The team met in Hinckley to catch the coach on Monday, 24 September. The coach left at an unfeasibly early 4am to drive to Harwich for the ferry to the Hook of Holland. After an overnight, we continued driving through Holland, Germany and Denmark to catch the overnight ferry from Hirstals. Unfortunately the ferry was delayed so we ended up sitting in the docks for five hours - not the best start to the Championships!

We ended up reaching our hotel near Lillehammer at about 4.30 on Wednesday afternoon. We had been travelling for what felt like years, but was, in fact, 47 of the past 60 hours actually travelling. We managed to notch up an amazing 3,000 miles and four ferry trips to get there and back.

Having got all the dogs checked by the vet at the venue, the officials decided to measure all the dogs in our Medium team. We knew they were spot checking the height of dogs, but thought they would just do random dogs, not the whole team. As expected all the dogs were approved to start. 

Training day
We had a fantastic team training day. Only 90 seconds per dog is allowed so we were allocated 18 minutes for the dogs to get used to the equipment which, in some cases, is slightly different from ours, and get the feel of the carpet. It also gave the handlers the opportunity to see how quickly the dogs would respond and turn on the carpet and begin to get used to the unique atmosphere. The grooms, management and team members all applauded each other out of the arena contributing to the great team spirit always encountered at the World Championships. Team GB’s practice session was second from last in the running order so there were quite a few rival teams sussing out the competition by that point  None of the dogs had a problem on the training day, and the spirits were high on the coach back to the hotel.

The team had sensibly decided on dinner and an early night. Unfortunately at 3.30am the fire alarms went over so every one had to evacuate into zero temperature night whilst the hotel was checked. After ½ hour the team was eventually allowed back in to the hotel, but few got more sleep. We were supposed to leave the hotel at 6.30am on Friday to get to the arena in time for the opening ceremony. Unfortunately the coach drivers did get back to sleep after the fire alarm so had to be woken up by the rest of us who weren’t such hardy types!

Friday
The opening ceremony is all part of the World Championships with all the teams parading, some with their dogs and others without. All the national flags were flying and the atmosphere  in the Hamar Olympic Amphi Theatre - which had been the ice skating venue for the 1994 Olympics - was building. There were a few welcoming speeches and a display of gymnastics before the 12th annual FCI World Agility Championships were declared open. 

The first day saw the Individual jumping rounds and the Large Team Agility competition.

The competition started with the Individual Large dogs. The individual competitors for Team GB were:-

Small:  Dawn Weaver with Chelsea (Ag.Ch. Piquant Painted Sunshine) (Miniature Poodle) and Nicola Garrett with Indiana (Ag.Ch. Obay Truly Driven) (Shetland Sheepdog)

Medium: Bernadette Bay with Zen (Ag.Ch. Obay Truly Balanced) (Shetland Sheepdog)

Large (all Border Collies): Dave Alderson with Spice (Waggerland Spice), Toni Dawkins with Kite (Ag.Ch. Spellcast Made In Heaven), Greg Derrett with GT (Ag.Ch. Withersfarm Sproglett), Lauren Langman with Popi (Harrjack Clockstopper), Sue Rolfe with Kes (Kestrel GTX), Lee Windeatt with Shy (Tenitta Princess Lyla)

We had quite early running orders with five of the dogs close together, which was great for the supporters. The rest of the world certainly knew Team GB was there in force with the Union Jacks flying, cheering and clapping.

Lee and Shy were the first of the team on the line with a running order of 21. They did a fantastic clear round in a time of 32.45 which put them in 32nd place overnight. Toni and Kite were next up and produced an almost foot perfect round in a time of 31.27, putting them in the enviable position of 6th overnight and applying pressure on the dogs ahead of them. Greg and GT came next and unfortunately got a little close to the wall, resulting in a refusal and then took a brick out to end up with 10 jumping faults in a time of 33.90.

Sue Rolfe and Kes were our fourth runners and they too, picked up 10 faults in a time of 34.08. Dave and Spice were the penultimate pairing, they too unfortunately picked up 10 jumping faults following two refusals and 1.48 time faults following the tight course time of 38 seconds. Last to go in the Individual large dog jumping round was Lauren with Popi. Following a long break for the GB supporters, they finally took the line with a running order of 120 out of 143 dogs. They boosted the British team with a great clear round in a time of 32.40 to put them in 30th place. The overnight leaders of the large individual jumping were Switzerland in a time of 30.44, 2nd were Germany in a time of 30.59 and third were Hungary in a time of 30.95. Just two seconds separated the first 32 dogs.

The only Medium team member competing in the Individual rounds was Bernadette with Zen. Bernadette’s run was about half way through the competition and the GB supporters went wild. Unfortunately Zen was too responsive to Bernadette’s movements and came inside the jump to take the wrong course for an elimination. The results for the Medium jumping were:-

1. Gold - Slovenia with a Pyrenean Sheepdog
2. Silver - Canada with a Shetland Sheepdog
3. Bronze - Finland with a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

Team GB had two representatives in the Small individual competition. Nicola and Indi were the first combination with a running order of 22 and unfortunately whilst working very well, they took the wrong course for an elimination. Dawn and Chelsea soon followed and performed a fantastic clear round in a time of 30.74 to take 10th place overnight. The jumping results were:-

1. Gold - Czech Republic with a Shetland Sheepdog
2. Silver - Switzerland with a Miniature Poodle
3. Bronze - Germany with a Shetland Sheepdog

The final competition on Friday was the Large Team Jumping. The GB team consisted of Lee with Shy, Toni with Kite and Greg with GT. Team GB were the 19th team to run, out of 30 teams. Lee did a brilliant clear round in a time of 42.43, Toni followed and with a slight hesitation incurred 5 faults in a time of 42.04. Greg was the last dog to run for GB and, with the suspense growing, did a clear round in a time of 41.64 to give a team time of 126.11 which put Britain into 4th place behind Denmark, Russia and United States of America. The team was in high spirits on the coach back to the hotel, although pretty tired from an early start and a long tough day of competition.

Saturday
The Small Agility teams were first to go on Saturday, the team consisted of Nicola and Indi, Dawn and Chelsea and Rachel Mowbray with Meg (Laurelton Winter Nutmeg) (Border Terrier). Chelsea went clear in a time of 41.61. Indi wasn't completely committed to the weaves to pick up 5 faults in a time of 43.58, and Meg went clear in a time of 44.83, giving them a total of 2.41 time faults, to give the team a total time of 130.02 and put them in 8th place.

1. Gold - Belgium
2. Silver: Holland
3. Bronze - Denmark

The Medium Team competition was next and the GB team was 10th to run. The team consisted of Bernadette and Zen, Alan Gardner with Jude (Touchango Again Girl) (Border Collie) and Amanda Hampson with Minx (Winfren Vulpeculia Kayla) (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.) Zen and Minx both went clear in times of 40.31 and 43.65, unfortunately Jude came off the see saw a stride too early to incur 5 faults in a time of 43.39, giving the team a time of 127.35 and 6.04 faults putting them in 5th place with USA in 1st, followed by Italy and Belgium.

The Jumping round of the Team competition ran in reverse order of Agility team placings. The Small jumping was first and, as Team GB, was in 8th place we were 14th to go. Indi and Meg both went clear in times of 27.88 and 33.38, Chelsea picked up 5 faults in a time of 32.05, giving the team a time an overall time of 223.23 and 12.41 faults. The next few teams all suffered faults, and the pressure was really mounting with the placings continually changing. Unfortunately the top three teams all had at least one dog eliminated, leaving the final results as France improving from 5th to Gold, Switzerland moving from 7th to Silver and Finland impressively moving from 9th to Bronze medal position. Great Britain ended up in a fantastic 5th place.

The Medium team competition was next and spirits were soaring with two good positions in the Mediums and Large team competitions to play for. Great Britain was lying in 5th place and really put the pressure on the top four teams with some fantastic rounds. Zen went clear in a time of 24.56, Jude took a wide turn and incurred 5 faults in a time of 2892. Minx went clear in a time of 29.67, giving the team an overall time of 210.50 seconds and 11.04 faults. The GB supporters certainly showed their support and were willing the team to stay on the leader board. Russia, which had been in 4th, managed three brilliant clear rounds in the jumping to take the lead. Belgium had been in 3rd place picked up an elimination to move them down and Team GB up. Italy had been lying in 2nd place put picked up faults dropping them to 7th and ensuring Britain’s place on the podium. It was all up to the final team which was United States of America and, following 15 faults, they dropped to 4th place leaving Russia with the gold, Britain with the silver and Brazil with the bronze. The team and supporters all then took part in the lap of honour round the arena, and there was a real party atmosphere.

The final competition of the day was the Large team jumping and with Britain lying in 4th place expectations were high that we could add to the medal tally. All three dogs produced clear rounds, although there were some scary moments on the way. Shy went in a time of 30.42, Kite in 31.53 and GT 30.25 to give an overall team time of 218.31 putting the pressure on the top 3 teams. USA was next and produced 3 clear rounds to stay ahead of Team GB. Russia lying in 2nd was next to go, but with an elimination, dropped to 14th elevating the British team to Bronze medal position. The question on everyone’s lips was could we do the double and gain silver in both Medium and Large Teams. With just Denmark to go tension was high; the cheers rang out for the team’s appearance in the arena, but then the silence was deafening and all the supporters were on the edge of their seats. Denmark produced three steady clears picking up 1.58 time faults, but enough to stay in the gold medal position.

The final results were

1. Gold - Denmark
2. Silver - USA
3. Bronze - Great Britain

The coach was certainly buoyant on the way back to the hotel that night laden as we were with medals for team Silver and Bronze.

Sunday
Sunday saw the finals of the individual championships. Unfortunately only Dawn and Toni had realistic chances of a medal although Lee and Lauren were in a position to push the top dogs, if the course was right.

The Medium Agility started the day and Bernadette had an early run and set the pace by being the first clear round in a time of 35.34, coming 3rd in the Individual Agility round. The overall results were:

1. Gold & Silver - Switzerland Gold and Silver with a Border Collie and a Shetland Sheepdog
2. Bronze - USA with another Shetland Sheepdog.

The Small Agility finals followed and Nicola had an early run in a time of 33.50. The supporters then had quite a long wait for Dawn to run who was lying in 10th place. Dawn managed an almost foot perfect round in a time of 34.73 to put her in 7th in the agility round and 7th overall.

Dawn later said that 'Chelsea did everything I asked of her and she couldn’t have gone any quicker. I’m delighted with the result.' 

The final results for the small championship were

1. Gold - Czech Republic - Shetland Sheepdog
2. Silver - Switzerland - Miniature Poodle
3. Bronze - France - Miniature Poodle

The Large Agility championships completed the competitions. Dave and Spice ran first for Team GB and produced a clear round in a time of 36.30, incurring just .3 of a time fault. He was quickly followed by Sue Rolfe who did a fantastic clear round in a time of 34.14, giving them 9th place in the agility round. Greg immediately followed and was going for the fastest agility time, pushing GT all the way until, unfortunately, she just clipped the spread on a tight turn. Greg then eased off the pressure and made sure she got her A-frame contact and, in so doing, incurred a time fault. The supporters then had the opportunity to buy their souvenirs before Lee and Lauren ran. Lee had been lying in 32nd place overnight and, with all the dogs above him on clear rounds, there was everything to play for as there was only time separating him from a podium position. Lee and Shy performed a near perfect clear round, except for one hair-raising moment out of the collapsible tunnel where Shy helped him out to gain a clear round in a time of 35.34 putting him in 13th place overall at the end of the competition. Lauren was next to run, but again with a problem at the exit of the tunnel, picked up a total of 10 faults in a fast time of 35.13. All the pressure was now on Toni’s shoulders. Running 6th from the end, Toni pushed hard too put the pressure on the top dogs. Unfortunately, Kite didn't pick up the tunnel and went in the wrong end for an elimination. 

The final result was:-

1. Gold - Switzerland
2. Silver - Germany
3. Bronze _ Russia

The closing ceremony bought the 2007 World Agility Championships to an end with some traditional Norwegian music and the exchange of gifts between the nations.  

The final results for team GB were:-

• Silver        Medium team
• Bronze      Large team
• 5th place    Small team
• 7th place    Small individual
• 13th place  Large individual

At the end of the competition, the team with the most medals was Switzerland who wiped the board with a total of five medals. Great Britain, United States of America, Russia and France won two medals apiece while Denmark, Czech Republic, Brazil, Germany and Finland had one medal each.

Photos courtesy of Dennis Bay - For more pictures from Norway, go to http://picasawebgoogle.com/DennisMBay

First published 09/10/07

[bottom.htm]

© Copyright Agilitynet