An overview...
 The
growing popularity of agility worldwide continues unabated and in the UK entries at Kennel Club
licensed Championship and Open agility shows continue to increase year on year. This is no
doubt helped by the fact that we are lucky that our Kennel Club allow pedigree and non-pedigree
dogs to compete in the working disciplines shows which, of course, include agility. Dave Ray,
Chair of the KC Agility Liaison Council wrote this introduction to Olympia for the 2011 catalogue
(£8.00 on the door but free to you via Agilitynet)
2011 has been another very
momentous year for British agility. It is the 33rd year that the Kennel Club Agility Stakes
Finals have been held at Olympia and this in itself makes it a world class event. In fact, the only
event that is comparable is Crufts dog show itself. Certainly when it comes to Christmas, it is
the only place where the UK's top handlers want to be.
No dogs are invited to
Olympia. Every dog and handler has to earn their right to be in the final. Heats are held
throughout the country during the year, culminating in a Semi-final at the City of Birmingham
Championship Show in September, meaning that dogs not only have to come in the top five in
one of the qualifying classes with maybe up to 450 handlers and dogs in it but then also have
to taken one of the top places in the Semi-finals.
 Thursday
The first day
for agility at Olympia is Thursday where we have the KC Agility Stakes Final for Medium Dogs,
selected from 18 heats held at Kennel Club licensed shows throughout the UK with the top
two from each going forward to the Semi-final. The top ten from the Semi-final are competing in
the Grand Finals at Olympia. This year as usual we have a variety of breeds competing including
Working Cocker Spaniel, some rather small Border Collies and even a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling
Retriever!
Friday
On the Friday, it is the finals for Small dogs 350mm or under at the shoulder. This year we have a variety of breeds competing from Shelties, to crossbreeds and
four Poodles. Eleven heats were held at Kennel Club licensed
shows and from these, the top three dogs from each heat went forward to the Semi-final at the
City of Birmingham Championship Show. Then from this Semi-final, the top ten have been invited
to compete at Olympia. What they lack in size, they certainly make up in personality, ability
and speed so watch out for the racing ankle biters!
Saturday
On the Saturday morning at Olympia, it is the Finals of the original Kennel Club Agility
Stakes competition - or perhaps we should say Semi-final as we have to start the morning off
with an Olympia Semi-final.
Thousands of dogs enter the 14 nationwide Kennel Club heats for
this competition open to top winning Large dogs eligible for Grade 6 & 7 which are the top
KC competition grades. The top five competitors from each heat are invited to one of the two
highly sought after Semi-finals and the top eighteen from each of these Semi-final are invited
to compete in the prestigious event at Olympia.
We have 36 dogs coming
forward to Olympia on the Saturday morning in the Main Arena where we have an Olympia
Semi-final, the top ten of which qualify for the Grand Finals on the Saturday night with the
next ten being invited to compete in another event on the Saturday afternoon. So you can be
sure of one thing - you will be seeing the very best of the UK’s senior and advanced dogs
competing! With the exception of one, all the dogs will be Border Collies or Working Sheepdogs.
These really are the athletes of Large Dog Agility so it is sure to be one of the most exciting
finals this year.
Sunday
On the Sunday, we have the Kennel Club Novice Agility Stakes. This is for Novice dogs and
not Novice handlers, as I think with most sports we have a grading system with Grades 1 - 7.
New dogs handled by experienced handlers start in Grade 3 and this Novice class is open to dogs
who, at the time of qualifying, were working in grades 3 – 5.
Fourteen heats were held at
Kennel Club licensed agility shows and is by far the most popular qualification event, with up
to 1,000 dogs in each one of these qualifying shows with the top three dogs going forward from
each class or part of if numbers dictated a split. These top dogs from the heats or split
classes go forward to two Semi-finals, the same as the Large grade 6 – 7 dogs. These
Semi-finals were as usual held at the City of Birmingham Championship Show. Then from these two
Semi-finals, the top 18 are invited to compete in the Olympia Semi-final on Sunday morning with
the top 10 going forward to compete in the Kennel Club Novice Agility Stakes Finals on the
Sunday evening and those placed 11th to 20th invited to compete in a competition during the
matinee performance.
So this is another
competition where the selection process ensures that only the very best of agility dogs are
competing in what I’m sure will be an extremely exciting final.
Monday
On the Monday of Olympia, it is the turn of the ABC dogs - or I should say the 'Anything
But a Collie dogs. As with all the competitions at Olympia, the handlers and dogs have had to
qualify via a rigorous process just to compete in the finals at Olympia. Twenty heats were held
at Kennel Club licensed shows, the 62 dog Semi-final was held at the City of Birmingham Show in
September, and the top 10 dogs have come forward to the final day at Olympia. This is always a
great competition with usually many different breeds competing including this year four Beardies and five Australian Kelpies - or the 'Australian Rocket' as some people call them. The
Kelpies are certainly aspiring to take the crown from the Collies in speed and agility so this
will really be a fast and furious final.
So whichever day you
visit Olympia this year, you are definitely going to see some of the most exciting and fast
agility competitions that the agility world has to offer, including handlers who have competed
in the Championships at Crufts and represented the United Kingdom at the World and European
Agility Championships.
Judging the agility at
Olympia is one of the most prestigious once in a lifetime appointments available and hence only
the most skilled, experienced and respected judges are invited and this year’s event is no
exception. Our 2011 judge is Ian Mallabar. Ian is a championship agility judge, and judges
throughout the UK on a regular basis, he represents the North East of England on the Kennel
Club Agility Council and most importantly he is a well respected member of the agility
community.
For the competitors,
qualifying for the Agility Stakes Finals at Olympia is the best Christmas present they could
have - but of course the final accolade would be to take home one of the beautiful pieces of
Kennel Club crystal engraved with the words 'Kennel Club Agility Stakes Winner - Olympia 2011.'
Unfortunately, this is not
the case throughout the rest of the world where some countries will only allow crossbreeds to
compete in very limited classes. Agility in the UK is definitely a sport for all dogs so if you
want to ask the experts about agility then do call in to the Kennel Club stand in the shopping
area where advice and information about licensed agility shows will be available.
 About
the author...
Dave Ray joined Rugby DTC with his wife Mary in 1978 and, although not a dedicated dog
handler, his business skills were soon put to good use. After election to the Committee, he
held various positions including for many years the Club Treasurer and Show <anager.He has now
been a RDTC member for 32 years and is currently the Vice President and Show Manager.
Dave is also Chairman and trustee of a Rugby-based charity called Avon Valley
Canine Trust.
He took over running the Olympia Agility events in the early 90s and became the
agility organiser for the sponsors Pedigree. He remained in this position until their
withdrawal in 2009. He then continued organising this event for the Kennel Club.
Dave was elected as Midlands representative on the KC Agility Liaison Council about 12 years
ago and later elected as Chairman of the Agility Council. He is a member of the Activities
Sub-Committee, the International Agility Working Party and the Agility Festival Working Party.
He is also quite involved with Crufts Dog Show and is renown for the his
expert agility, HTM, Flyball and Obedience commentaries.
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