Moving to a new home
 With
another year of agility drawing to a close, and the excitement of all things Christmassy slowly
infusing our senses, Discover Dogs was to be a practice run for
Olympia for a few handlers and their dogs. For others it was their first chance to compete in
the public arena. Mandy Wallington was
watching the action at the new, larger Earls Court I.
Each agility partnership had two runs - one in the morning and one in the afternoon - with the
overall placing reflecting results from both runs. As ever, crowd around the main display area
buzzed with excitement, whipped up by the fabulous displays of heelwork to music and the
frenetic flyball teams.
Judging the competitors, some familiar faces and some new, were Dave Harvey and John Gilbert.
 Small
In
the Small category was Mandy-Sue Sarti and four year old Patterdale Izzy whose over-enthusiasm
for the dog walk cost them a place at the top. Den Keeler with Beano the Border Terrier just
missed the top three, Amanda Rogers with her rapidly progressing Sheltie Kodak who picked up
faults on their second run. Angela Roger's table-napping Chinese Crested Harry picked up faults
on both runs but won over the crowd with his cheeky nature.
Jeanette Tandy
with Collie x JRT Betsy came 3rd with just 10 faults overall, and Amy Lawson with Sheltie
Fudge gained second place after two clear rounds. Miranda Frankham's 8 year old miniature
Sheltie was all set to be placed, but was eliminated after just touching the see-saw with a
paw, leaving housemate Dodger to bark his way round to victory in just 30.96 seconds.
 Medium
In
the Medium category, a challenging course saw several victims falling for a tricky seesaw/A-frame positioning including Karen Cole's Sheltie Todd, Bernadette Bay's Sheltie Zen and Amanda Hamson's
Toller Minx.
Claire Arends's working Cocker Maisie had a great first round, but was
unfortunately eliminated at the weaves on the second. Rosie Ison's Poodle/Collie cross
Disney showed off his acting skills, but unfortunately picked up several faults whilst playing
to the crowd.
Despite Lorna Goodban and 'rasta' Poodle Cadbury getting two fast clear rounds, they
were just out of the top three. Amanda Hampson's Toller Rogue yodelled his way into 3rd
place, with Ashley Butler and Pudsey, who was an 11th birthday present, coming 2nd.
But in 1st place, and an average 3-4 seconds faster and a final time of 28.47, was Natasha Wise
with blue merle Collie Dizzy, whose quick and accurate contacts proved hard to beat.
 ABC
The ABC category always has some strong characters, and this year was no exception. Diane
Griffin's BSD Groenendaal had a brilliant first run at his Discover Dogs debut, but was
unfortunately eliminated in the second round. Ray Ellerton's lurcher Bella flew round, but
picked up faults, as did Nikianna Nicholas's graceful Vizsla Quinn and Gill Raddings's BSD
Terveuren Check.
Daniel Slinkert's stunning Doberman X Schnauzer Pudding ran an apparently
effortless second run to go clear, but unfortunately could not beat Joanne Apostolou's 10 year
old BSD Malinois Zellick.
Just missing the top three places was Karen Young, whose Bearded
Collie Dee yodelled around into 4th place. In contrast, Anna Brayley's Kelpie Revel ran
silent as the wind to claim third place. Dave Wright's red merle Australian Shepherd Betsy
was eliminated in the first round, but came back with a storming second run into second place.
Winning the ABC category was Jane Anderson with Kelpie Bindi, who just pipped Dave by 10 tenths
of a second in 29.68 seconds.
 If
the performances at Discover Dogs are anything to go by, Olympia will prove to be an amazing
competition with dogs and handlers at the top of their field.
About the author...
Dogs have always been
a big part of Mandy Wallington's life, and she has always sought to give her dogs jobs that
will keep them active and happy. She first got the agility bug with a blue merle collie about
10 years ago, but didn't really start competing till she rescued a crazy Welsh collie whose
enthusiasm for the sport has been his saving grace.
Along with her
two teenage daughters, her permanent canine family consists of the very noisy Welsh collie, a
laidback Lurcher, a wriggly springador and a 7 month old crossbreed who appears to be part
kangaroo!
Mandy also
fosters dogs for Enfield Dog Rescue and the Cinnamon Trust, and currently has two elderly
residents having much Christmas love and attention!
Photos: The
Kennel Club
First published
22/12/09
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