I farm: “About 88 acres between commonage and lowlands. I have a few Limousin sucklers and Blackhead sheep.”

Lamb prices: “We’ll be likely to see decent prices for Hiltex breeds next year. The Blackheads have dropped off badly this year and I don’t think there will be much demand for them next year either.”

Hill farming: “Farmers on the hill have a tough run of it. We were destocked by 60% and that left us in limbo. There’s a push to get sheep that were taken off the hill back up there, but it’s tough to achieve that when sheep aren’t used to the hill anymore.”

Sheep dog training: “I got into sheep dog trials after watching One Man and his Dog on the BBC over 20 years ago. People think training sheepdog is tough, but it’s not too bad. You only have to learn two main calls, ‘come by’ to send the dog clockwise around the flock and ‘away’ to send it anticlockwise. I’d be interested in setting up my own training school but we’ll see.”

Ben: “My dog is called Kilcrean Ben and he’ll be 10 in January. He’s getting a bit old, but I have six or seven pups off him that I’m training. I picked up Ben when he was a pup. I got chatting to his owner and he couldn’t control him so he only wanted €150 for him. I trained him very quickly and he has been a great servant.”

BBC: “Winning One Man and his Dog on BBC was a great feeling especially as it was the reason I got into the sport. The weather was awful which made it hard for the dog to hear the calls and the sheep were difficult to control, but I’m delighted to have won it. I had a great partner in young Jake Hamilton from Antrim.”

Quotable quote: “There’s a great satisfaction in heading out with a dog you’ve spent months training, for it to do well in its first competition. If the dog wins you’d be beaming for the whole way home.”