WC2010

For the first time in approximately 14 years the FCI Agility World Championships were to be held indoors on a surface other than artificial grass. One of the consequences of this was that the management team decided to change the selection process for the event from an indoor to an outdoor venue. This was a first for team qualifying and so it was that the selection day was held outside on (real) grass. Team selection took place in June alongside the second of two 'Agility for Britain' fund raising shows where the profits were donated towards the team's travel expenses. The two events raised about £6,800 and each team member was given a cheque for £160 each to go towards their expenses.

Once again the Kennel Club provided administrative and logistical support and funds were provided for team uniforms and entry fees. The KC's marketing team worked hard throughout the year to try to find corporate sponsorship and were able to secure deals with Eurotunnel for discounted travel, World Leisurewear who provided assistance with team uniforms and Doggy Jumps by Polyjumps who provided much needed financial input as well as enthusiastic personal support at the event in Germany.

Team members opted to travel to the event independently using their own transport with most arriving at the hotel in Germany during the day on the Tuesday before the event started. This early arrival helps settle the dogs and the handlers prior to the 'official' training day held at the venue on Thursday on the eve of the event.

Our travelling vet, Rachel Mowbray was kept much busier in the lead up to the event than I would have liked. Nevertheless, her expert involvement meant that all of our dogs were ready to compete at more or less full fitness when the competition started for real on Friday. This invaluable support often goes unnoticed by people outside of the team, but I think this year everyone now has an understanding of why the involvement of a vet is essential.

I was called to make a few 'management' decisions in the lead up to the event as a result of the veterinary advice I was receiving. This included the late call up of Greg Derrett into the ranks for the team competition, Detox having been selected originally to run only in the individual event. This late decision meant that Greg, who prides himself on detailed preparation, was put on the spot.

As a result of having a reigning World Champion, Natasha Wise and Dizzy (Border Collie) in our ranks, we had the right to run an extra dog in the Individual event so I was pleased to be able to give some new faces to the team the opportunity to run in the Individual competitions alongside her. Sian Illingworth with Jazzy (Border Collie), Denise Wilkinson with Jexie (Border Collie) were both new to the Medium team, ably supported by the now very experienced Bernadette Bay with Zen (Shetland Sheepdog). Linda Hutchinson with Kizzy (Border Collie), Anthony Clarke with Ruby (Border Collie) were also World Championship first timers. Anthony is a former European Open Junior winner who was sponsored at the time to go to the Junior event by the Young Kennel Club. Both Greg Derrett and Dave Munnings have been on the team a number of times before achieving Silver and Bronze medal performances in the past. However, their dogs Detox and Dobby (Border Collies) were both debutants at this competition.

Our Small team have seen it all before. Nicky Garrett had been on the team with several dogs and was a former Gold and Bronze medal winner. This was her dog Indie's (Shetland Sheepdog) fourth consecutive appearance in the team's colours. Dawn Weaver is also an experienced FCI World Championships regular with both Chelsea (Miniature Poodle) and Puzzle (Papilon) having appearing several times.

Thursday's training session passed off more or less without any further injuries, although we had a bit of a scare with one of our Small Team dogs. Rachel, our busy vet, was called into action again, this time with her 'industrial use' microchip scanner. Microchip reading became this year's organisational fad, with the dog's chips being read at every opportunity and in particular after each run in the competition arena. Sadly the organising vet's scanner was not up to the job, particularly for the overseas teams, so Rachel's boundless energy was used up running around with the scanner all weekend.

The opening ceremony was slightly better organised than usual and the teams have now got so used to the procedure that they line up automatically at the required moment. This is the signal for the start of a challenging timetable for the dogs and handlers which was going to see early start and late finishes for the next three days.

Team competition
At the end of the Team jumping runs we were well placed in all three height categories with the Large Team a little unlucky to have accumulated 15 faults and placed 7th on what was probably the most technically challenging of all the courses of the weekend. The Small Team had the best of the runs placed 4th after three clear rounds with the Medium Team 8th with 5 faults.

We were on track for some good finishes in the Team event. The last runs of the day would see the Large Team world champions being crowned. Having picked up faults in the jumping, it becomes almost essential for the team to get three clears in the agility in order to have any chance of picking up a podium place. Sadly all our luck seemed to go the way of the results screen (i.e. non-existent) and we didn't achieve the required clears. Our performance best summed up by the Italian team manager whose team ran after us, his comment to me on his team's performance after leaving the ring was 'disaster... just like you!'

Despite the lack of a result screen to track the final Team runs some rough mental calculation ringside enabled us to monitor proceedings and a very exiting competition culminated in Sweden running out deserved winners, beating Spain and Russia.

Individual competition
Saturday started very early, with the Small Individual Jumping kicking off with course walking at 07:00am. This was going to be a long day for the Small dog handlers as the Team event for Small was not scheduled to finish until 09:30pm. Nicky Garratt and Indie had the earliest of start numbers at running order 6. Although not renowned for coping with early starts, the time didn't seem to bother them. A good clean run of 29.13 left them handily placed 6th at the finish of the competition. Unfortunately Dawn Weaver and Puzzle were not so lucky being eliminated in this round.

Next up were the Individual Jumping runs for the Medium dogs. Defending champion Natasha Wise put in another stunning jumping run to finish 1st overall, setting a marker for the rest to follow. Putting in a solid performance again was Bernadette Bay with Zen, slightly off the pace of the frontrunners but with a clear round (again). Unfortunately the curse of the debutant befell both Sian Illingworth with Jazzy and Denise Wilkinson with Jexie, both being eliminated on course.

The Large dog runs were marred by bad luck with the only dog handler combination going clear being Dave Munnings and Dobby (30.07), with a well placed 10th at the finish, just over a second behind the eventual winner of the Jumping round. Linda Hutchinson and Kizzy set a competitive time of 30.95 but with 10 faults.

The day's events ended with the culmination of the team competitions for Small and Medium dogs. Unfortunately we were unable to turn the good places in the Jumping rounds with medal winning results in the agility, with both teams picking up eliminations along the way.

Our thoughts the opportunities we had to win a medal in each of the Small, Medium and Large individuals. The Small dog handlers were once again faced with an early start with proceedings starting 15 minutes earlier than on Saturday. Our first dog to the line was Puzzle with Dawn Weaver. Having the right first name for an early start was obviously of some advantage as the Dawn and Puzzle produced a great clean run which eventually saw them finish 16th in this heat of the competition. Unfortunately the elimination in the first round dealt with any chances of a top ten finish for them this year.

Nicky Garrett and Indie were well placed after the small individual jumping for third time in a row. Unfortunately they were unable to turn a great performance in the Jumping into a medal. Some course designs suit certain styles of handling, and Nicky was out of luck with an elimination putting paid to their ambitions once again.

Sian Illingworth and Jazzy were the first of our Medium dogs to step onto the course. They picked up 10 faults to finish off this 'character forming' weekend for the two. I am sure Sian will put this experience to good use for international competition in the future. They certainly have the talent to do well in this company.

Denise Wilkinson and Jexie put in a stunning final run, clear in 33.01 which was enough to place them 2nd in the Agility heat, a great end to her debut at the world championships. We now had a short delay before our last two runners in the Medium event, both of whom were in contention for good finishes.

Bernadette Bay and Zen are now proven competitors at this level, having been placed highly at last year's event. Once again Bernadette put in a nicely judged run, but this year the combined result was not enough for another top ten place. Nevertheless 13th place at this level represents another excellent performance.

Reigning world champion Natasha Wise had done nothing to ease the pressure to defend her title defence by placing 1st in the Jumping heat. It was now up to her to absorb the pressure and steer Dizzy round as we know she can. There was a short exchange between the Team Manager (me) and Natasha on the start line. I simply refused to accept any apologies in advance for anything that might go wrong. I am not sure if wagging my finger at her and telling her to 'focus' on doing her job had anything to do with what happened next, but I am happy to accept some credit if it did!

True champions are able to perform at a level that others can only dream of. If they have the right tools, they can do the job. Dizzy and Natasha are a fantastic team and watching them execute the second of two almost faultless runs up close and personal is 'pay time' for the team management. Words fail me. At this point, I find it hard to believe that for the third year in a row Natasha was able to maintain such a high standard of performance and in a world class field.

After the traditional laps of honour, the management team had to return to concentrating on preparation for the final event, the large agility runs. Although Linda Hutchinson was disappointed to end her World Championships with an elimination, it was a creditable debut for her and Kizzy. I am sure the experience will pay off for them in the future. They are, another talented pair with a chance of achieving success in the future.

Anthony Clarke received a well timed 'slap' from a Japanese well wisher before his final run and this seemed to have the desired effect on his performance - something the management have noted for next time! A clear round timed at 33.05 was enough to place them 11th in this heat. A bit of internal rivalry between Greg Derrett and one of his customers saw him putting in a clear round with Detox which placed him 2nd in the Agility heat. But for a bit of better luck in the Jumping, this pairing would have finished in the top ten overall.

After all the trauma of Dobby picking up a slight injury in the lead up to the event, we were all hoping that Dave Munnings would be able to put in the sort of run that places them at the top of the tree at home. One of Dave's great ambitions is to become World Champion and he and Dobby put in a champions run, setting the 4th quickest run of the heat. All we had to do now was wait to see if this was enough.

Having finished in 10th position in the Jumping, Dave's combined time had him at the top of the leader board with only one dog to go. Last year's world champions from Austria Lisa Frick and Hoss were the last pair in contention. Despite a small mistake towards the end of their Agility, they had enough of a lead from the Jumping round to make it count, so Dave and Dobby had to settle for the silver medal position this time. This was one better than Dave's Bronze medal from Spain. No pressure for next year, Dave.

Agility Team GB were now on a high again. We celebrated in style, our small band of supporters making up for the lack of number with noise. Once again we came away from this extremely competitive event with a brace of medals. Now all we have to do is work out how we can achieve the same or better for next year.

The 2011 World Agility Championship event is closer to home being held in France at Lievin which less than an hour from Calais. My main hope for next year is that Agility Team GB will have the level of support from the UK agility public that their consistent results at these world class events deserve.

Plenty to shout about...