They’re barking mad on Coronet

Excited dogs and their owners barrel down Coronet Peak skifield yesterday during the annual Queenstown Winter Festival dog derby. Split into town and country entrants, hundreds of dog owners and their canine companions raced from the top of the skifield to the bottom for the glory of being first dog and master home. Photo: supplied.

They came in tutus, bandannas and butterfly wings, just to clear their throats in front of 200 onlookers in Queenstown’s Earnslaw Park.

The waterfront park went to the dogs yesterday — all 85 of them — for the Queenstown Winter Festival’s dog barking competition.

When Benji McFly refused to bark at the winter festival dog barking competition, his dog-sitter, Oamaru’s Rosina Shakespeare, had to bark instead. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery.

Most were backing up on the Dog Derby race at Coronet Peak ski area earlier in the day.

But not Benji McFly, entered on a whim by his dog-sitter, Rosina Shakespeare, of Oamaru.

She and her husband were looking after the Maltese terrier, belonging to friends in the resort, for three weeks, Mrs Shakespeare said.

"We were just walking around the lake and someone told us this was on."

She had not been surprised by Benji McFly’s bad case of stage fright.

"He only barks at cats and other dogs."

That meant she had to bark for him, which "went fine", she said.

Top town dog out of 38 entrants was Cliff, of Queenstown, while top country dog out of 47 entrants was Rev, of Blackmount.