Ark House Agility Club
Yes we now have our own Agility Club! Watch out for Claire, Juliet, Hannah and Debbie out and about across the UK next year in their Ark House Hoodies!
So far in 2012
The year has started with a bang with the Barking Mad Winter Series. Juliet and Ralph qualified for the small Grade 1 and 2 final and came 3rd! Not content with that Ralph also got a 1st and a 3rd in jumping.
Matilda had 3 clear rounds, some cheesy chips and lots of attention for being so lovely! To see one of the world's smallest agility dogs in action click here!
Debbie and Jake got 1 clear round and Twiggy got 3!
Claire and Stanley were 2nd in the graded ABC and went clear in the 4-7 jumping! Basil bagged himself a 5th in the Anysize.
Well done everyone!!
Follow our Ark House Agility team's latest antics on their own Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Here’s our 2011 news round up:
Claire - Basil and Stan
Claire’s dogs have had a mixed year. Sadly after an exceptional 2010, Basil was not able to compete. He has had to retire because of a developmental problem with one of his bones in his right wrist, causing a hairline fracture. Stan started his second year of competing at Grade 3 and he has been amazing! He qualified for the JDA summer show final and the Dogs in Need final. He has achieved 19 top 10 placings and his year ended with an agility win taking him into Grade 4. During the winter Stan has enjoyed some rest away from agility as well as some intensive training sessions with his usual trainers Carla Whyte and Marc Saunders. Shows for Stan start again in January with casual shows until his first kennel club show in March. Claire hopes that they will not disgrace themselves in Grade 4 and that Stan Continues to enjoy it, especially as the Kennel Club are launching a new series of qualifiers for Grade 1-5 ABC (anything but collie) dogs culminating in a final at Crufts. Watch this space!
Debbie - Jake and Twiggy
Debbie is proud to report that Jake has done exceptionally well this year, bearing in mind he was ill with meningitis for 6 months in 2010 and was not able to train. In August he was runner up in the small dog section of the Orchard Agility Finals, which was really scary to do but Debbie was so pleased with the result. Other successes include two seconds, a third, a fifth and numerous clear rounds. Twiggy meanwhile has attained two seconds, a third, a fifth and numerous clear rounds.
Juliet - Ralph and Matilda
Juliet’s two dogs have also had a great year. Ralph has had a second and two thirds in Grade 1-2 Agility. He is currently ranked fourth in his section of the Barking Mad winter series. Matilda meanwhile has started her competition career with six clear rounds and has developed a large fan base due to her mini size!
Hannah - Henry, Alfie and Noah
Hannah has had a great year with Henry, who moved into Grade 4 in may 2011 and has achieved many top ten places at this new grade. He also achieved his Kennel Club agility Warrant Gold this year – needing 800 points in open competition to gain this. In addition, Henry qualified for the ABC Olympia semi final for the second year in a row, and took part in the Novice ABC 1-5 Invitational competition at Discover Dogs in Earl’s Court. Alfie achieved two top ten places in Large Grade 3 Agility, which is a real achievement for a little spaniel like him! He is well on his way to achieving his Silver Agility warrant, which requires 400 points to be gained in open competition. Aside from agility, Henry and Alfie also managed to achieve a third place in the female 2-dog category in a Cani-x even in Finshades Wood in Corby in September. Our aims for next season are to qualify for the new Novice ABC competition semi-final at Discover dogs and for Alfie to achieve his Silver Agility Warrant.
Hannah’s dogs welcomed Noah in to the family in August – a little spaniel stray from Appledown Rescue kennels. He is just starting his agility training and the hope is to bring him out into competition at some point in 2012 – when he’s ready. You can read more about Noah through his blog ‘Noah’s Dog Blog’
