May 06 Trial Report

Knowledgeable and friendly agility instruction since 1996

Competitors endure soggy weather . . .

but still have fun!

Our May 2006 trial will be memorable for the laid-back atmosphere, the good humour of judge Carol Bevan . . . and the cloudy, grey weather that greeted us each morning.

The local dog and handler teams who entered our trial were joined by several out-of-town competitors who travelled from Winnipeg, Lloydminster, Regina, Prince Albert and Cold Lake. (Ironically, it was a competitor from Cold Lake who forgot to bring an extra sweatshirt!)

Special Awards!

This year, rather than hold a raffle, we invited our competitors to enter several special free-of-charge draws. Every dog/handler team that had a first-place finish could enter to win a selection of prizes. Same for Qs and those pesky Es. We also handed out some awards in several other unique categories. Check out the full list below!

We couldn’t have done this without some generous donations. Thanks to PetSmart for donating and X-Pen and Forest Grove Veterinary Clinic and Dr. Liane Kramer for the terrific doggy gift basket and PG Embroidery for the gift certificate.

Here’s our list of lucky winners!

First Place Draw

1. Ursula Faer and Chase, Papillon — X-Pen

2. Karen Rust and Gino, Cairn Terrier — Gift Basket

3. Karen Rust and Gino, Cairn Terrier — Gift Certificate

Qualifying Rounds

Free Entries to Future Sondog Trials

1. Debbie Unger and Shelby, NSDTR

2. Pat Riddell and Kona, All Canadian

3. Daria Biasetto and Caper, Shih Tzu

Don’t Be Blue, Some Day You’ll Q!

A basket of everything blue, from us to Fran Rust and Gino

Drown Your Sorrows

Trish Giesbrecht received a nice bottle of wine (Mad Dogs and Englishmen) and a pair of wine glasses

Oldest Dog

Penny Ross’s Dee, American Cocker Spaniel, 12 years old

Fastest Course Time

Nancy Bird and Echo, standard poodle

Longest Course Time

Rebecca Mapletoft and Annie

Most Seasoned Handler

Pat Riddell

Top Dogs

At each of our trials we acknowledge the top small, medium and large dog/handler teams with the best showing over the weekend. They must compete in all four regular rounds to be eligible. Congratulations to these dog/handler teams and all of the others who had great runs!

Small Dog

Medium Dog

Large Dog

Lucy, mini dachshund, handled by Sherill Ignatov

of Cold Lake, Alberta

Shasta, Samoyed, handled by Judy Ganshorn of Regina, Saskatchewan

Jake, border collie cross, handled by Donella Hoffman of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Leah Harrington Sportsmanship Awards

This is awarded in memory of our friend Leah Harrington, who was our first trial secretary. She died tragically in a car accident in 2003. We present this to the competitors who embody the true meaning of agility: having fun with our best friends!

Intrepid agility competitors remained undeterred by the wind that greeted them Saturday at the trial. This was a good sign, because on Sunday they were greeted with more wind . . . and rain. While some handlers were dismayed, few complaints were heard from the dogs.

Judge Carol Bevan from Calgary was an extremely good sport during the entire event. Rumours that she doesn’t like rainy outdoor trials still remain unconfirmed. Even as the final novice dogs completed the last runs of the trial on Sunday, she had encouraging words for all after they completed their last jump. Thank you Carol!

A big thank you as well to trial secretary Debbie Plant who again was an organizational marvel. Displaying her trademark patience and friendliness, Deb had results ready quickly and dealt gracefully with all of the last-minute details that come with the trial secretary’s territory.

Course builders Liane Kramer and Arlette Seib must not be overlooked for their efficient, tireless work in getting the courses ready to go.

And finally, we are grateful to everyone who pitched as volunteers this weekend. All of you timers, scribes, gate stewards, pole setters and leash runners are indispensable. It may be a cliché, but we couldn’t do it without you!