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PACE RACE: Obstacles test the agility and stamina of the dogs, to the delight of Crufts crowds
CAVORTING collies and tireless terriers are as much a part of the Crufts experience as its parading pedigrees today. The sight of dashing pets displaying skills more akin to Olympic equestrian events has become integral to the world’s biggest dog show. Regulars to Crufts bookmark the agility contests as some of the must-not-miss showpieces on their annual visits, not only because they are enthralled by wonderful displays of athleticism and obedience but also for some of its most hilarious antics.
Who can ever forget last year’s capers with Olly the Jack Russell whose attempts to navigate the agility course may have left him looking flummoxed but turned him into an international star with his escapades seen by millions around the world on social media?
This March sees Crufts marking the 40th anniversary of the inclusion of agility into its hectic schedule and the various competitions promise to be as fierce as ever, with dogs contending throughout the four-day event.
Pets of all shapes, sizes and abilities will be on show in individual and team events, demonstrating the remarkable bond and discipline of handler and animal as they participate under the spotlights, be they novices or experienced home and overseas competitors taking part in the British Open.
Like equine showjumping, the challenge is to tackle a cunning array of obstacles without incurring faults – and against the clock.
Alongside hurdles and jumps that are like smaller versions of showjumping fences, agility dogs can also face tricky hoops, weaves, tunnels, see-saws, A-frames and, most devilish of all for any fast-footed competitor, the table and pause box, where the dog has to sit or rest for a few frustrating seconds. The Kennel Club allows a combination of 15 obstacles in an event.
For all its popularity today, few of the thousands who throng the Crufts main arena at the NEC, Birmingham, or the millions more watching from home on Channel 4, will realise how agility became such a popular event at the show, because of its stop-gap origins.
It was back in 1978 that Crufts Committee member John Varley was tasked with finding something to keep the crowds enthralled between the Obedience Championship ending and the start of Group judging.
Varley enlisted the help of an experienced dog trainer, Peter Meanwell, and together the pair created a test that lay somewhere between the agility section of Working Trials – another obediencebased dog activity – and a scaled-down version of showjumping.
Using a figure-of-eight course, starting and finishing on a table at the centre of the ring, two teams of four dogs and handlers competed against