Crufts Roving Reporter

It was quite a daunting prospect but I found it a very enjoyable experience. I plucked up my courage and went off to knobble - sorry, a senior moment - interview the agility competitors, some of whom I was totally in awe of.

Heel Work To Music
The first person I spoke to at Crufts was Mary Ann Nester. I didn't know who she actually was as she only introduced herself as Mary Ann. Being fairly new to agility, I had no idea until much later who she really was!

Mary Ann was very helpful in explaining the rules and regs of Heel Work to Music (HTM) so I was able to appreciate the routines of each competitor. It was interesting, for instance, to learn that in HTM there are three judges, each scoring on four different categories.

This was the first time I had actually seen this sport - apart from Mary Ray at Crufts on television. I have to say I enjoyed what I saw. I thought the competition was very closely fought and enjoyed Kath Hardman and Spice's performance of the Straw Man from Wizard of Oz very much. It made me smile as I think it was meant to! They did extremely well coming 1^st in the Freestyle Final on Thursday and 1^st in the International Freestyle Final on Saturday.

The results were as follows out of a maximum of 30 points:

Freestyle Final Thursday.

Kath Hardman with September Spice (27.60)

Nicky Joyce with Busybug Marquisete (27.10)

Michelle Dodson with Kamarda Doctor Foster (26.03)

Lesley Brocklehurst with Borderlair Cinnamon Twist (25.73)

Freestyle Final Friday

Karen Sykes with Iatka Spring Spangle (27.03)

Richard Curtis with Dance Floor Diva (27.00) *

Nicky Joyce with Busybug Marquisete (26.80)

Carole Dodson with Kinaway Doctor Watson (26.53)

Photo: Chris Garrett

Saturdays International Freestyle Final
Competitors came from all over the world, from Finland, Jersey, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and New Zealand. The UK was represented by Heather Smith from Scotland, Mary Muxworthy from Wales and Kath Hardman from England. I thought all the performances were outstanding, full of interest and entertainment. I would have been struggling between 1^st and 2^nd places. Both were so brilliant.

It was interesting to see a range in the breeds doing HTM from the usual Border Collie to a Gordon Setter, Sheltie, Jack Russell as well as the crossbreeds.

Mary Ann had also alerted me to the fact that there were two competitors who also did agility. She introduced me to Carol Wallace and I was able to talk her too after she had finished one of her routines. I was impressed that, not only does Carol work two different size dogs in both HTM and Agility, she had a pretty full timetable for Crufts. I have written about her wins and disappointments below so I will not go into anymore details.

Photo: Trevor Greenslade

Carol Wallace with her Jack Russell Compo - otherwise known as Ag.Ch. Last of the Summer Wine - came 8^th in the Heel Work to Music (HTM), Freestyle Final on Thursday with 23.7 points out of 30. On Friday, in the Final Carol and Compo came 10^th with 22.73 points out of 30. When I caught up with Carol later she explained that Compo had been penalised for barking. For those of us that don't know anything about HTM, barking is NOT allowed!

Carol explained that it was difficult to do both HTM and agility and that you needed discipline and obedience for both sports. Compo is very willing to work in both. When I asked her how much training she did with Compo, I was surprised to hear her say not too much. One session at the weekend and the two or three 30 minute sessions in the week. However, the agility does take priority.

She also has a Small dog and commented that you need to handle the two sizes differently. Tilda The Terrible, her mini, paired with Don Nunn and Nothing Down Charlie Brown . Sadly they were E'd in the Eukanuba Mini/Maxi Pairs Challenge.

The second handler to do agility as well as HTM was Gina Graham, a YKC Senior with Flibberty Gibbert, a WSD. They came 9th in HTM Final. Unfortunately I was unable to catch up with them. But Gina and Flibberty Gibbert were also 3rd in YKC Senior Jumping class. Having spoken to Carol about how difficult it is to do both Agility and HTM, I have only admiration for these two people and their dogs.

KC Starters Agility Cup
In the Starters Agility for small dogs, I was impressed with the standard of the handling especially as they are either Grade 1 or 2! Well done to Daniel Croxford with Bailey. his Sheltie. Theirs was a cracking round - the only one to go clear! He handled the dog so very well to come first in 36.67 seconds.

Colette Smith, handling a 5 year old Bichon Frisee, also had a good run in 48.36 seconds but managed to pick up 5 faults. They were second. Louise Mcfarlane with her Westie picked up 5 faults in a time of 49.72 seconds and came third.

I sympathised with Valerie White as Pipin, her seven year old poodle, was a little uncertain in the ring especially going up the dog walk. I thought he was a little overawed by the crowds and noise but when I spoke to Valerie later, she said he had sustained a back injury in August last year and there had not been any time for the training as he had needed to recover.

He had actually only done one and a half hours training before coming to Crufts so, taking all things into consideration, I think he went brilliantly! I think Valerie was a little disappointed and said that he didn't show himself off' but he was not eliminated. In fact, he came 4^thin the competition!

Photo: Trevor Greenslade

Photo: Trevor Greenslade

Next, I caught up with Tracey Day and her rescue Border Collie, Woodie, also in the Festival Starters Cup but for Large dogs. As to be expected Tracey was 'over the moon' at being the Overall Winner in a fast, clear time of 33.63 seconds. Well done especially as there were six clear runs! Tracey managed to beat the opposition by 0.55 of a second.

She said that she was very nervous and felt unreal especially when she was doing the weaves. It was a dream come true. She had only wanted a clear run! Tracey said she wanted to thank Bob Sharpe, her trainer and Jayne Widdess. 'Can't believe I have won!' says it all!

Simone Stephenson was 2nd, also with a clear run in 34.17 seconds. I learnt that this is only Simone's fifth Agility competition! Wow! What a way to go.

Small and Medium Events
Sue White and Sharon Brewster had a few words for me. Sue's disclosed that Bug (Tizza Moment of Madness) is known to raids the bins. With a parentage of Daschund x Spaniel x Border Collie x Jack Russell, Bug has inherited the bad traits as well as the good ones! Both dog and handler appeared very laid back and relaxed.

Sue with Bug and Sharon Brewster with Ruby (Upanova Limited Edition) were E'd in the Eukanuba Mini/Maxi Pairs Challenge on Thursday, which they had managed to win last year! Sue and Bug were part of the Sunbury & Hanworth DTC team and competed in the Medium teams on Friday. The team came 5^th, picking up 105 faults, with a time of 72.60 seconds. I think overall Sue was pleased with Crufts and seemed to be enjoying it.

Sharon Brewster had a very good win in the Eukanuba mini circular knockout on Sunday, beating Hayley Bray in the final, Cliff Truluck and Chris Mann coming joint third. She had a pretty hectic Crufts schedule, running not only two dogs but at two different heights.

Upanova Which Way Now

8^th in Crufts singles Heat – medium final ranking (41.53 5 faults, only 3 clear runs in this class)
6^th in Crufts Agility Championship jumping (38.00 + 1.00 faults, only 4 clear runs in this class)

Photo: Trevor Greenslade

Not a bad result for Crufts 2008! Sharon told me they only train at home 2-3 times per week for around 10 -15 minutes.

Teams
As a small dog handler, it was no surprise that I was particularly interested in the Small dogs. I spoke to a couple of the Small sized Agility Teams. The first to be interviewed was Miriam Foran from the Selkirk 'B' team. She said that this was her first time at Crufts having done agility with her terrier X, Crinkle for four years. It was a wonderful experience she said. She asked me to include her thanks to Colin, Trudy, Maureen and Monica who train and support her through thick and thin. She said they never thought they would get to Crufts let alone a 3^rd place in the Crufts Team Agility Small Final with 134.90 (114.91 faults). The Team had three clear runs but unfortunately Miriam was E'd in the finals. The team was also 3^rd in the semi finals at 131.19 (113.73 faults).

The Wye Valley team also had something to say. Their team was made up of two Jack Russell brothers, a Jack Russell X and a Border Terrier - all Grade 7. They came 2^nd in the semi finals and 2^nd in the final. In the final they had one clear, two runs with 5 faults each, and one elimination. Their comment was 'nice dogs. Shame about the Handlers.' Twenty years ago their Large dog team got to Crufts so the Smalls were very chuffed to qualify for Crufts. They said that they went out to enjoy themselves. Anything else was a bonus. Overall, it was a good Crufts for the whole club.

Blackdown Team came 1^st with only 10 faults and elimination in the semi finals. They had one elimination plus 5 faults in the finals. They were placed 1^st overall. Their team was made up of all small poodles.

International Event
I was delighted when the competitor from Norway Thomas Thiesen with N.S. Ach Kito, a BC, agreed to speak to me. He was pleased to have come 12^th in Round 2 of the Crufts International Agility especially after having been E'd in round 1. He commented that 2^nd round was better and his dog stayed very calm. The surface was good and the atmosphere great. He qualified for Crufts by being 8^th in the World Championships and Best Placed Norwegian. His last comment was a bit sad though 'Please return the backpack with the dog's passport, left in the collecting ring. All was not lost though as he was able to get the dog's information faxed to the Crufts Office so they could go home!

Sergio Sousa from Portugal with his dog Killebrae Ben won round 1 and came 6^th in Round 2 of the Crufts International Agility. This made him 2nd overall winner of this competition. He said he was stunned, proud of the dog, lost for words. The dog won the first round as the course was made for him because he likes sharp turns!”.

Photo: Trevor Greenslade

ABC Agility
Nigel Staines was another very pleased competitor as he and Dragonheart Dark Destroyer won 1^st place in the ABC competition on Friday. They had retained their Crufts ABC title by winning 1^st in the Agility and coming 3^rd in the Jumping. Nigel told me that his dog was the first ever ABC to compete in the Final Agility Championship at Crufts, coming 3^rd and that Zico was a 'dream dog'. He was very glad to be in the final – just needed one more CC to become an agility Champion. Dragonheart Dark Destroyer is also the current ABC Olympia Champion.

On Sunday I managed to catch Dave Ray for a few seconds before he continued with his commentating. Dave said and I quote, 'This is the greatest dog show in the world, best surface with no dogs slipping. In 28 years commentating, if someone had asked me if I would be commentating on Agility or Heel work To Music, I would have said they were on drugs.' I think that says it all!'

Finally I spoke to Ben Fogel who just happened to be round the Cairn Terrier ring when I was showing my Cairns. When I asked him about his agility experience on the Saturday evening, he said that he had enjoyed the agility very much. When asked if he and Inca, his Labrador, would be competing in agility, he replied 'May be in a couple of years?'

Crufts Flyball
Flyball was again a very popular sport with the crowds. At times it was difficult to know who was making the most noise, the crowds or the dogs! The handlers and the dogs not surprisingly were all a bit nervous and eager to get on with the competition.

Dogs in all the teams made mistakes in either catching the ball or running down the outside of the jumps causing them to loose the run and or match. At one point, one of the dogs was having so much fun he just kept on running even when the game had finished. To the amusement of the crowd, he prevented the other dogs in his team from doing their runs causing the team to loose. At times it was the most persistent team who came through as mistake after mistake by both teams made one wonder just who was going to win!

It was certainly fast and furious with everyone including the crowd enjoying the sport. I thought all the teams very sporting especially after the disappointment of losing the round!

Quarter Final	Semi Final	Final	Winner
Nun's On The Run	Hatchford Hooligans	Hatchford Hooligans	Moulton Magpies
Hatchford Hooligans
Teesdale Tornadoes	Covert Clangers
Covert Clangers
Moulton Magpies	Moulton Magpies	Moulton Magpies
Northants Falcons
Teesdale Bombers	Clyde Valley
Clyde Valley

A very big thank you to all those I managed to speak to for their help in writing this report. Please accept my apologies for any inaccuracies as this is my first time as a reporter. I had no idea what to do so I made it up as I went along!

About the author...
Jennie Fairweather (left) has been doing agility for fun, with her Cairn Terriers for over 20 years. In the early days of agility, no one really thought of minis as being agility dogs and she came across a lot of anti- small dog feeling. She is very pleased to see they now have their place in agility!

She started competing about three years ago with her eight year old Cairn. She's had limited success with a lot of fun and made many new friends. She had to retire her Cairn at ten years of age as the dog just ‘went off' agility at competitions and refused to run. Jennie is now training a youngster, another Cairn.

These days Jennie's life seems to revolve around ‘doggie things.' She judges Cairn Terriers at Show Championship level (beauty for the uninitiated) and has passed the Kennel Club Agility rules and regulations exams. Her first agility judging appointment was last year for H & J Agility in June.

Jennie runs her own dog training business including Obedience, Agility and Flyball.

Crufts Roving Reporter

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