Meet the Cobber Crew

Aoidh came to Australia in 2011 on a holiday, and never left! Growing up in Ireland, he worked as a shearing contractor back home whilst still in school, and now runs a shearing contracting team here in Australia called Whisper Kelpies & Livestock Services. Working with merino sheep and beef cattle, he has a team of 15 working kelpies who he has been breeding and training for the past 6 years. Aoidh enjoys competing at dog trials, first winning the 2022 Australian Yard Dog Open Championship in Tasmania with his kelpie, Cash. In 2024 Aoidh cemented his position as a leader in the industry, winning the hat trick with Whisper Snip – the Supreme Stock Dog Challenge, the National Kelpie Trial and Australian Yard Dog Championship and then rounding out a successful year as Victorian State Utility champion. Aoidh then decided to give Snip a well earned rest and won the 2024 and 2025 Victorian State Yard Dog Championships with Whisper Cash. Aoidh now has plans to extend his shed to make room for all of the awards!

Ben Coster of Wandabar Stockdogs is the manager of Brooklands, a 6000 acre sheep and cattle property, near Yass, NSW and Ben can have up to 20 working dogs in his team at a time. He also owns and runs Wandabar Stockdogs, training and breeding kelpies. Ben is active on the trial circuit and when he’s not on the station, you’ll see Ben at a trial, either competing, judging or showing his kids the ropes.

James runs Shimmy Downs Kelpies, a breeding and working dog training business based in Busselton, WA. With a lifetime of experience on farms, including shearing, sheep farming and dairy farming, James has always had trusty kelpie companions on his team. At SDK they currently have 14 working dogs from 12 weeks old to fully trained and everything in between. All their dogs are fed and thrive on Cobber Puppy or Working Dog.

Cobber® ambassador Matthew Johnson loves kelpies! He is the founder of the respected training school Kelpies in Action and breeder of the renowned Pandara Kelpies. Matthew runs several training programs a year. In between training you will see him at Kelpie trials, doing working dog demonstrations at Agfest and other events around Tasmania. Until recently, Matthew held the record for the highest price received for a Kelpie at the famous annual Casterton Working Dog Auction, fetching $12,000 for Tom in 2012.

Travis Scott is a dedicated Livestock Contractor and Farm Manager, and the owner of both Scott Bros Contracting and Larnach Kelpies. As a skilled working dog trainer and Vice President of the Australian Yard Dog Association, Travis brings extensive experience and passion to the working dog community. He is deeply committed to the development and performance of both Kelpies and Border Collies, and is a respected figure in the industry, and we look forward to seeing his ongoing impact on the working dog world.

Established in 1970, the Queensland Working Cattle Dog Trial Association Inc (QWCDTAI) is a proud supporter of Cobber® and provides a competitive way to foster and encourage the use and training of herding dogs in the cattle industry. By providing a course that stimulates a mini paddock situation with all the skill requirements that may be needed on a daily basis in the paddock. The QWCDTAI holds, on average, one trial event each fortnight and members compete in numerous state and national championships.

The New South Wales Working Stock Dog Association was established in 2006, to bring together the major NSW Cattle Dog trialling regions in a bid to expand and promote the sport. A committed Cobber® supporter, the association now has around 250 members and holds over 25 trials annually.