: Derek Scrimgeour with Killiebrae Laddie and Fleece

It is probably the first time a Scot has been invited to skipper the England team and Mr Scrimgeour, who runs a sheepdog training business, said: “It’s the high point – no doubt about that.”

Mr Scrimgeour won the national championships, held between August 1 and 3 at Dovedale in the Peak District, with his five-year-old home bred dog Killiebrae Laddie.

He also came fifth, out of 150 of the best dogs in England, with his promising three-year-old Fleece, a bitch he imported from the United States as a puppy.

Mr Scrimgeour said: “I have done well a few times in the nationals, and been in the England team, but this is my first win and to captain the team is amazing.”

The best 15 dogs and handlers went through to represent England in north Wales next month against the host country, Scotland and Ireland.

In winning the national crown, Derek and Laddie scored a remarkable 209 points out of a possible 220. “He is the best dog I have ever bred,” he said. “He showed good qualities early on and he’s probably coming up to his peak right now.”

Mr Scrimgeour travels extensively with his sheepdog business. He has been to Sweden twice this year and also the US and is heading there again in October to run a training course.

“I run courses on my farm and abroad,” he said. “I spend about six weeks of the year overseas and I’m fortunate to be able to leave the farm in good hands.”

Mr Scrimgeour, who is a tenant at Lonscale, has bought a 15-acre croft near Carlisle which is run as a cattery by his 30-year-old son Innes. It is also a useful base for sheepdog handlers to say when visiting Lonscale.

He said: “It’s something for the future when I retire, although I have no plans to leave Lonscale for a good few years yet.”

They are getting ready for another big undertaking after the international event has taken place in Conway, north Wales, from September 4 to 6.

The Scrimgeours will be hosting BBC film cameras making the One Man and his Dog Christmas special over five days in mid September.

He said: “I won’t be taking part this time because I am getting things ready for the film team and making sure the sheep are all ready. They are coming to film in the field outside the house.”

First Derek has some extra training to put in with his dog in readiness for the tough competition in Wales next month.

He said: “It is a bit ironic that a Scot is captaining the England team. The competition will be tough because the other countries have a lot of passion and although there is an individual event, it’s the team shield that they are keen to lift.”

The course will be extremely demanding, with an 800-yard outrun, two lots of sheep to deal with and a 600-yard drive before meeting the shedding ring.

“It’s difficult to be too confident, but I am spending the next two or three weeks training with loop backs and shedding sheep with collars,” said Mr Scrimgeour.

“I meet up with the rest of the team regularly and have invited them to my farm if they want to practice on bigger areas before the event.”