WEST Devon farmer Jed Watson is one of England's most successful sheepdog trialists and is preparing to fight for top honours with his dogs Mirk (7) and Jake (5) at the English National Sheep Dog Trials at Castle Hill near South Molton on July 19 to 21.

Jed, who farms at Postbridge, said: 'They call us the stick and dog farmers because this is really how we go about our business. 

'Arable farmers need tractors and machinery, but a livestock farmer needs a good dog.'

Jed trains his dogs in a small paddock and only takes his older dogs out to work on his 500-acre farm. It takes about two and a half years to train a working dog and, having started over 40 years ago as a young boy, he has plenty of experience.

He said: 'I don't take young dogs onto the moors — they don't have enough depth to cope with the sheep.

'The last thing you want is a young dog going wrong when leading a flock off the hill. They can't cope with the terrain and sheep know every nook and cranny.'

Jed was born and bred on the moors and loves the landscape which he said 'you either love or hate'.

'Winters are long and severe and the summers are very short, though September is a lovely month! When the fog is sitting on you for days on end, or the rain is coming down in rods, you need character to live here.

'People need to appreciate that the upland landscape is not forged by anything else other than that Mother Nature and people willing to work the hills.'

For Jed and his dogs the day starts early as he puts in training before starting working with the livestock: 'The standard in competition is so high these days, and if you don't put the time into it there are too many people able to put me under pressure.

'With dogs we can only bring out the intelligence they already have and hope they can hold their form week in, week out.'

Jed's remarkable dogs are able to think for themselves on occasion, including at a big charity trial when his dog was fetching sheep from a field in the bottom of a deep valley.

'I didn't realise two had split off from the bunch but the dog picked them up again and put them with the other three.

'All I saw was the five sheep come over the brow of the hill like they should!'

Jed is joining the country's top 150 handlers who are getting ready to decide who will become the national champion and go on to captain a team of 15 in the international trials held in September.

In addition there is a brace competition to decide the national brace champion and choose the two members of the national brace team.

In addition to the sheepdog competitions there will be country fayre, set in rolling hills of North Devon.

All profits will go to support the work of North Devon Hospice.