Running commentary...

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? One agility handler who prefers to remain nameless but we'll call 'Groundhog' has compiled a review of the ground he/she has had to run on so far this year with a recommendation to avoid anything with less than three stars especially if you’re over 50! This is strictly about the ground to run on, nothing more. Judgement has not been passed on other aspects of the show venue like exercise areas, the nature of the show or its organisation. You are welcome to add your comments on the running surface of some of the venues you've been to this year.

Doing agility is tough on your body: you run, turn, twizzle, point shoulders, hurl arms out at awkward angles, and all at great speed. As you get older, all these things become a bigger strain. Any injury you suffer takes a long time to recover from; old injuries from your youth come back to haunt you.

So if you’re old, you need decent ground to run on, just to get round and preserve what remains of your mobility. If you’re middle-aged you need decent ground to run on so that you don’t give yourself nasty injuries or make worse the aches and pains you are already beginning to have. And if you’re young you should have good ground to run on, because it's better to avoid getting those injuries that are going to come back to haunt you in thirty years time.

When once I twisted my knee rather badly in a hole on  a course, and the judge said rather aggrievedly, 'Well you were the only one!'

I couldn't help the retort that sprang to my lips: 'Well, how many were you hoping for then?'

Show	Venue	Rating	Comments
Wye Valley April Show	Vauxhill Fields	1/2	Despite being wet and a bit muddy the ground stood up well to the weather conditions, and was comparatively flat to run on. By Summer show stars 4.
Dashin' Dogs (Easter)	Tattenhall		Lumpy, bumpy, hilly, and hard. Very difficult to run on.
Various shows:	Newbury Showground	1/2	Bit worn in places, otherwise excellent
Shrewsbury	West Midlands Showground	1/2	Bit spongy, otherwise excellent.
Beacon	Veseyan Sports & Social Club	+	Perfect. The sort of surface every show should aim for.
Tunbridge	Ardingley		Bit worn, otherwise excellent.
Gillingham	Turnpike Showground		Bit bumpy, grass longish and quite a lot of sheep pooh.
Dartmoor	The Grange outdoors	None	Can anyone truly believe this bumpy lumpy hill was suitable for running on?
Worcester	Holt Heath	1/2	Some rings better than others, on the bumpy side, but manageable and mostly flat.
RVA	East of England Showground		Excellent flat ground, well maintained.
Newton Heath	Tatton Park	1/2	Good flat ground, some rings slightly rougher than others.
Lansdowne	Lansdowne Race Course		Okay, bit hard in places. Remnants of concrete underneath some rings?
Various shows in Cornwall	Stithians	1/2 to	Varies a bit depending on which part of showground is used, but mostly flat and grass is soft and springy.
Various shows in Cornwall	Royal Cornwall Showground, Wadebridge		Ground okay wherever show is held on this ground. Sometimes a bit dirty but again grass soft and springy.
Blackdown Agility Society	Rugby Club at Bridgwater	1/2	Good, flat and firm, very few bumps.
Caerphilly	Tredegar House, Newport		Excellent. Firm and flat, well maintained.
South Devon	Abbrook Park		Excellent. Good ground, firm, flat and well maintained. And good news as this club’s previous venue would not have rated any stars at all!
UKA Show at Cheltenham	Dowty’s Sports & Social Club	+	Absolute perfection. The sort of surface every show should aim for.
Dashin' Dogs (Summer)	Tattenhall	None	Abysmal, brick hard, lumpy, full of tractor ruts , and truly appalling to run on.
KC International Agility Festival	East of England Showground	1/2  to	Because the show grew like topsy some rings much better than others. Outer rings were poor, though inner rings usual high standard of this showground.
Pembroke	Withybush Airfield		Good ground, gets a bit worn in places. Takes weather quite well, one of the few show grounds where sawdust  is sprinkled liberally if any mud appears.

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