Top dogs and top guns

The West Coast Eagles, after their three-point win over Carlton, were not the only sports stars flying high on the weekend.

On pre-game night in the Wheatbelt town of Koorda, WA's best sheep shearers battled it out on the boards in a quarter final, enabling the winner to be eligible to advance onto the Australian shearing team and represent the country in the World Shearing Competition taking place at the IGA Perth Royal Show.

Top gun shearer Damien Boyle, of Broomehill, won the open and WA Challenge competitions, while Dustin Stubna, of Ravenswood, took out the speed shears.

Only a short distance from all that buzzing action, the town of Dowerin was a hive of activity with a week-long Australian Supreme Sheep Dog Championship underway together with Saturday's Act Belong Commit _Countryman _Show 'N' Rodeo.

While National Rodeo Council WA princess Hunta Gallacher paraded the Australian flag, WA's best cowboys and girls gave a salute to a packed crowd of appreciative fans.

Great performances followed with Wade McCarthy, of Chittering, winning the open bull ride and Bullsbrook cowgirl Amber Bowtell taking out the women's barrel race with the fastest time of 14.77 seconds.

A big night of music followed with the announcement of the Eagles win, which made for a festive evening at the Dowerin Sportsground and pre-empted the finals of the dog trials held on Sunday.

While WA's best dog trial runs came from Ivan Solomon, of Brookton, and his dog Sasha who placed seventh, it was Geoff Gibson, of Warwick, Queensland, and his dog Dusty, that took out the supreme win.

Mr Solomon and Dusty will be part of the Australian team to go to battle against the New Zealand team at the 2012 Supreme to be held in Warwick.

WA shearers Damien Boyle, Mark Buscumb and Glen Askew hope to take on the New Zealanders and South Africans in the Tri-Nations and if everything, including the footy, goes to plan WA may have many more reasons to fly the flag for all our State's top guns.

See next week's _Countryman _ for all the results from the Koorda Shears and the Dowerin events.