Ordinary People / Extraordinary Stories

	Philippa Armstrong - Agility in a Para-llel Universe Just seven months after becoming only the second handler in the UK to have used a wheelchair when competing in agility, Philippa Armstrong exceeded expectation and won her first competition. A long time advocate of equal opportunities, Philippa is now practicing what she preached. Here's what she's learned so far. (18/11/04)
	Big Husky Trek 2006 Well known agility vet chills out on a five day dog sledding expedition for charity. (04/04/06)
	Chris Bradley: A Wet Wet Wet Introduction to Agility When Chris Bradley started agility training two years ago, she simply wanted to do it for fun. Being completely non-competitive and with a life-long horror of performing anything solo in front of others, she had no ambition to compete.
	Alan & Jayne Bray: The 'First' Couple of British Agility An up close and personal interview with Alan and Jayne. By Lisa Gantly. (07/02/02)
	Mr & Mrs Bray Renew Their Vows August 2011 marked Alan and Jayne Bray's 10th wedding anniversary. Jayne had bravely fought off the dreaded lung cancer once again, and they decided that they wanted to renewed their wedding vows surrounded by their many friends and family. This is an article about their big celebration, a day they honestly thought they would never see together!
	Jane Cameron - Retiring Again The Agility seed was probably sown for Jane Cameron when she saw her first agility demonstration at a local agricultural show many years ago. At the time, however, the pressure of work left her little time over for anything apart from walking her dogs. She had kept Collies for many years, so it was not surprising that at the age of 60, she discovered Agility and found a whole new way of life although, at that time, she had no idea of how it would take over her life.
	Mick Chambers: How I Got to Vyne As a child Mick Chambers always had dogs around the house, and he would have loved to have one or two of his own. When he married Lorraine, they were both in full-time employment so they felt it would be unfair to have a dog. They agreed to wait until the time was right. That time was 20 years later! (02/06/00)
	Don Cooper: Profile The first in a series of articles about our top handlers by Theresa Lawrence of Agility Needs, starting with Don Cooper. (14/03/01)
	Laura Chudleigh Laura Chudleigh and her dog Rodney (Flickcee Hot Rod) finished 2010 on a high, winning the Kennel Club Agility Stakes at Olympia, in association with Joint Aid for Dogs. 2011 though has so far seen mixed fortunes for Laura and her Border Collie. In their bid to qualify for Olympia again this year, during a training session in June, Rodney had an accident which meant that they did not qualify for Olympia in 2011
	Nigel P. Davis - Man with a Mic Nigel Davis is a familiar face around the agility rings and at Crufts. He's always loved stepping onto the world famous green carpet at Crufts mic in hand. Many a time he has been asked how he got to become a commentator so he has updated and shared this article which he wrote K9 News (April) in 2019.
	Deaf Handlers in Agility Mary Elizabeth Simpson never learned to use sign language and was mainstreamed all her life. She learned to take the ups and downs of being a deaf child in a hearing world. Everyone's love in the family was no match, however, for the love that her dogs gave to her. (25/09/00)
	Lee Gibson Lee Gibson runs Lee Gibson Training (LGT) based in the picturesque South Shropshire hills. He started agility at the age of 12 and now trains full time. Lately he's been to clubs all over Europe to both train and judge which is why you probably haven't seen much of him at shows! Gina Graham reports. (07/09/09)
	Barbara Handelmann; Agility on Wheels Barbara Handelmann may be newbie to agility but not to dogs. She has two different conditions, each causing chronic pain - diabetic neuropathy in her feet and fibromyalgia. She can walk, but pays a heavy price with pain, so she has been using assistive technology for about five years. She says, 'I've had to swallow a lot of pride to use the wheelchair, but the choices are that or have my life progressively more and more constricted!' (21/8/99)
	Meet Michelle Johnstone Michelle Johnston has been a sculptress for well over 20 years. Dogs are her other love. No wonder she thinks there is nothing nicer than watching dog agility and then capturing that enthusiasm in porcelain in her pottery pets.
	Magic Moments Agility handlers share their personal triumphs and disasters - hopefully not to many of those - with people with you. Kicking off with:- My Rescue Champion - Carol Hughes Cassie The Battersea Lassie - Glenda Cutler Winning Out of Starters - Jenny Lovegrove Mencap Charity Run - Nick Jones (13/04/02)
	Pam's Story - What Agility Means to Me Pam Jameson's first thought about agility was that it would be a great form of exercise for her Bedlington Terrier Dash as she had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and couldn't be as active as she would like to be. She never expected it would test her so much and bring so many new people into her life. They had tried Flyball but found that Dash was totally incapable of catching a ball, but he was very good at jumping the barriers in between lanes! Agility it was then.
	Monica Percival Not many people in the UK will recognise the name Monica Percival, but in The States she known as the driving force behind Clean Run Productions, the company which publishes dog training books, DVDs, videos and Clean Run Course Designer as well as a monthly agility magazine. She talks to Mary Ann Nester.
	Lesley Olden: The First Agility Champion The British have their first Agility Champion. On August bank holiday Monday, at the Wilton agility event in the north of England, Lesley Olden from the Romsey area in the south, won her third Agility certificate with Waggerland Whoosh of Nedlo under the judging eye of John Tallentire. Agility pioneer Peter Lewis salutes Lesley Olden and Loobie. (04/09/01)
	Olympia 2010 Qualifiers i-List We wanted to get to know the people who had qualified for the KC Olympia Stakes so Mandy Wallington asked them to compile an i-List. We think you will find their answers informative and amusing!
	Val Philips: Hands Up, Who's Got a Valgray? If you have anything to do with the agility circuit, you cannot have missed hearing the name Valgray. One very fiery lady called Val Phillips (‘Auntie Val’ to her dogs) runs Valgrays Border Collie Rescue. Heather Noddle had a long chat with this petite, blonde human dynamo who has done more for the welfare of collies than most of us can imagine. (24/10/00)
	Gwyn Roberts: Meet the Olympia 2000 Judge Who Never Was! With an enforced year out due to major knee surgery, the year 2000 was looking to be a very bleak one for Gwyn Roberts. However, an invitation from Pedigree Masterfoods to judge agility’s most prestigious final soon put a smile back on his face. Cruel twist fate, however, meant that he never got to use the courses he had drawn up. (24/11/00)
	Ellen Rocco Interview Ellen Rocco doesn't usually give interviews because she thinks that the focus should be on Agilitynet and not her. So when the Editor of Dog World asked her to do a Q & A for the Companion Dog supplement, she surprised herself by saying 'yes.' Here she talks to Rebecca Durrant about Agilitynet. (21/11/10)
	Lolly Scott & Tigger Having a super fast dog may not be all it is cracked up to be. Lolly Scott shares her story of dedication and hard work. (02/05/06)
	Bob Sharpe's Field of Dreams Soraya Porter tracked down Bob Sharpe in deepest Dereham, to hear about his 'field of dreams.' (21/09/08)
	Mary Stephens & Flora The story of Mary Stephens, a remarkable lady who started agility in her 80s with a rescue WSD and is beating the younger generation.
	Paul Oldfield - Substitute Large dog handler Paul Oldfield couldn't resist the opportunity to run Wendy Clay's Small dog in the Agility Club Champ class when Scout's regular handler was away. What happened next? (28/11/09)
	Joyce Turner: Interview How she got to be the Administrator of the Galloway Midi Challenge and why. (31/03/03)
	Lynn Voyce Agility has been a life saver for Lynn Voyce who has cancer and emphysema. She has lived to watch dogs run, albeit with other people. It meant the world for her to see her Lucy compete at Crufts 2009. (28/03/09)
	Dawn Weaver Soraya Porter managed to lure Dawn Weaver away from her many duties, not to mention seven competition dogs, to try and find out the key to her amazing agility successes. (09/12/08)

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