I was five when I started Agility with my Mum's English Springer
Spaniel, Henry. Elliott
was my first dog and I trained him from a puppy when I was only five
years old.
My agility hero is Natasha Wise. She started having Collies which she
has so much control over. They are fast and able to do anything in front
of them. She managed to deal with any failure she had, too. Now she has
a Working Cocker Spaniel like me and it's nice to see other people who
have these kinds of dogs.
At any shows we hang out together, compete against each other and have
fun. Whenever we are camping, we are together! Most moments we get are
funny! Immy and Morgan are absolutely my best friends.
I
qualified for Crufts at Dogs in Need for the ADOY and Newark Activity
Weekend for the Jumping.
Reflections...
Crufts 2022 was truly amazing. We travelled up the night before and
stayed in a hotel near to the NEC. Elliott loves staying away in the
hotel rooms. He always rolls around when we put a blanket on the bed for
him. He's used to sleeping away from home and really enjoys it.
On the Saturday morning, we woke up early and left the hotel to go to
the NEC where we ate breakfast. Later Morgan's mum did our hair all in
the same way. We brushed Elliott out and he seemed perfectly happy to
sleep in his crate while I walked our first course.
It was the Agility Dog of the Year first. The course was nice, but there
was lots of good competition. I tried to make sure I would take Elliott
on the best line. He ran perfectly for me with a fast clear round, but
we wouldn't know the results until the end of all three Agility classes.
Next was the ABC Agility - another nice course with some trickier parts
to them and still lots of great handlers walking the course with me.
Elliott's run was great again with another fast clear round. Everyone
around the YKC arena was so supporting, cheering us home as he jumped
the final fence.
Finally it was the Under 18s Jumping. Morgan and Immy were in, too. I
wasn't running Elliott but instead a friend's Border Collie Darcey. The
course was a tight one with a very fast and close weave entry. Many dogs
were being caught by that, but Darcey slowed perfectly to prevent a
refusal. She ended with an elimination after accidentally taking the
wrong side of a jump, but this was her first time at Crufts and she
dealt so well with the atmosphere and the crowds.
It turned out that Elliott had come 3rd in the Under 24s ABC, and we had
a brilliant 2nd in the Agility Dog of the Year that would qualify him
for the Finals in the Main Arena. He did really well to come so high up
considering he is now eight years old and this was his fifth time
competing at Crufts and our first year in the over 12s.
Going to the main arena was a bit of a rush. We only had 20 minutes
after the Jumping finished to get into the Main Arena holding ring
before the ADOY finals started walking. We got Elliott settled in before
all of us were called into the ring to walk the course. As we stepped
out of the tunnel on to the green carpet, I looked up at the stands that
were all full of people. It was amazing. I loved seeing everyone
watching us walk the course.
The course was really nice, definitely more spread out than in the YKC
Arena. Elliott would have a chance to really stretch out and run fast. I
had prepared him and myself by warming him up on the carpeted area in
the collecting ring.
I really enjoyed my time in the spotlight. I pushed Elliott hard and
tried to make his turns tight. His run was perfect, but he was unlucky
to miss the contact on the dog walk. The crowd cheered as I was racing
him down the last line, and he stretched out and simply strode over the
white contact at the bottom. I didn't mind though because he had already
done so well at Crufts this year.
After our YKC Agility had finished, we stayed in the Main Arena
collecting ring to have photos taken together and we helped with the
photography for the International Agility podiums. Immy, Morgan and I
held up the top three nations flags' while trying to stay out of the
shot. It was a lot of fun, but our arms hurt afterward from holding up
the flags at unusual angles while hiding behind the podium!
Over the years, Elliott has taught me that we are capable of anything.
He has done amazingly well to get to Grade 7 and qualify for Crufts
again, I really enjoyed Crufts this year and it was lovely to have Immy
and Morgan with their dogs there with me. They make it so much more fun
and always fill the air with laughter. |