New Zealand: Human Sheep Dog Trials Paddock Team Exercise

Human Sheep Dog Trials Paddock Team Exercise, New Zealand

Context

Many workplaces in Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly in rural regions, sit a short drive from paddocks where sheep and dogs still work in quiet choreography, while a large share of the workforce is urban and may have little day‑to‑day contact with farming. Dog trialling has been embedded here since the late 19th century; Te Ara traces competitive sheepdog trials back to Wānaka in the 1860s and notes that they grew into a nationwide sport governed by the New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Association (NZSDTA) with standard classes that mirror real farm tasks. In trials, handlers and dogs move three difficult sheep around pegs and yards: an everyday pastoral problem turned into a precise, scored challenge. *

The pastoral backdrop remains visible in many regions, but it is not universal and sits alongside urban, Māori, Pasifika, and migrant narratives. As recently as June 2024, Statistics NZ’s agricultural production statistics reported about 23.6 million sheep—roughly 4.5 sheep for every resident—underscoring one strand of national identity while acknowledging declines from historic peaks. * * The NZSDTA today lists 157 clubs and runs annual championships, a reminder that the skills of reading animals, signaling, and aligning a team to a moving target remain very much alive. *

When corporate teams borrow from this heritage, venue fees and facilitator payments support rural hosts and stock handlers, and organizers should consider land access, animal‑stress risks, and regulatory oversight. At some venues such as Makoura Lodge, a locally adapted “Human Sheep Dog Trials” offers a facilitated, scored challenge in which colleagues act as the “dogs,” coordinating body positions and movement to guide real sheep through gates and obstacles. It takes the cultural logic of the trials (clear roles, shared direction, split‑second adjustments) and turns it into a team ritual experienced in a tangible, outdoor setting. Providers such as Makoura Lodge in Manawatū run this as a core team-building activity for conference groups, with scoring and prizegiving to punctuate the learning. * *

Meet the Company/Cultural Tradition

Makoura Lodge is a family‑run conference and retreat venue set among hill country north of Palmerston North. Its corporate packages pair meeting space with on-site outdoor challenges that draw directly from rural life: archery, 4x4 skills, mini highland games, and, most distinctively, Human Sheep Dog Trials. The premise is simple and inventive: your group is briefed, roles are assigned, then teams collaborate to guide sheep through a marked course. Qualified stock handlers and facilitators manage safety, coach technique, and keep formal scores to crown a winner, and any named facilitators or stock owners are credited with consent. * * *

This is not a one‑off novelty. The lodge’s “Day Meeting and Team-Building” package explicitly lists Human Sheep Dog Trials among selectable activities and bakes it into a structured day (arrival, two activities, and a wrap-up), so teams can repeat the ritual whenever they convene off-site. Testimonials from New Zealand firms such as Norwood (agricultural machinery), Powerco (energy), and Property Brokers (real estate) point to repeat corporate use and strong outcomes, and any quotations or named attributions are included only with prior written permission. *

Underpinning the corporate twist is a cultural constant: dog trials and farm dogs are a living craft in Aotearoa, and descriptions or facilitation should include local voices such as a NZSDTA judge or experienced stock handler and an animal‑welfare expert, with their consent. The national association’s club network and championship cycle keep the skills sharp and visible, context that gives the “human” version authentic local flavour rather than staged spectacle, and references to NZSDTA are provided for context rather than endorsement. * *

The Ritual

Minute	Scene	Purpose
0–10	Safety and welfare briefing; facilitator outlines rules, roles, and animal-handling etiquette	Ensure wellbeing; set shared boundaries before play *
10–20	Field orientation; teams study the course and obstacles; quick practice of signals	Build a common mental model and non-verbal cues
20–35	First attempt (Team A); others observe from boundary	Convert planning into coordinated action; surface assumptions
35–45	Debrief and role swap; rotate who “leads” at the flank vs. who gates	Spread leadership reps; diversify perspectives
45–60	Second attempt (Team B) on same course	Apply feedback; compare strategies
60–70	“Final drive” timed challenge; both teams re-run with adjusted strategy	Create pressure to test alignment under stress
70–80	Scoring, prizegiving, photos; reset paddock	Closure, recognition, shared memory *

Note: Many day packages pair this with a second activity; facilitators typically map roles and objects to emic trial terms (e.g., cast, drive, yard, peg; heading dog and huntaway as analogies) and Makoura publishes a menu that includes Human Sheep Dog Trials as a selectable module. *

Why It Works

First, it channels a widely practiced rural craft in parts of Aotearoa New Zealand. The task, moving independently minded sheep as a coordinated unit, mirrors the demands of classic New Zealand sheepdog trials where clarity of role and timing trump brute force. Facilitators often introduce emic trial terms such as cast, drive, yard, and peg, and draw analogies to heading dogs and huntaways, which anchors roles and meanings while engaging pride and curiosity in locals and newcomers alike. *

Second, it leverages the science of place. Short breaks spent in natural settings are associated with reductions in stress biomarkers; one field study reported decreases in cortisol during 20–30 minute nature breaks, although effects vary by individual and context. Harvard Medical School’s summary notes that about 20 minutes outdoors can help reduce cortisol, which may support calmer, more patient collaboration; claims about creativity or broader performance should be treated as hypotheses pending measurement. * *

Third, the ritual emphasises non‑verbal coordination through a compact mechanism chain: inputs (outdoor paddock, safety brief, simple signals, optional role rotation, visible scoring) foster synchrony and shared mental models, which in turn can increase turn‑taking and reduce friction in handoffs. Slides will not move a flock; you must align stance, pace, and angles while communicating simply. That shift from talking to moving exposes hidden assumptions about leadership and followership, while the scored format (with transparent results) tightens the feedback loop without shaming. Makoura’s listing explicitly includes instruction, safety oversight, and scorekeeping toward a prizegiving finish: structure that turns play into repeatable learning. *

Outcomes & Impact

For participating firms, results may show up as morale, memory, and momentum. On Makoura’s conference page, clients describe highly productive and enjoyable sessions and indicate intentions to return, with any direct quotations used only when permission has been granted. Those notes come from General Managers at Norwood and Powerco, and from Property Brokers’ national leadership, signaling impact across very different sectors. *

The ritual’s cadence of briefing, attempt, swap, attempt, and a scored finale creates a narrative arc teams can retell back at work, much like a shared sprint. Because it is rooted in local rural life (not imported gamification), it can deepen newcomers’ connection to Aotearoa New Zealand, while recognising that pastoral farming has settler‑colonial origins on Māori land and represents one strand among many in the country’s cultures; where appropriate, engage local hapū/iwi for guidance. * *

In some contexts, organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand weave indigenous and rural games into staff development when led by appropriate cultural partners. Adventure Specialties Trust, for example, incorporates the traditional Māori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) ball game kī‑o‑rahi into twice‑yearly staff training with Māori‑led facilitation and permissions, illustrating how culturally grounded physical play can build bonds when partnership and benefit‑sharing are in place. *

Lessons for Global Team Leaders

Principle	Why It Matters	How to Translate
Authentic local craft	Rituals stick when they feel native, not generic	Find a place-based challenge (e.g., vineyard trellising task in Napa; snow shelter build in Lapland)
Non-verbal alignment	Reduces overtalking, surfaces true coordination	Choose an exercise where bodies, not slides, must sync
Clear scoring	Tight feedback drives learning and energy	Publish a simple scorecard; crown a lighthearted winner
Rotate roles	Builds empathy for different constraints	Swap “lead,” “gate,” and “blocker” roles mid‑session
Guardrails for safety & welfare	Trust grows when participants and animals are protected	Use qualified hosts, brief etiquette, and set opt‑out lanes

Implementation Playbook

Choose a qualified rural host. Prioritise providers that publish safety protocols and run scored, facilitated sessions, require compliance with the Animal Welfare Act 1999, the Ministry for Primary Industries Codes of Welfare (Sheep and Beef Cattle and Dogs), and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, confirm insurance and an emergency plan, cap group size and set facilitator‑to‑participant ratios (e.g., one qualified stock handler per 8–10 participants), screen for allergies and biosecurity/zoonosis risks, plan PPE and weather contingencies, and prohibit DIY animal handling. *
Co‑design the session. Confirm duration, team sizes, mobility needs, transport and rain plans, prayer/holiday calendars, remote inclusion, and avoidance of critical support windows or night shifts; timebox the activity to 60–90 minutes with ≤12 on field at once; add a cost model (time × loaded cost + vendor + travel), name owners for facilitation/communications/data, prepare a one‑page brief covering strategy link, voluntary opt‑out, privacy/retention, and norms, and define a low‑cost MVP (e.g., cone‑gate herding with soft balls/flags—no animals). *
Brief for welfare. Set expectations about calm movement, spacing, and voice; state that participation is strictly voluntary with a no‑penalty opt‑out at any time, offer equivalent non‑field roles such as scorer, timekeeper, or observer, instruct managers not to pressure attendance or role selection, and specify animal‑welfare and biosecurity protocols (hydration/shade, rest intervals, noise limits, no sessions during lambing or extreme heat, and boot‑cleaning or footbaths as required).
Assign rotating roles. Invite participants to try leading at the flank, gating, and supporting, then offer an optional mid‑way swap with equivalent non‑field roles available and no penalty for opting out.
Keep score visibly. Use a whiteboard to track time, penalties, and clean gates; publish a short privacy notice covering what data are collected (scores, photos), why and on what lawful basis, who can access them, retention (e.g., 90 days), and how to opt out of photos or named scores, ensure captions include date/place/provider and note consent and welfare context (heat/shade, duration), and end with a modest prizegiving only for participants who consent to be named. *
Debrief to work. Translate field moments into office principles (“angles over volume,” “one signal at a time,” “small corrections early”) and commit to a single metric chain such as non‑verbal coordination (optional role rotation + simple signals) → smoother cross‑team handoffs → fewer handoff defects per sprint or lower rework on inter‑team tickets, and run a light measurement plan with pre/post and 4‑week follow‑up surveys (e.g., Edmondson 7‑item psychological safety short scale and a brief belonging index) plus a behavioral proxy such as meeting speaking‑time evenness.
Pilot, then recur. Pilot with 2–4 teams over 6–8 weeks and 2–3 runs, keep must‑haves (qualified facilitator, safety/welfare brief, optional role rotation), set group size ≤12 per run, use brief scripts for pre‑brief/debrief, define success thresholds (e.g., ≥70% opt‑in, +0.3 on a short belonging scale, −15% handoff defects), and stop if any risk incident occurs, opt‑in falls below 40%, or the safety pulse turns negative.

Common Pitfalls

Treating animals as props rather than partners; set heat/cold stop rules, limit time on paddock with water and shade available, and reduce pace at the first signs of distress to protect welfare and learning.
Overweighting talky debriefs; keep reflections crisp to honour the non‑verbal insight and ensure multilingual options or plain‑language summaries are available for diverse teams.
Ignoring accessibility; schedule inside core hours, provide transport and a rain plan, offer flat‑ground or shorter‑distance variants, supply non‑field roles (timekeeper, scorer, observer), avoid dietary/alcohol tie‑ins, and include remote‑friendly alternatives so caregivers, people with mobility limits, and distributed staff can participate meaningfully.
Cultural inauthenticity; don’t bolt on unrelated themes, let the local craft do the teaching, and engage mana whenua or local rural clubs where relevant to ensure benefit‑sharing and cultural integrity.

Reflection & Call to Action

In many regions where flocks still shape horizons, it can be fitting for a workplace ritual to revolve around guiding a group toward a gate, while acknowledging that not all workplaces identify with pastoral imagery. Human Sheep Dog Trials fuse place, play, and performance into a compact rite: a team learns to move as one, outdoors, toward a shared (and slightly stubborn) goal. Try it on your next off‑site in Aotearoa New Zealand with a qualified local host, and if you are outside New Zealand borrow only the underlying logic by choosing a locally meaningful, welfare‑safe analogue that does not involve DIY animal handling and that is sensitive to migrant, vegan, and animal‑welfare perspectives. Your team will carry the paddock lessons back to the boardroom, with less noise, better angles, and a keener sense of when to lead and when to flank.