Possibly the biggest agility dog show ever staged in the UK, the KC International Agility Festival is the only world class Agility competition which is open to any type of dog, regardless of breeding. With more than 2,000 dogs running in 16 competitions rings, this years show required amazing levels of co-ordination and hard work. But they say the sun shines on the righteous and the event basked in glorious sunshine for the entire weekend.

With over 600 caravans on site, the Festival, bedecked with the flags of all the nations taking part, enjoyed a carnival atmosphere. The ice cream vendors saw long queues forming and Kookaburra Coffee sold out of cold drinks on Saturday and sold as many iced coffees in two days as are normally sold in two months, as the sun beamed down on the event.

Clive Hildersley, who not only judged, but also helped from set up on Tuesday morning to packing up on Sunday night said, 'This has been one of the best Agility events I have ever attended. Without exception, every competitor I have spoken to has had a marvellous time and are all agreed that they are definitely returning next year.'

The Kennel Club trialled a brand new computerised scoring system at the Festival – a first for agility in the UK. IT company, I-Mast Technologies Ltd used a Wi-Fi network and provided PCs in rings to record results. The first day of competition saw a few teething problems, as the difficulties of working in the middle of a rural showground made themselves known, but as the weekend went on the benefits of this innovation were being seen with results being finalised much more quickly and all results being posted on awards boards. All the results from the competition are available on the Kennel Club’s agility micro-site at www.kcagility.org.uk . With over 100 hits to the site on the morning after the Festival, the new service certainly appeared to be a hit with agility enthusiasts.

A further innovation at the Festival saw the most successful competitors in the KC Starters Cup and KC Novice Cup all qualifying for Crufts for the first time. Crufts places for the top overseas competitors in the British Open competition were also available, and Debbie Deuchar handed out special invitations to Crufts with rosettes for the lucky finalists.

The Festival saw significantly more competitors from overseas making the trip to the UK to take part, with over 22 countries represented in the Nations Cup competition. A strong contingent of competitors from Spain made it to the Festival despite being delayed at Calais with some Pet Passport irregularities. At one point it was feared that their dogs would not make it to the showground to take part and, with typical agility camaraderie, UK competitors rallied round with offers to lend dogs to the Spanish competitors for their classes. The Spaniards were reunited with their dogs in time for competition and went on to win the Nations Cup for Small dogs.

Michel Leikens, the specially invited Belgian judge of the Starters and Novice Cup Finals, agreed that the event had been a tremendous success and was really making a name for itself on the international stage: 'To see the extent to which this event has grown in just three years is amazing. It has been a wonderful show, which I have thoroughly enjoyed, and I can’t wait to come back next year.'

A special presentation area, crowned with the trade stand of event sponsor Arden Grange and a Kennel Club pavilion showcasing the impressive array of crystal trophies, saw appreciative crowds gathering throughout the day to cheer those who had excelled in their classes. Winners of the Finals won crystal trophies and will have their names engraved onto the perpetual trophies held at the Kennel Club, and each received bags of Arden Grange dog food.

Steve Croxford, Finals Manager at the Festival, commented, 'The standard of competition improves every year and it was fantastic to see how many top flight competitors from overseas made it over here to the Festival. I would like to offer our thanks to Michel Leikens and Mia Laamanen, our overseas judges, for setting such challenging and interesting courses and for bringing such wonderful weather with them.

The Festival also attracted considerable interest in the local area with approximately 500 members of the public coming to take in the best that dog agility has to offer. Anglia TV spent several hours filming and regular bulletins on the show appeared on TV throughout the weekend. They were particularly interested in the colourful Nations Cup which saw national teams all wearing bibs displaying their national flags, sponsored by dogfriendly.co.uk.

The Kennel Club Roadshow stand was also in attendance and saw brisk trade, with a raffle raising over £195 for the Charitable Trust. Further funds were raised with the sale of 400 dog pull toys which had kindly been donated to the Kennel Club Roadshow by Pedigree. The raffle prizes had been donated by every one of the twenty trade stands in attendance.

Dave Ray, Competition Manager, commented, 'Our thanks go to all the trade stands for their generosity and for supporting the Festival and the Charitable Trust. This has been a wonderful event and all the trade stands have played their parts in contributing to this success. I would also like to thank Jean Shayler for working so tirelessly to provide not only breakfast, lunch and dinner to the entire show ground, but also the judges’ and officials’ lunches and dinners – not an easy task in the middle of a showground.'

Two further raffles were held for the army of helpers at the Festival. Hinckley Dog Training Club, having contributed an entire ring party to the Festival, won an A frame donated by Adams Agility Equipment. A further raffle was held for all those who contributed their time on an individual basis over the weekend and an agility see-saw, donated by Premier Agility Equipment, was won by Ms G Foster.

A microchipping service was offered by Pet ID, which saw many interested customers given the opportunity to permanently identify their dogs with the Kennel Club’s microchipping database, Petlog. Agility measuring was also on offer, and many people travelled from across the country to take advantage of this service and to enjoy the Festival itself.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, 'The Festival has been a huge success and a real joy to attend.  It has been getting bigger and better each year and we are sure that the success of this year’s event means that its reputation and standard of competition cannot fail but to grow. The Festival was conceived to showcase the best that all agility dogs have to offer – cross breeds as well as pedigree dogs. Our sincere thanks go to all the competitors and organisers who have contributed to putting the Festival at the top of the premier league of agility shows in the world.'

Doug Lowes of K9 Time, who provided timing services to all competition rings was also impressed by the organisation of the event: 'As usual I came to set everything up first thing in the morning only to find I could have had an extra hour in bed as the ring managers had done such a fantastic job. To see a show of this size go without any hitches was very impressive'.

Show Secretary, Debbie Deuchar said, 'Our sincerest thanks go to the huge army of dedicated helpers who all contributed to make this such a successful event and without whom this event would simply never have happened. The dedication of agility enthusiasts to their sport is already well known but this weekend was something very special. Ring managers, ring party members, commentators, staff and officials as well as their friends and family members all contributed to make this event so great.'

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