There's more to Crufts than Best
in Show
 If
someone told you that the snoring pooch curled under your kitchen table was going to do agility
at Crufts, would you dare to believe them? Yes,
your wildest dreams can come true. They did for Linda
Moore and her little crossbreed Lola who won the Eukanuba Mini Circular Knock-out at her Crufts
debut. It just takes determination and lots of hard
work.
It doesn’t matter what kind of dog you have
– big, little, pedigree or crossbreed. And who cares if you are carrying a few extra
pounds and are getting on in years? What is important is that you have succeeded in
training your dog to such a high standard and you have proved your worth by either gathering
points at qualifying heats held throughout the country or winning prestigious finals. Every dog
that attends Crufts is a winner, whether he brings home a trophy or not. There are no losers.
 The
Road to stardom - The BIG
Do not be fooled into thinking that it is only Border Collies that
can win prizes and strut their stuff at Crufts. Jill Gibson
fell in love with Blake, a Harlequin Great Dane. Then she fell in love with agility. The clubs
she approached for training were horrified and put her on a waiting list and years later; she
is still waiting to hear from them. Others just told her she was mad and suggested she try
another breed. Blake was too big and heavy. He’d break the A-frame. Undeterred, Jill set her
friends to work making over-sized agility equipment and opened her own training club, Harlequin
Agility – different size courses four different size canines. All the obstacles are reinforced
and enlarged to take the maxi breeds comfortable and safely. Her membership boasts Great Danes,
St. Bernards and Wolf Hounds.
This year, Blake was at Crufts promoting
Harlequin Agility at the Eukanuba stand, but you have probably seen him before. He was the fun
dog at Olympia in 1999 and competed with the ABCs at Crufts in 2000. And who can forget his
starring role in the film East is East?
 Twinkle
Toes - The Small
And do not think that the only thing an agility dog can do is jump a
fence. I was very surprised to see young Carol Wallace wearing lipstick and black trouser suit.
She was carrying a cane and partnered by her little Jack Russell, Tilly. She never
dressed up to attend my agility classes in Essex! Carol was always very, very good, but Tilly
was always very, very naughty – a cannon ball of yips and yaps, a dog that you can’t help but
love for taking the wrong turn. And here at Crufts, they were giving a demonstration of
heelwork to music.
 Carol
had attended a few Paws n’ Music training days and, when Tilly’s agility training was
interrupted with a cruciate injury, she reached for her dancing shoes. I could hardly
believe what I was seeing. Tilly was patting her paws to the beat of Singing in the Rain,
and she couldn’t take her eyes off her Carol. It was beautiful. And it just shows how
versatile the smaller breeds can be given a committed and enthusiastic owner. Crufts? No
problem. See you there.
 Passport
to Crufts
Who else can take their pet to Crufts? Just about anyone thanks
to pet passports. The International Agility Invitational gave spectators a taste of
different handling styles and a chance to see dogs working over lower jump heights.
Jenny Damm with her collie Lotus is the current World Champion
and won this event. She is a joy to see running a course and has won many admirers in this
country and not just for her good looks - down boys!
 Sally
Andrews, another blond bombshell, was at Crufts
for the International and studiously watched the British compete. I wonder what she
thought of our dogs, the commentary, the courses and the carpet? An international event
for mini dogs would really shock the pants off people. The achievements of this size dog in
other countries are something we in Britain can only picture in our wildest imagination.
Overseas Visitors
Crufts draws visitors from around the world. The travel industry has
been seriously affected by the collapse of the World Trade Towers, but dog enthusiasts remain
undeterred. Who wants a rosette when you can buy solid silver collie earrings or discuss
worming with the Panacur expert? My friends from the Union Canine de Trelex in
Switzerland came to watch the agility and obedience and one of the things that they learned is
that it is impossible to be in two places at once. I just hope they don’t return home thinking
that we call the tunnel the 'black hole.'
Four days at Crufts is not everyone’s idea
of a holiday unless you love dogs like they do. And you have to enjoy meeting people and
catching up with old friends, whether they come from the next town or Tibet. I ran into people
who still remember me by the name I used before I remarried.
 World
Domination
Whether you are into agility, obedience, flyball or ring craft,
everyone likes to see their favourite breed do well at Crufts. This year, if you own a poodle
of any size or colour, you are a winner. Best in Show went to Standard Poodle Nord Ch. Topscore
Contradiction. Who cares if he’s from abroad? You may have objected to his pom-poms but
how can you resist his feisty character?
Jayne Bray
and her miniature poodle Harvest Geld for Aprika won the
Eukanuba Mini Challenge for the second time. Bob Ratcliffe made his umpteenth appearance with
his standard poodle Papushka Starlight Express in the ABC ring. And we have already seen a
poodle Obedience Champion few years back. There is only fly ball and heelwork to music left to
conquer.
 Champions
All
Everyone believes that their dogs are champions. They are. Don’t let
anyone tell you otherwise. If there were a competition for the dogs that can find and roll in
fox mess in the fastest time, my dogs would be winners. I spent my time at Crufts buying de-odorisers
and shampoos. You never know. The Kennel Club might recognize this sort of event in the future.
Stranger things have happened – Great Danes doing agility, Jack Russells doing heelwork to
music, dogs with passports... If you have always longed for a Crufts entry ticket for
your dog, don’t be surprised if one day your dreams come true.
 About
the author...
Mary Ann Nester
is a member of APDT. Born in the USA, she came to Britain in 1972 as a student. She
has pursued a mixed career - fruit picker, gymnastic coach, keep-fit instructor and academic
librarian. In 1997 she set up Aslan Enterprises, a dog-training school named after her first
agility dog.
Running Aslan, a lurcher dog, at agility
competitions got Mary Ann hooked on the sport and Bounty, a German Shepherd Dog, and Tam, the
Border Collie were soon added to the household.
Mary Ann's most successful dog to date has been Brillo
Pad, a Miniature Poodle who took her to Olympia and Crufts. Brillo also competed in the Draw
Challenge on National Lottery Live!, winning Mary Ann the privilege of pushing the button that
released the evening's lottery balls in front of millions of television viewers.
Daz, another miniature poodle and most recent addition,
was bought for competition in the Mini ring, but grew too tall! He has proved that size doesn't
matter. He entertained the crowds at Olympia as one of the 'fun dogs' and has strut his stuff
in the ABC competition (Any Breed but Collie) at Crufts. She and Daz
placed second in The Agility Club Midi Dog of the Year 2001.
Mary Ann is a member of the first British Team to compete
in the FCI World Championships 2001 in Portugal.
She has recently moved to Northamptonshire where she has
joined forces with Walkies the Dog Service to provide agility training classes and private
tuition from mid-April. For further details visit their web site
http://www.walkiesdogservice.co.uk.
Mary Ann is a frequently contributor to both The
Agility Eye and Agility Voice as well as Agilitynet.
| 