The Kennel Club Olympia Agility Stakes Finals 2006
Supported by Pedigree

From its humble beginnings as a demonstration event at Crufts in 1978, dog agility has seen huge growth in popularity and is now a worldwide sport. Part of the initial success of dog agility was without doubt the Agility Stakes Finals, held at the London Olympia International Horse Show. This event started in 1979 with a demonstration of dog jumping and has since grown into one of the most prestigious Singles Agility Finals in the world, equalled only by Crufts itself, fittingly sponsored by The Kennel Club and supported by Pedigree and Premier Showjumps.

The finals will be taking place at the Olympia International Hose Show on 14-18 December. As usual, we have five separate finals taking place, one on each day from Thursday to Monday.

Thursday
The first of these finals is Medium Dog Agility for those dogs measuring 35 -43cms at the withers. 20 heats were held at Kennel Club licensed shows throughout the UK with the top two going forward to a semi final held at Tatton Park, Cheshire in June and the top ten from this event are competing in the Grand Finals at Olympia.

For mini portraits of some of the dogs competing at Olympia this year with comments from their handlers, click here.

Last Minute Changes at Olympia 2006

In The Kennel Club Large Dog Agility Stakes on Saturday monring, Jane Seller with The Skye at Night (WSD) will now take the place of Ray Ellerton who recently lost of his dog Lightning Delph. On The Agility Forum, Dave Ray said, 'It is a sad loss of a very talented dog.'

Dianne Talbot has pulled out too, and is being replaced by Blair Willis with Alsorts of Magic (WSD)

Running order (below) is unchanged as the reserves will run in the slot that the previous handler would have run in.

Important Programme Changes
Unfortunately, the Olympia website is showing the incorrect times. These time changes are particularly important to the Novice handlers on Sunday. The major change is for novices on Sunday morning. Please, please ensure that you allow enough time to get there.  If you are not there in time, you may have missed it!

They're in the Post

All the envelopes to competitors will be in the post first class by Monday, 5 December. Sorry to say that Dianne Talbot has withdrawn. Her place will be taken by Blair Willis, the first reserve at the Semi where she qualified.

The Kennel Club Medium Dog Speed Jumping
Running Order

The Kennel Club Medium Dog Agility Stakes Grand Final
Running Order

Friday
On the Friday, it is the finals for Small Dogs which have to measure 35cms or under at the withers and this year we have a variety of breeds competing from Jack Russells to Poodles. Eleven heats were held at Kennel Club licensed shows and from these, the top two dogs from each heat went forward to a semi final at the City of Birmingham Championship Show. Then from this semi final, the top ten have been invited to compete at Olympia. What they lack in size, they certainly make up in personality, ability and speed!

The Kennel Club Small Dog Agility Pairs Relay
Running Order

The Kennel Club Small Dog Agility Stakes Grand Final
Running Order

Saturday
On the Saturday morning at Olympia, it is the finals of the original Kennel Club Agility Stakes competition - or perhaps we should say semi final as we have to start the morning off with a semi final. Thousands of dogs enter the 14 nationwide Kennel Club heats for this competition, the top ten competitors from each heat are invited forward to one of the seven semi finals and the top five from each semi final are invited to compete at this prestigious event at Olympia.

With 35 dogs coming forward to Olympia on the Saturday morning in the Main Arena we have a semi final, the top ten of which qualify for the Grand Finals on the Saturday night with the next ten being invited to compete in another event on the Saturday afternoon. So you can be sure of one thing - you will be seeing the very best of the UK’s senior and advanced dogs competing!

This competition is open to dogs measuring over 43cms at the withers and almost all the dogs will be Border Collies or Working Sheepdogs. These really are the athletes of Large Dog Agility so it is sure to be one of the most exciting finals this year.

The Kennel Club Large Dog Agility Stakes Semi Final
Running Order 

The Kennel Club  Dog Agility Stakes Speed Knockout 

Dogs and handlers placed 11th to 20th in the morning Semi Finals 

The Kennel Club Large Dog Agility Stakes Grand Final 

Dogs and handlers placed 1st to 10th in the morning Semi Finals 

Sunday
On Sunday, we have a fairly recent addition - The Kennel Club Novice Agility Stakes. This is for Large dogs over 43cms at the withers but at the time of qualifying, all the dogs must have been eligible for the Novice classification of agility. Fifteen heats were held at Kennel Club licensed agility shows and this is by far the most popular qualification event, with up to 1,000 dogs in each one of these qualifying shows with the top three dogs going forward from each class, or part of, if numbers dictated a split.

These top dogs from the heats go forward to a semi final which this year was held at the City of Birmingham Championship Show with over 60 dogs competing. Then from these 60 dogs, the top 35 were invited to compete in the Grand Hall at Olympia on Sunday morning with the top 10 from this Olympia semi final going forward to compete in the Kennel Club Novice Agility Stakes Finals on Sunday evening and those placed 11th to 20th invited to compete in a competition during the matinee performance. So this is another competition where the selection process ensures that only the very best agility dogs are competing in what I’m sure will be an extremely exciting final.

The Kennel Club  Novice Agility Stakes Semi Final
Running Order

The Kennel Club  Novice Agility Pairs Relay

Dogs and handlers placed 11th to 20th in the morning Semi Finals 

The Kennel Club Novice Agility Stakes Grand Final 

Dogs and handlers placed 1st to 10th in the morning Semi Finals 

Monday
On the final day of Olympia, it is the turn of the ABC dogs - or I should say the 'Anything But a Collie' dogs. As with all the competitions at Olympia, the handlers and dogs have had to qualify via a rigorous process just to compete in the finals at Olympia. Twenty heats were held at Kennel Club licensed shows, a 50 dog semi final was held at an event held by Newton Heath Dog Training Club at Tatton Park and the top 10 dogs have come forward to the final day at Olympia.

This is always a great competition with many different breeds competing and this year we have Crossbreeds, a Beardie, a German Shepherd, Belgian Shepherds, and another breed which is becoming very popular in dog agility, the Australian Kelpie - or the ‘Australian Rocket’ as some people call them. Therefore this will be a fast and furious finale to the dog agility at Olympia this year.

The Kennel Club ABC Speed Jumping
Running Order

 The Kennel Club ABC Agility Stakes Grand Finals
Running Order

If you want any information about dog agility or indeed any Kennel Club activity then do pop along to the Kennel Club Stand where each day you may even be able to meet one of the stars of the show - the dogs themselves! We will also have some dog agility experts on hand to offer any advice and help they can if you are thinking of taking up dog agility as a hobby.

So whichever day you visit the London International Showjumping Championships this year, you are definitely going to see some of the most exciting and fast agility competitions that the agility world has to offer, including handlers who have competed in the Championships at Crufts and represented the United Kingdom at the World Agility Championships which were recently held in Switzerland. For the competitors, qualifying for the Agility Stakes Finals at Olympia is the best Christmas present they could have - but of course the final accolade would be to take home one of the beautiful pieces of Kennel Club crystal engraved with the words “Kennel Club Agility Stakes Winner - Olympia 2006”.

Who's on When at Olympia?

After a very exciting year of qualifying competitions, we are very pleased to publish the list of events at Olympia this year 14-18 December at the Olympia Exhibition Centre, London. along with the list of handlers who have qualified. The events this year are as follows.

Thursday, 14 December

The Kennel Club Medium Dog Agility Stakes Finals
Supported by Premier Agility

Afternoon performance: Medium Jumping Class
Evening performance: Medium Dog Agility Stakes Finals

Medium Dog Agility Stakes Finals Supported by Premier Agility
Handler	Dog
Carol Wallace	Last of the Summer Wine
Fiona Vaughan	Hooligan Nell
Karen Smith	Mission Accomplished
Amanda Hampson	Winfren Vulpecula Kayla
Petra Craven-Houghton	Defeur’s Bracken Bank
Rosie Ison	The Cartoon Classic
Hannah Mitchell	Shanandi Hit and Run
Karen Bugler	Niaben Gaelic Storm
Suzanna Dry	Dazzling Lady Gemma
Pamela Keith	Telshador Handsome Hamish

Friday, 15 December

The Kennel Club Small Dog Agility Stakes Finals
Supported by Pedigree

Afternoon performance: Small Dog Pairs Relay
Evening performance: Small Dog Agility Stakes Finals

Small Dog Agility Stakes Finals Supported by Pedigree
Handler	Dog
Dawn Weaver	Piquant Painted Sunshine
Alan Bray	Harvest Geld for Aprika
Dave Alderson	Steelthorn Rum Truffle
Susie Josty	Spratt Attack
Linda Hutchinson	Upanova New Edition
Miranda Frankham	Chandling Idiots Charger
Sharon Brewster	Upanova Limited Edition
David Sweeney	Peartbrook Silver Dream
Helen Davey-Smith	Rescue Me Henry
Angela Sallis	Zeta the Dark One

Saturday, 16 December

The Kennel Club Large Dog Agility Stakes Finals
Supported by Pedigree

Morning performance: Large Dogs Agility Stakes Semi Finals (35 dogs to run)
Afternoon performance: Large Dog Speed Knockout (dogs placed 11th-20th in morning semi final)
Evening performance: Large Dog Agility Stakes Finals (top ten from morning semi finals)

Large Dog Agility Stakes Finals supported by Pedigree
Handler	Dog
Paul Oldfield	KK Magic Spirit
Marc Saunders	The Dark Dasher of Clybonn
Greg Derrett	Withersfarm Sproglett
Lorna Peachey	Killiebrae Ammo
Amanda Pigg	The Jagged Edge
Helen Nelson	Wholly Chad
Ray Ellerton	Lightning Delph
Jayne Bray	Special Edition at Upanova
Jo Rhodes	Llangwm Moravia Kaesie
David Ryan	Bucks Blue
Janet Thrift	Bekki’s Touch and Go
Natasha Wise	Eastern Lyric
Sharon Eldridge	Canen Chip
Rita Johnson	Gotta Go Jo Jo
Karen Laker	Bekki’s Thaumaturge
Nic Jones	Slieve Caleb
Dianne Talbot	Paws for Breath
Rob Davies	Magical Liquorice Alsorts
Simon Peachey	Forby for Turbo Diesel
Sue Rolfe	Kestrel GTX
Toni Dawkins	Spellcast Made in Heaven
Alan Bray	Lunarlite Selena’s Tiger at Upanova
Ian Jackson	Taliswood Temptation
Chris Cole	Magic Charmer
Ian Smith	Nutmeg of Windermere
Gemma Hanekom	Forest Trail
Hege Hurdwell	Snazzy Tazzy
David Alderson	Waggerland Spice
Lynne Ward	Waggerland Kite
Lee Windeatt	Tenita Princess Lyla
Pat Brown	Bailstails First Edition
David Munnings	Mister Billy Whizz
Lee Gibson	Taddymoor Jack
Alyson Martin	Waggerland Sunny Jim
Hannah Banks	Wildkap Wannabe

Sunday, 17 December

The Kennel Club Large Dog Novice Agility Stakes
Supported by Pedigree

Morning performance: Novice Agility Stakes Semi Finals (35 dogs to run)
Afternoon performance: Novice Pairs Relay (dogs placed 11th-20th in morning semi final)
Evening performance: Novice Agility Stakes Finals (top ten from morning semi finals)

Novice Dog Agility Stakes Finals Supported by Pedigree
Handler	Dog
Brad Moyler	Persian Spice
Kathrin Tasker	Ell for Leather
Leslie Osborne	Billy Be Good
Sarah Stokoe	Highfield High Jinx
Tamara Hollands	Touchango Fizz It Tiz
Jason Smith	Lynwood Mist
Jo Richardson	Waggerland Away
Denise Wilkinson	Tinker TIa
Laura Derrett	Silvertips Fly Catcher
Mark Powell	Waggerland Who
Leah Gardner	Chaffords Hyper Connection
Selena Short	Go Geddum
Dave Jolly	Shanowl on a Mission
Morag Kelly	Redi Stedi Rapid Rhythm
Gwyn Roberts	Taffi Thomas
Hilary Bowden	Spider Beside Her
Mel Doyle	Norvellyne Jade
Tom Green	Blimey Brocko
James Cook	Comebyanyway Panda Tmy Wins
Bill Chuter	Richta Bobby Dazzler
Yvonne Croxford	Motley Maddie Meister
Julie Smith	Springdale Haphazard Harry
Lucy O’Neill	Doodle Bug
Sue Marsh	Charleston Athletic
Sarah Osborne	Bad Behaviour
Laura Innes	Redwood Trail Blazer
Jo Thorpe	Buddy Well Jazzed Up
Maxine McGoldrick	Glen’s Golden Girl
Sue Choux	Lunarlite’s Sassay Lassy
Diane Graves	Clay Your Cards Right
Lorna Whytock	Woo Woo Blue Fox
Liz Mutton	Tansy to a T
Mike Douglas	MNM’s Deed Ream Believer
Dawn Weaver	Cascades Heavenly Promise
Lyn Cusdin	Matomba Tembo

Monday, 18 December

The Kennel Club ABC Agility Stakes
Supported by Pedigree

Afternoon performance: ABC Speed Jumping
Evening performance: ABC Agility Stakes Finals

ABC Agility Stakes Finals Supported by Pedigree
Handler	Dog
Daphne Loveland	Dragonheart Tyke
Petra Craven-Houghton	Mr Defeur D'oh
Nigel Staines	Dragonheart Dark Destroyer
Andy Brown	Heidron Chasing Stormy Sky
Melanie Engelbrecht	Spirit of Thomas
Brenda Hollis	Baudwin Cappamore
Keira McGrouther	Precious Skip
Colin Skeaping	Pelham Tully
Niki Keeler	Nickila Highland Cruise
Carl Lumley	Woolstone Dingo Dile

Most performances are already sold out so it is extremely advisable to order tickets early. This can be carried out online at www.olympiashowjumping.com

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