You train for a whole year for the World Championships, and then suddenly that day is there. Before you know it, your things are packed and off you go. Guy Blancke won the Individual Standard Jumping at the World Championships in Dortmund with his Groenendael Unia. He kept this personal record of the major two day event of the year.

DAY 1
Hmm… How does one start something like this?

Thursday afternoon
Okay, here goes. You jump into your Volkswagen Transporter T4 with your two dogs and head down the German motorways. In theory it's a three hour drive to Dortmund, four with traffic. Knowing that a lot of congestion could be on the road, I try to keep in mind the different route numbers so I can tune in the German radio stations to hear what's happening, just in case.

Just past the Dutch-German border, you tune into one of those MWs. You're in luck. They are just announcing the traffic situations. 'Folgend staus ab 3km.' Yes, you're off to a good start. They only mention the traffic jams longer then 3kms!

Lucky again. The problems seem to be all south of the Dortmund region. Some of the traffic jams are already 15 km long. I opt for the northern route. It goes all right. There's a lot of traffic but at least it's moving.

Great, that's what I need. It must be a popular place. With 40km to go, it's already signposted. Turn South. Now East again. Okay, along this route I should see a whole complex of sporting arenas including the ice rink, football stadium and, of course, the famous Westfalenhalle and more.

I take out the little roadmap and pictures which I've copied from my homepage. Ha, I hear you say. You all thought I put it on the web for you, didn't you? Nope. It's there so I could find my way.

Thursday night
Turn right, then left. It should be here somewhere. Oh great. On the motorway they have big signs, but where are they when I need them!

I look at the map again. Yep, this is the street. Hey, that roof looks similar to the one on the photo of the hall incorporated in my info page. Yep, that's the one I just passed. Turn back and park. The dogs Unia and Dusty are glad to get out. Yes, it's here. I see a few agility stickers. And already there are a few familiar faces !

Let's see what the hall looks like. Hmmm, the outside is impressive, so I open back door and peek in. The ring is being prepared.

'Keine besucher! Nicht auf der Tartanbahn laufen! Ausen bitte!'
(Translation: No visitors. No walking on the track. Go outside.)

No arguments here. I know I'm here and I've had my sneaky preview.

What next?

I look for the best Parkplatz L (parking lot). I need a good location to sleep, not too far from the hall. Found it. Now where was I going to meet my Dutch friend Hans (Goosens)? Oh yes, the Crowne Plaza Hotel. I'll look there.

Upon entering the lobby who I see first? The American team. So I say, 'Hi, I'm Guy Blancke. You know, the one from the List - the one who is bugging you all.'

And here is Hans in his favourite place - the bar, and not alone. I find the South African team there t, with their 'betreuer'; Kirstin. (If you don't understand German, that's the name for the person who is appointed by the organisation to help the team, like a go-between.)

I go back to my hotel Parkplatz L. Just before the last street, I turn off and see three camper vans with people beside them waving papers. It looks like they are in desperate need. I don't understand what they are saying, but the paper they are waving under my nose says Agility - Körnig-halle.

'Calm down. Speak slowly,' I say.

They are Italian so I speak a bit of French to them. I find out they have been driving around here for the last half hour. The hall is just 300m around the corner.

I say. 'Just follow me. I'll take you to my hotel.' A glass of firewater gratefully accepted.

Friday Morning
What's all that noise? New arrivals? Hey, it's only half past six in the morning! Oh yes, I remember. Practice starts at 7.00am for some.

Should I walk the dogs or have breakfast? No, it's too early. They'll have run later.

I go the Hall to have another look around and meet some other early arrivals. Some I know. Others I learn to know. I wait for the other Belgians to arrive.

We're in.

Papiere (papers) bitte.
(Translation: Papers please.)

Nein, von ihren hund.
(Translation: No, your dog's).

I hand him the little book where all dog's vaccinations are recorded. He doesn't seem to understand any of the things written in it!

The lady at the table asks me to show Unia's tattoo.

'It's in her ear,' I tell her. 'You want to look?'

'Ja.'
(Translation: Yes)

'Okay, go ahead if you want to loose your fingers. I'd better show it to you myself.' Unia is a very unsure and nervous dog. If she trusts you, she'll do anything for you. Otherwise, don't touch her..

Now they want to stamp her ear as proof of passing the vet control. Oh no, they mean on my hand. All right then.

We're in.

Some others are already practising. We wait our turn. There is still time to meet up with the rest of the Belgian team.

And then it's our turn. We each get three minutes per dog. I feel sorry for the handler from Argentina who is all alone. By the time he has set up, his time is over, and here they don't give you any extra time. The timekeepers who keep an eye on the clock are very strict. Only three minutes per dog. They watch the timer closely and whistle when there is only one minute to go. Off the course we go on the final whistle, and then it's the next team's turn.

It's hot and dry here, and there are hardly any people here yet !

Training is over, and we have the rest of the day to watch the others. This will be a good excuse to meet the other teams. There are the familiar faces of the Croatian team and their dogs. And yes Unia, that is your sister who has qualified too.

Some teams take their training casually, others very seriously. The Swiss have a debriefing after their session. They look serious. The US team leader seems to write everything down - maybe how thick is the carpet and how floppy are the poles.

'How do you find the obstacles?' asks Ken Swartberg, one of the judges.

'Well to be honest,' I tell him, 'The weaves keep falling down. And when Smithos, one of the other dogs on our team was training, it 'followed' him like a snake. The tunnel keeps avoiding the dogs too. It looks more like a reinforced condom! And as for the rest, well I hope they don't open the doors during the contest as the poles will be blown away.'

'Thanks,' he says. 'I will look in to it.'

Yep, as always I guess.

Upstairs a British agility obstacle manufacturer has a stand. They have brought some very nice tunnels, supports and weaves, but I don't expect the organisers to use them. There could be a conflict, and they don't want to upset the sponsors.

They have the solution! They find some extra supports for the weave but as small as the other ones, and they are going to use double-sided tape on the carpet. That will hold the flies! Funny how when there's an athletic event in the hall they can use spikes, but not when it comes to hammering in a few nails to hold the weave poles in place.

Friday evening
It's 6pm. Time to find that hotel of ours. It's only a half hour drive if you're lucky enough not to have traffic.

Nobody in the lobby. Where are they all?

'Hi Carl. Are you the only one still here and not asleep?'

I decide to cancel my room. I'll sleep in the van in the hotel Parkplatz L tonight. I'm too nervous about being late tomorrow morning.

The hotel clerk calls me on the phone. Weird - who knows I'm here?

Hi, it's Carl.

'What! Only two small beds in your room and you're the third party. Want my room? Okay, as long as I can take a shower before I leave. That's settled then.'

I have a nice shower and go back to my hotel on wheels. I'm getting hungry and get that spaghetti out of the fridge. Then a little relaxation, a nice walk around the hall with the dogs. Unia has her boyfriend Dusty with her.

It's all going to happen here tomorrow, but tonight it's still quiet and raining. I have another smoke and then go to bed.

Saturday
I wake up. There's much more noise today than yesterday and more people, too. Could something be happening today?

I'm astonished. I had a very relaxing night.

The parking attendant comes by, 'Sie mussen nog betahlen.'
(Translation: You still have to pay!)

'Wie lange bis du hier schön?'
(Translation: How long have you been here?)

I say honestly, 'Since early this morning. Well, technically that's true.

'Funf mark bitte.'

No translation necessary. It seems that he looked for me yesterday too, but couldn't find me

I only need some coffee. The dogs do their thing in the bushes. Where are my plastic bags ?

I see everyone preparing for the opening ceremony. We have to enter from the back. In front they are already queuing to get in.

Then it hits me. Standing there waiting outside, you can hear the faint noises of the supporters in the hall, horns and whistles. They even start to sing. I can't hold it anymore. Who said 'big boys don't cry?' Well, they can stuff that one where the sun…

The music is starting. The teams are entering with their dogs. The organisers had avoided a boycott. The night the news had leaked out that they were planning to have a presentation of the teams at the opening ceremony without dogs. Hence a lot of protest. In the end, they had to allow it . Were they worried that the dogs were going to damage the track. Like do they have razorblades on their soles?

Entering the ring, I suddenly feel very small. The public is cheering as each team is announced. I wave, too.

The Brazilian team is standing next to us. I can't understand them, but if they shove a camera up my nose. I guess that means 'Please take a picture of us.' Why not, if you take one of us? It's wonderful. You can't speak to each other but still you understand each other.

Bla, bla, bla.

The teams are leaving now. That's good for the dogs, nice and short. The rest of the ceremony is done without the teams and dogs. I don't even know what they all said. I was too busy waving at familiar faces on the other teams.

The Championships have started.

The first handler is Christine from France. She starts us off with a nice run and very good time. The pace has been set. It's going to be tense. Of course, we did walk the course before, what else?

I find myself walking around, watching the dogs run , talking to one and then another, not really realising what's happening.

I'm awaiting my turn the best I can. I'm drawn one of the last dogs (126). There's still plenty of time. Hey Guy, only 30 dogs to go!

Yeah, yeah so what! There's still another half hour - plenty of time to go to my hotel Parkplatz L, have a sit on the WC (in this case it's a toilet!) etc. etc. etc.

Arriving back at the entrance with Unia, she relieves herself has a stretch. She should be okay now.

Don't think. Don't analyse. You know the course is in the back of your head !

One dog to go. It's running,

'If you want you can enter the pre-ring, a special area near the start/finish line where you can wait while previous runner is still on the course.

'Thanks,' I say and give that nice looking girl a smile.

She starts laughing.

'What's wrong,' I say.

'Well, you're the first one who has smiled at us,' she says. If you only know how unsmiley my insides are!

Deep breath 1-2-3. Here we go.

Leaving Unia behind on the line, I go the first hurdle, take two paces backwards and call her to me. That's all I need to get into gear. Don't think about the rest. I give her a little kiss on the nose before we start. I go to her left side so I can start with an side change, and off we go.

First turn okay, and then a turn outbound towards the weave. She turns shorter then expected, but has an easy entrance to the weave. The first tricky part is over.

Then the wall, collapsible tunnel and now for that sharp turn into the long jump <ggg>. She turns sharply (!) to the right into a three-hurdle Star, turning left. I don't even see her do that third jump. I realise later that I had positioned myself for the change at 12. Wham, she goes right to it and into the right entrance.

Now a steady help towards that bl@~!£ double. She's prone to missing ones like that.

That turn after 15 at that speed is tricky. I don't want the see those poles flying in the air, so I opt for a wider turn.

Got that all right. Just a little directing towards 17 and find your weave Unia ! Slam bam, she's in it. Let's go home. The crowd starts to shout, the nearer the end of that weave the louder. Suddenly I have a strange feeling.

'Come on Guy. Come on Guy,' they keep shouting.

Unia doesn't mind. I'm enjoying it, but they don't let me get over over-excited, They are cheering and shouting to spur us on. I keep her steady for that sharp combination. Let her do it on her own. She smells the finish and has it all poles intact!

She turns and jumps up to my chest. I grab her by the neck, and we both roll over the floor. We did it! I felt great. It went like a charm.

And what was the time?

The Scoreboard seems pretty slow. I actually can't read it. It's so big I can't find the info I need.

I'm First!

Another roll over the floor. Unia grabs her lead and is pulling it very hard. Me, I'm waving at the crowd. I swear I thought I could see the roof going up and down.

I go back at the Hotel. Unia is glad to be back. She greets her boyfriend, Dusty. I give her a very big hug. I can't help crying.

I go into the hall by the front door and find myself being attacked by a mob of Belgian, Dutch German and lots of other well wishers. Many supporters had painted their faces with their national colours. They all rub of their faces on mine. That kind of paint that hardly dries. I guess they mean to give me kisses. One after another grabs me in a strangle hold. It's all too much. Big boys do cry. And supporters too!

Can't go anywhere without being hugged or kissed, but I'm enjoying it. All of a sudden people from different countries who I've never met before recognise me.

'That's that guy Guy with his black dog!'

<geee>I'm lost for words.

I keep remembering Unia's eyes at the first weave, her turn after the long jump, her flight over the double, the shouting at the second weave and the race towards the Finish. This is not for real. Surely it's only a very beautiful dream. I can't explain what I feel. I retreat to my hotel and doggies...

Later
The second course of the day and it's team agility. The contest consists of a jumping and an agility course .

Hmm… a difficult start.

Ken really wanted to have more than 20 jumps, so he set up a rare combination of three hurdles which count one obstacle. If you refuse the second or third jumps, you have to retake from the first. There is a tricky entrance to tunnel under the A-frame. The dog can't see the entrance coming out of previous tunnel.

I am the first of the team to start, still gazed from this morning. It goes okay, but she is barking more. Then slam, it happens. Unia tries to fly. She misses the end contact of the dogwalk in a BIG way. I'm taken by surprise. I'm not in position. I don't point to tunnel in time, and she misses that one, too. So we retry and run onto the Finish.

The rest went beautifully. I'm satisfied, but what happened? Other team members are making faults too. It's probably lack of concentration. Sally Andrews is eliminated for starting without permission. Confusion reigns. The public gets very angry at the judge. He could at least have asked what happened. He went to scribe table to tell the previous handler had a fault he didn't show, went back and returned again. Sally thought he was back and started.

Okay okay. Don't be angry. Let's go. It's no use, Sally.

She's totally down, not realising what really happened. We each try to motivate the other again. Bad luck. Win some lose some.

I enjoy the rest of the day, watching, cheering and walking around the hall.

But what's happening now. Police are blocking the street. An invasion? Yep, huge crowds of supporters walk by the hall - 70,000 I'm told, all going to a football match next door. More noise in the area!

The first days of competition is over. I go to the hotel to have a good shower and eat. I'm still in heaven from this morning. I have a beer now and a shnaps which go right to my head and then I remember I haven't eaten all day.

'Hmm very expensive, and there's not much on the menu,' the others say.

Okay, I'll ask. 'Do you have a schnitzel mit Bratkartoffeln? '

'What's that?' the others ask me.

'Well, it's typical German dish, I say. 'It should be good.' The others have steaks, priced by the gram. It doesn't look like much. And there's me with a full plate of schnitzel and brattkartoffeln mit schwiebeln.

Feed, watered and happy, I return to the hotel Parkplatz L.

Good night.

To be continued...

DAY 2

Sunday morning
Second day of tournament. It's not over yet.

Here's how the judging works:-

There are four categories:-

• Individual Standard
• Individual Mini
• Team Standard
• Team Mini

In Standard each person has to run two courses - a Jumpers and an Agility one. The combined results of both runs make up the final result of that group. Hence, Individual Standard Jumping + Standard Agility = Total. Time and faults are added up.

It's the same for Minis and Teams. Teams consist of four handlers and their dogs. The scores of the best three count towards the course result. This means we all had four runs in total, so in fact, there where four WC titles - Standard, Mini, Standard Team and Mini Team.

But back to the hall.

I still have to run the Agility course. It will be added to the results of the Jumping for the overall placing. Don't know how I'll be handling it. I still remember her flying off the dogwalk yesterday.

I have to start as last (First place starts last). There's still plenty of time to wake up and get scared! Gee , they start earmy here!

It's a nice course. A couple of traps but fluent and to my liking. Do as usual Guy. Don't think about it. Be confident. The course is in your head. Focus on the dog's line of running, not the traps.

But how will I run? Play it safe or take risks? I want it to be beautiful, not in a panicking way. I'd hate to win that way.

Almost time. I'm getting my dog, preparing. Doing a little warming up in the exercise ring. I never do that normally but I'm scared of that weave/tire/turn/jump/dogwalk combination. Right in the corner and the dog can't see how to take the jump.

Let's try it out. As it happens there is a tire and jump standing there. We do it a couple of times.

Great. It fails every time. She goes over the wrong side or turns the wrong way after, SH… Calm down. Forget it, FOR-GET-IT!!

Everybody is putting pressure on me. 'You're the one, you're the one!'

Leave me alone. I don't need that. I will have to forget everything, ignore everybody.

It's almost time. A few dogs to go. I am standing there as if I was on another world. Nobody can talk to me. I don't hear them (or at least pretend not to.) Our self-appointed coach Carl knows that and keeps others away from me.

Going to the pre-ring, I see Silvia, the German girl who became third overall and was placed second after the Jumping. She is having a nice run. Strange I normally never look at the runner before of me. She finishes beautifully. It's great time and there is a big cheer. I start to applaud. It was wonderful.

Heck, what's happening? I applaud just before running myself and guess what. It keeps my mind off what's to come for a moment. It brings me into gear. Concentrate. Turn around. Mind blank. Relax and wait for the signal to go into the ring. Don't listen to the noise.

I go to my starting position and throw my lead behind me. I don't care where it lands. Sorry Jean (She's our coach). You'll have to pick it up. I'm totally inside myself.

Leaving Unia behind, I go in the direction of second jump. Halfway there I start to raise my hand. Some people shout. They think Unia is starting before my command. They should know better by now.

There. That's the signal. I don't need to look at her. She passes me and we're off. First turn to A-frame. It's a breeze. I am at a distance, so I can control it better, but what happens? Unia freezes on the top. Calm down Guy. A gentle gesture to make her go down and off she goes toward the next sequence.

What a leap! She clears the next jump and goes past the entrance of the tunnel right into the chute. Okay girl, you're on your own now. The weaves are next. Sharp turn left and she's in.

Next the tricky part - weave/tire/jump. Let her overtake me to the tyre so I can make a side change behind her. Yes, she turns a bit with me. Now directional right. She gets it. Then a little pull to the dogwalk. It worked!

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