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Joint sponsors of the Great Britain
Agility Team for the FMBB World Championships |
2011 BSD World Championship Agility Team Selected
 The
Great Britain Agility team for the 2011 FMBB Belgian Shepherd Dog Agility World Championships
has been selected. As BSD Worlds are held outside usually on grass, in previous years
outside venues have been used. Due to some close calls with bad weather, however, the team
manager and the organising committee decided to try a different approach for this year’s
selection. Two indoor venues were used with separate judges at each.
The first selection
in October was held at Andy and Helen Browns venue near Worcester. Lee Gibson set some very
challenging and typically FCI type course. At the end of the day, the results were much closer
than in previous years and it would be very difficult for anyone to predict the final outcome.
The second selection
was held at Louise and Anne Challis’s venue near Dartford. Andy Hudson set technical courses
leading to a very exciting day. The scoreboard changed at every run and the squad gradually
emerged. At the end of a very competitive day a squad of good dogs and handlers have been
selected. All but one person in the squad has previous experience of both the selection process
and competing at the world championships.
Over 30 handlers with slightly more
dogs expressed an interest in taking part. From them, 25 dogs met the entry criteria and were
able to compete. We are very keen to bring in new people and dogs into the selection process in
order to develop them for future years. So the criteria starts at Grade 3 providing the handler
and dog together have a top ten place in both agility and jumping.
Each year we have more Grade 5, 6
& 7 dogs and we were very encouraged by the number of new dogs joining them this time. Some of
them may have found this a leap in standard and very different from the type of competition
they are used to but it should be a very useful experience for future
years.
Selection is done on the results at the
two selection days. At each selection day, there are four runs -two Agility and two Jumping. To
encourage the higher speeds needed at the world championships, the course times are set tighter
than at UK competitions. As per the world championship, each dog gets a 1 minute practise
session to get use to the equipment. This is particularly useful for getting use to a frame
tyre and wider spacing in the weaves.
The judges gave a full briefing
particularly before the first event carefully explaining the differences with FCI rules and
that making sure that everyone understood that they would be strictly enforced. This was
because we do not want people to get to the world championships and be caught out on a
technicality.
In the team for both
the team and the individual competition are:-
-
Jo Hyslop with
Keisha (Bonvivant Object D’Art) - Malinois
-
David Leach with
Rusty (Bonvivant Kalisto) - Malinois
Gill Raddings with Check (Minka Morgan Check) - Tervueren
-
Louise Challis
with Delta (Ebontide Quedec at Louandi) - Groenendael
Also in the
individual competition are:-
-
Claire Bacon with
Emmy (Draigarden Allegra) -Tervueren
-
Andy Brown with
Thor (Easy Take Me High) - Malinois
-
Tony Parmiter with
Poppy (Ebontide Obsession) - Groenendael
-
Helen Brown with
Zeus (Wild Blue Spirit) - Malinois
Reserve:-
This year the FMBB World Championships
are going to be held at Nieuwpoort in the home country of the Belgian Shepherd Dog on 1-5 June
2011. As well as Agility, it hosts IPO (schutzhund), Mondio Ring (protection), Obedience,
Heelwork to Music and Breed Showing. More details can be found at http://2011.fmbb.net/news.php
The substantial amount of funds
required to send the team is raised by the Belgian Shepherd Dog Association of Great Britain
and the Working Belgian Shepherd Dog Society who jointly manage the whole enterprise.
Thank you
The selection competitors would like to thank the judges and the organisers June Le Fevre
and Margy Pratten and their volunteer ring party for their hard work making the selection run
so well.
For anyone interested for future events
the details can be found on these websites
www.bsdaofgb.co.uk/ or www.wbsds.org.uk. Or they can
be obtained from Mike Bacon, the Team Manager email:
mike_of_diamonds@yahoo.co.uk
Team Selection Dates for 2011 BSD
World Champs Announced
The dates for the
selection of the Great Britain Agility Team for the 2011 FMBB Belgian Shepherd Dog World
Championsips have been announced.
The first selection day will be held on
Sunday, 7 November at Sandbourne Stables, Baughton Hill, Earls Croome, Worcestershire WR8 9DG.
The judge
will be Lee Gibson. Registrations must be sent to the Team Manager and received by 1
November 2010.
The final selection event will be held on
Sunday, 13 February at The Arrow
Riding Centre, Darenth Park Avenue, Dartford, Kent DA2 6LZ. The judge will be Andy Hudson.
Full details of the
selection and registration forms can be obtained from the Team Manager, Mike Bacon, email
mike_of_diamonds@yahoo.co.uk
   
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