 |
4th Height Jumping
As
an agility handler of more than 20 years, Ann Harmes has seen many changes in our sport, mostly
she would say for the better. It is amazing to see how agility has grown and developed - indeed
beyond recognition - from when she first started competing with her crazy working sheepdog-
although, some things never change! When asked to write this piece for the
4th Height Supporters Group, she thought it would be of
value to canvas the views of her friends, and those whom she admires within the sport, both as
handlers and professionals. Here she shares their thoughts as well as her own in a differing
perspective. |
 |
101 Tips for Newbies
For
those going to their first ever agility trial or their first show with a young/new dog, here
are some words of advice from seasoned competitors in no particular order, as compiled by Carla
Ruigh from the AGILE E-list. And don't forget everyone was a Beginner once.
|
 |
Another
Look at the FCI Worlds
Ask
people anywhere in the agility world what the biggest and best international agility
competition is and they will likely tell you it’s the FCI World Championships.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Sounds all-inclusive. To be World Champion! The
best of all the best, right? Not quite. UK and international competitor Bonny
Quick wonders why the agility community continues to support international
'pedigree only' competitions when so many of our 'good' dogs are excluded. |
 |
The Anatomy of a Show: Thoughts of a Show Manager
Roy Wilce was sitting on his patio
in the sun with a coffee, and a collie lying at his feet. Life was good. The Show had
gone well, but his thoughts about it keeping turning over in his brain like some demonic
tumble-dryer. 'Perhaps...', he thought, 'it will help if I unload everything onto paper.'
(05/07/00) |
 |
The Appliance of Science
At
first glance you could be forgiven for thinking that agility judge and keen
observer Alan Waddington has lost the
plot, but I urge you to read this series of mini-articles, They might make you change the way you read an
agility course even if it does not make your financial investment decisions any
easier. So hold onto your hats... here we go. The Isaac Newton Dog Training
Academy presents the impact of the laws of nature on dog agility. |
 |
Bitten by
the Bug
A little while ago, Theresa McAteer read
something that not only made her smile, it made her think back over the last four years
to a time when she was free of this contagious disease called Agility. She wrote this
article for the Letchworth DTC Agility newsletter about how she and her husband caught
the bug. |
 |
Competition Nerves at Crufts
Performance anxiety affect most agility competitors at some point during their
agility career. Kaye Medcalf went as a reporter for Agilitynet to Crufts, to
find out the techniques the top young handlers and Championship competitors have
for managing the pressures of competing, especially in front of large
audiences. |
 |
Dan Shaw
Interview on Being a Groom
When one qualifies for most big agility events like Crufts, Olympia and
the various World Championships, it is traditional to take a groom
(usually a friend) with you. The groom's job is basically to make the
handler's day easier. In 2024, Dan Shaw was grooming for his partner
Dave Munnings with Legacy in the Championship and he was helping Martin
Reid and Naarah Cuddy with their ten million qualified dogs in the
Singles. Of course, extra love had to be given to his home bred girl,
Runbye Going Banananas! In an interview with photographer Linda Gore, he
explains what a groom at Crufts usually does. |
 |
Day Parking
Most agility show organisers
put a lot of time and thought into working out the layout of their show.
They assess the risks of moving traffic and do their best to make the
showground as safe a place as possible. It's an agility issue as well.
Why are there always some people who take advantage of a good thing?
asks Christine Short |
|
 |
Designing Courses is Quite Difficult!
There's been a lot of debate
recently about the suitability of courses for a particular type of class. Some
competitors are quick to criticise when things are not right for them, but very rarely
give praise when things go well. Judges too, can misunderstand what their objective
should be when designing a course. Barrie Harvey, Chairman of The Agility Club, puts
forward his point of view. |
 |
Angelo 'Doc' Docherty
Angelo 'Doc' Docherty's path into judging was not an easy one as he did
not come through the usual agility training route. Nevertheless he is
celebrated his 300th Kennel Club appointment in 2018 and looking for
more. |
 |
First Show
The
number of people competing in the sport of agility has increased dramatically over the last few
years and consequently there are many more shows - small, medium, large and huge. And all can
be not just a little daunting if it is your first time competing. If you are a newcomer
to the sport, here are a few tips from Sally Rowe to help make your debut more successful. |
 |
Global Judging
Week
after week, agility judges all around the country set courses to test of our
ability. If we struggle, we can go away and train these challenges further. So
surely developing our judges so they set safe and appropriate yet challenging
courses is in all our interests? Most judges will at some point have taken
assessments or exams and following successful completion gone off to judge. And
that, for the majority, is where their professional development ends as there
has been nothing to cater for them in this regard. Until now... Becky Dixon
reports on the Global Judging Program (GJP). |
 |
Going Veggie
In 2016 Cat Clark was admitted to hospital with sepsis from an
infection. When she returned home, she was left with Chronic Fatigue.
Her doctors told her they couldn’t help her, so after some research, she
decided to remove both dairy and meat from her diet. Sounds completely
crazy and impossible, doesn't it, but it worked! |
 |
Good
Judges List
With
all the recent talk about judges on the Agility Forum and around the rings, it's obviously that
there is a great disparity among judges. What makes one judge standout from another?
Would you agree that the judge sets the tone for the ring. After a long weekend with a judge
who obviously felt nothing but contempt for the handlers, American Arlyn Sigeti, herself a
judge, wrote this list of the qualities that she values in a judge. |
 |
How to be a Mini Winner
Getting to the top of your sport is not easy. It takes more than a good dog and a good
handler to make an agility round look simple. What do the ten Olympia mini finalist have
that the rest of us lack? What turns a competitor into a winner? To find out, Mary Ann
Nester went to the Pedigree Smackos Mini Agility Stakes Final held at the Olympia
International Show Jumping Championships and spoke to the handlers, judge and sponsors.
(04/01/02) |
 |
How
to Self Isolate at a Show
Having
spent most of his Dog Agility life first scribing, then scriming, scoring and
enjoying bacon butties, Alan Waddington feels he is well placed to make a plea
on behalf of the lonely long distance scrimer. For many of you out there in
Agility-land, what happens to the scrimer is not high on the list of your dog
agility priorities. Compared to learning new handling techniques and the highs
and lows of success and failure, what happens to the person sitting in front of
the timer, watching the judge, is unlikely to pop up on your radar. Alan
Waddington would like you to spare a thought for the person who has selflessly given up their time to
record your round. |
|
 |
Is Agility Going the Way of the Dinosaur?
One theory about the
demise of the dinosaur was that changing climates brought about a relatively rapid change
in the vegetation. The dinosaur’s digestive system could not adapt to this different
diet, and they became extinct due to chronic constipation. Aileen
Clarke sticks her neck out and asks 'Are agility competitions heading the same
way?' (06/08/02) |
 |
Judge's Special
Patch Guipago explains what
these very special rosette's have meant to her and her deaf collie Defa. |
 |
The Morning
After... Tuffley 2003
Ramblings of a show organiser
and other reflections by Rob White.
(10/07/03) |
 |
Moving Up
To move up on points or wait for that elusive win - that was the question Lindy
Margach faced with her talented yellow lab Bracken.
(22/11/08) |
 |
My First Show: A Wet Wet Wet
Introduction to Agility
When Chris Bradley
started agility training two years ago, she simply wanted to do it for fun. Being
completely non-competitive and with a life-long horror of performing anything solo in
front of others, she had no ambition to compete. |
 |
On Being a Team Player
Teams - love 'em or hate 'em. Just why do we do it? Dawn Williams talks
about some of the advantages and disadvantages of running on a team.
(21/07/03) |
 |
One Wheel or Two?
You may have noticed judges walking around agility
courses with a strange unicycle type contraption. These are known as measuring wheels and
they are used to help judges set a
realistic course time. Lynne Shore explains... |
 |
Paul
Oldfield's Show League Table
Paul Oldfield has done his own end of the year list of shows that he attended, ranking
them in order of points achieved. He stresses that these are his own personal opinions. |
|
 |
Puppies & Agility Shows
Are they compatible. Chief Crufts vet
Trevor Turner
points forward The Kennel Club point of view.
(02/12/01) |
 |
Recruiting Volunteers Can be Fun - Revisited
Yes folks, it's that time of year
again. We all know that it can be difficult to get enough helpers to run an agility show.
If a lot of people did a little, few would be burdened down with too much. Chris Hack,
Show Secretary of Trent Park DAC, has come up with this ingenious device for recruiting
club members. (11/07/00) |
 |
Ring Etiquette
Rules of etiquette control the behaviour of
particular social groups or social occasions and the agility circuit is no exception.
(08/05/05) |
 |
Ring Party Jobs
There's fear of
flying, fear of falling and fear of failure but are agility people developing a new fear - fear
of ring parties. Is it because they think it is someone else's job, are too stressed to help,
have too many dogs to run or just don't understand what's involved? We asked the Agility
Whisperer to pontificate... (14/05/10) |
 |
Ring
Party Procedure Manual
The Cornwall AC Ring Party Procedure Manual was put this together a
while back, after the Committee heard that some competitors were 'too scared' to
offer to help at shows as they simply did not know what was involved. Some of it
will be specific to CAC but a lot of it applies to most shows, regardless of
whether operating on a manual system or an electronic system. Thank you
to Kim Lawer and the CAC Committee for sharing their new, updated
version. Hope it helps! |
 |
Ring Partying
To celebrate all the people who
help make an agility show happen, the Scottish Kennel Club Agility held
a photo competition for all helpers and ring parties at their August
Show.
Here are some of the entries. Can you suggest some captions… |
 |
Ring Rage
Chris Smith is a mild mannered person, not given to tantrums
and rages. Aside from the odd moment she may simmer but she rarely boils over - with one
exception... (05/09/02) |
 |
Running an Aggressive Dog at a Show
Agility isn't just a hobby. It's a way of life. For dogs, it can literally
be a lifesaver, boosting confidence and giving dogs an outlet for
excessive energy. It's important to us all that agility is a positive an
safe experience. Sadly though, it seems increasingly that people are
putting dogs into the ring that may be come so stressed that they feel
the need to attack.Agility Voice Editor Jill Spurr has kindly
agreed to share her article.
(17/07/23) |
 |
Setting a course for Judging
Getting the course right on the day can make or break a show for people.
Lin Bergan shares some of her thoughts on designing courses for the right level of
competitor. (07/02/04) |
|
 |
Should We Take Advanced Out of Intermediate?
Should we or shouldn’t we? What are the arguments for and
against? Three top handlers present their opinions - Jo Sermon (pro), Dave Cooper (con)
and Mary Anne Nester with the Mini/Midi point of view. Read both sides of the argument
and then vote on this hot topic on Rachel's Mini Poll.
(29/07/02) |
 |
Show Ground Reviews
Given it's in everybody’s interest to have
decent ground to run on, why do some clubs persist in treating this criterion as a
negligible one? Agility handler Groundhog, who prefers to remain anonymous, reviews the
running surfaces of some of the venues they've run on this year. |
|
 |
The Show Secretary & The Rain Queen
A behind the scenes look at the run up to an agility show by
Gerhard Zeigler, Show Secretary of Empingham DTC.
(16/06/02) |
|
 |
So You're Going to Judge for the First Time
You're pleased. You're flattered. You're
terrified. You've suddenly realised there might be some things you might not know or
haven’t been told about. Experienced judge Lesley Wilks
passes on some tips for newbie judges on what to do on your big debut.
(14/12/02) |
 |
Show 'n' Go: Never Say Never
Quasar has had dogwalk problems from the
very beginning. At 12 weeks he fell off, and it took nine months to get him back on the
equipment. For nine months his owner Cindy Knowlton encouraged him with praise, a ball,
his favourite dog treats, ice cream and his laser, until finally one day he took a leap
of faith and scurried across. Cindy knew that he just needed experience, but how many new
dogwalks would it take? Entering a show 'n' go was the only answer.
(21/10/99) |
 |
Show Wish List 2003
Brenda Tenten's little list of
some of the things which would make our agility shows even more fun!
(08/07/03) |
 |
Sky's the
Limit
It seems only a shor time
ago that vet Peter van Dongen was writing about his puppy Sky. Time flies and Sky is now
old enough to compete. Would she live up to her predecessor Basil? Here is the
story of Sky's debut on the show circuit.
(18/04/04) |
   |
Talking the Course
Handlers get the chance before the contest
to 'Walk the Course' before they run it. So why shouldn't judges have the opportunity to
'Talk the Course' afterwards to explain and, if necessary, justify the rationale
behind it. (28/07/04) |
|
 |
Taryntimer
User's Guide: Time & Time Again
Martin Pollard is supplying electronic timing to
more than 40 shows around the country this year. It is possible it may be used in your
ring then or at another show in the future. In this case whether are a judge, a show
secretary or competitor, you may find this guide useful. And if you have any doubts about
the inevitability of electronic timing, try the simple little test at the end of this
article. (12/02/01) |
|
 |
YOU Make the Call
Have you ever sat in the dentist's waiting room, flipping
through the pages of Seventeen or Cosmo and passing the time by
filling in those cheeky questionnaires to find out if you were a wallflower or a glam
queen, a thoughtful lover or a selfish cad? Now you've got your chance to find out
whether you be a good, bad or indifferent agility judge. And you don't even need a pencil
- just press a key and your score is computed for you. You may not like the result,
but you probably didn't like what Cosmo had to say about you either! (17/10/01) |
