Giving dogs a second chance

The Finals

The 2010 SupaDarl Finals were hosted once again by RVA at Just Dogs Live show. The show was, held at the East of England Showground on 10 July. Because they were held on the Saturday rather than the usual Friday, they had  had almost a full turnout of invitees. Organiser Karen Fuller reports.

Over 150 rescue agility dogs had qualified for the SupaDarl finals. All heights, shapes and sizes of second-hand dog were brought together in this unique event to celebrate their achievements. The qualifiers are decided by the results from the previous years SupaDarl League.

Lynne Shore kindly agreed to judge the event this year. Considering that the brief is not an easy one due to the large numbers of dogs, heights and categories, she did a fantastic job with great courses to suit the occasion.

The ring was situated next to the grandstand which allowed our spectators to watch the event from the comfort and relative cool of the shade on one of the hottest days of the year. Although I did miss the atmosphere and banter from the ringside that the event usually generates, at least everyone except our poor judge was able to find some shade. 'The Team consisting of Jackie Bulmer, Lynne Kelly and Renee Patience who commentated - and almost managed not to cry reading out the stories - put in  the usual hard work they do every year, for which I am extremely grateful. Thank you to our extra helpers, Liz Brown, Joanne and Christopher Berry, Brian and Joyce Hazel, Amanda Brophy, Enid G and everyone else who pitched in on the day.

I must add a huge thank you to our sponsors Burgess Pet Care who allow us to provide such wonderful trophies and prizes. Their generosity also provides a finalists rosette and bag of food for everyone who qualifies and goodie bags for our helpers.

One of the thank-you letters I received from Ruth Grint summed up the event far better then I can:

'To all concerned, I just wanted to say a huge and heartfelt thank-you to everyone who was involved with the SupaDarl finals. It was a wonderful day, the rosettes were superb and the trophies looked amazing. A special word must go to Lynne Shore who despite the blistering heat, had a smile, a clap and a kind word no matter how badly we did. Thank-you too, to the sponsors too for the food and hopefully we can qualify again next year.'

Full results, photos and videos can be found on the website

Anyone wishing to register for this years league has until 30 September 2010 to do so. Points can be backdated. Please see the website for more information.

Judges Report by Lunne Shore
I was delighted to have been invited by Karen Fuller and the SupaDarl Rescue League as I have the  greatest  admiration for anyone who is willing to spend a great deal of time and patience to develop a bond of trust and love with their 'second-hand' dogs. To qualify for the finals each partnership had to be exceptionally consistent over the past year and some well-known combinations amongst the qualifiers. 

The big day for all the rescue dogs and their handlers had finally arrived – dry, bright and eventually very hot. Unfortunately, there was very little available shade by the ring, as this was situated in the main arena, surrounded by a speedway track. This was when the arena's permanent stands became very useful, providing much needed shade for those waiting to compete. It did mean however, that competitors had to walk across the speedway track to reach the ring – probably about 30 metres each way. One competitor did comment after her run, that it was like the 'walk of shame' after her little dog had decided she couldn't possibly do any work!

I designed all the courses so that handlers and dogs could enjoy themselves and celebrate reaching the final. My aim was to try to encourage forward movement with elements of handling 'at speed', while not being too 'trappy'or a 'runners' courses. 

The Jumping course in the morning was a G1-7 - an old style Open which everyone ran at their own height - with awards for the different categories. The aim was to give everyone a chance to settle their nerves, and there were some lovely runs in all the classes. A number of times I did have a quiet chuckle as some of the characters of the rescue dogs shone through!  A couple of terriers 'growled' their way round whilst others just looked as though they were laughing, probably saying 'come on keep up!'

In the afternoon, the Agility Finals had two different courses which were run in the following categories:

• Large Grades 5-7

• Large G3-4

• Medium G4-7

• Small G4-7

The other course was for:

• Large G1

• Large G2

• Small G1-3

• Mediums G1-3. 

It seemed that the nerves had eased in most cases as handlers seemed far more relaxed and the majority of errors came from missed contacts.

In the Large categories, Leah Gardner had two superb runs with Herbie and Hex, winning both the Large G5-7 and Large G3-4 Jumping classes. Hex then did the double by winning the Large 3-4 Agility class.  Helen Davey-Smith and Pops did the most stunning faultless round in 27.987 secs to win the Large G5-7 Agility class with Becca Middleton and Kit hot on her heels in a time of 28.279 secs. Grade 1 saw Linda Manning and Maximum Bounce take both top awards. Sue Mather and Lingfield Scout had a great run and took 1^st place in the Grade 2 Agility.

In the Medium classes, Naomi Harriman and her little poodle Zippy claimed the double with both the G4-7 Jumping and Agility with Roger Brown and Kimmy gaining 2^nd in the Jumping and 3^rd in the Agility. Alison Harwood and Cass Cade proved to be the most consistent in the G1-3s coming 2^nd in Jumping and then winning the Agility.

In the small classes, Sean Clinch and Martine Wates swapped 1^st and 2^nd in both rounds of the G4-7s with Sean winning the Agility with Lucy. Sara Gilding finishing 3^rd each time! G1-3 top spot was taken by He's Just Cooper, a smashing little Jack Russell with his handler Claire Powell. They were also 2^nd in the morning.

It was a super day. Well done to everyone who took part. 

Also a big thank you to the 'behind the scenes crew' who made everything run like clockwork.

Amanda Brophy kindly filmed the Agility Finals, which can be viewed on her website www.agilitymovies.com listed under 'Just Dogs Live'

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