Obedience Spotlight

I think that it is fair to say that the weekend went really rather well despite the weather doing its very best to spoil things – I never knew that there were so many weather apps or so many forecasters around but they were all mostly wrong. We did start Saturday with thunder and lightening but it didn’t scare those at the venue off one little bit. Sunday offered more of the same including the threat of torrential downpours but they were steered away to the north east of London thankfully. Attendance was down due to these forecasts but we are grateful to all those who took the option to stay on the rugby club car park, I would say that the groundsman was very happy too.

Thank you to all the competitors that did make it, the atmosphere around the venue was amazing, smiley happy people, the release from Covid restrictions clearly had a part to play and the fact that were able to run the show in the ‘old fashioned’ way helped enormously.

Many thanks to all our judging teams, almost all of whom honoured agreements made for 2020, to the stewards and scoreboarders who help so much towards everyone’s success. Congratulations to all our winners, especially Lorna Hilton & Lenny, Dog CC and Jodi Lunn with Fia, B Girl CC, good luck at Crufts 2022. Well done to all club members, what a haul of rosettes, (and points), were collected over the 2 days, success for 2 first timers too.

This show is only a success because NWK have an amazing group of helpers and we receive offers of help from competitors too, I cannot name everyone as there are too many and I would hate to miss anyone but the camping team deserve a special mention, this is a difficult venue to police and without Linda Plows, Vanda Fitter, Gaynor Taylor and Thelma Alexander taking up the task of seeing everyone parked up correctly plus those that sat on the gate until 10 pm (sorry but I might miss one of you as I know you arranged it amongst yourselves) a sincere thank you to you all.

Aylesford Bulls Rugby club were really welcoming and there were many compliments regarding the catering – the picnic box lunch was a huge success and the cream teas were amazing. The working surface was in perfect order so a great all round effort from them was appreciated.

Only one really rather annoying incident that involved several members due to one person wanting delay their arrival until way after the venue gates are locked at 10pm – there is a reason for this, Travellers make repeated attempts to gain access to the venue and is why we had someone manning the gate from Friday to Sunday during daylight hours, it is not unreasonable to expect everyone coming to the show to comply with the request to arrive before the stated closure time. That the Club Manager had to be got out of bed at 11.45 to let the late comer in was beyond unreasonable and could have lost us the venue in the future. Such irresponsible action could put our future use of the venue in jeopardy and a 2 day event gone from the calendar.

We hope to be back to even more normality next year, 23 & 24 July 22, without the need to cap entries although smaller shows have some advantages!

Eileen RestellE

REDCAR & DISTRICT DTC CHAMPIONSHIP OBEDIENCE SHOW 2021

Phew! Another show done and dusted after not being able to have one last year, and what a fantastic turnout we had. What may have seemed like a smooth running show, had us running in circles trying to sort various problems out! Firstly our catering people cancelled on us due to covid which made them short staffed. So, we quickly rang the best fish and chip shop in town who agreed to supply us with lots of boxes of fish and chips at very short notice. Then … Steve had to collect them on Sunday lunchtime only to find out that the route to the fish shop was closed because of a road race! Anyway, he smooth talked his way through and promptly collected and delivered. All of the judges seemed to enjoy them so job done. We had an incident of a ripped hand caused by a dogs claw, so that was a quick hospital visit, then a dog took ill and after calling the vets and making an appointment, the dog recovered thankfully, so is being checked out at her own vets, then unfortunately one of our judges took ill so was quickly replaced by our overall judge, Carole Patrick! The skip turned up two days late, the kitchen was locked on the morning of the show so Steve had to boil pans and the kettle in the motorhome to ensure the judges got their refreshments. But hey, apart from that, all went quite smoothly!

Our thanks have to go to every single person that helped out in any way that they could, from the people helping to put the rings up, to the people who helped take them down again, but I have to say, Bob Faville worked his socks off! Thank you Bob. Thank you to Wendy, Richard, Anne, Steve, the Rugby Club, our stall holders, etc, etc. I’m so sorry if I’ve missed anyone out but believe me, we are soooo grateful for any help we can get. Huge thank you to all of our judges and their stewards for ‘volunteering’ their services, we hope you enjoyed your day.

Saturday night was AMAZING! Jackie Muir organised a number of fund raising events, from a tombola, to wack-a-mallow, and the pinnacle was ‘Braving the Shave’, having her head shaved – brave lady – all in aid of Cancer Research. Everyone joined in and supported her and raised a massive £371 from auctioning each go of the shavers, and £114 for wack-a-mallow! Obedience people are so generous! And that’s without the money from the cake stall and the tombola. Jackie, you are one very kind person.

Good luck at Crufts 2022 to our two winners – the dog ticket was won by Julie and Yoshi and the ‘other’ ticket by Karen and Rhyma. Well done you two, enjoy every minute!

Karen Davies

Well, what a fabulous weekend North West Kent Dog Training Club gave us at the Aylesford Bulls Rugby Football Club. It was a delight to be back at this well laid out and spacious venue, and from the stoic gentleman on the gate to those helpers wandering round to keep things ticking over, we could not have wished for more cheerful efficiency.

The weather wasn’t really with us. Thundery, humid, and oppressive topped off with torrential downpours on Sunday, it wasn’t ideal for working some dogs and neither of mine pulled out their best. That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it!

Saturday was a busy day, with the Ticket classes active and well attended. It is always nice to watch those competitors and dream. Meanwhile back in the lower classes, which I inhabit, and despite being the offspring of two accomplished ballroom dancers, walking a straight line with even the semblance of good deportment and accuracy defeated me today, and a return to wheeling around corners cost me dearly. I was still lucky enough to be in the ribbons on both days but as my school reports so often lamented “could do better” about sums it up. In my classes, despite quite fierce competitive natures, everyone still roots for their fellow competitors and congratulates and commiserates as appropriate. On Saturday I had a poor run in Pre-Beginners, which was ably won by William Forrest and Birkcross Gem. William and I have a friendly rivalry, and it was incredibly gallant of him to concede second place to me in Beginners rather than run off for second and third. He commented that he was more than pleased with his win and felt for me in my Pre-Beginner round. It was incredibly sportsman-like and indicative of the camaraderie of our sport in general.

Today, I was delighted that Vicky Bristow and her Havanese, Thistlesweet Jasmine, achieved a first in Pre-Beginner. I worked after her and she commented “please don’t tell me Eric has beaten me”. We hadn’t. We knocked up a cricket score with my seemingly drunken walking and Eric’s desire to disassociate himself from this fumbling buffoon of a handler out for a Sunday stroll.In Special Pre-Beginners Shirley Budgen and her helpers encouraged every single competitor through, offering helpful tips for future improvement. At the grass roots of our sport these kindly comments and words of wisdom are so valuable and greatly appreciated. I am always amazed at the ability of these senior and accomplished judges to see the positives in all of us and our dogs. Despite my less than stellar handling, we got ribbons. Lovely, lovely ribbons no doubt funded by the provision of sponsorship from CSJ Specialist Canine Feeds, who provided Salmon Oil, Platinum Natural Pet Food and Care, who provided many sample packages, and Fish4Dogs who provided lovely fishy things. Don’t you just love a goody bag with samples in it? I had them all laid out on the counter at home and gloated over them as special treasures. Now, there is nothing fishy, if you will pardon the pun, about how I acquired these treasures. I did a tiny bit of helping and received a reward. I also grovelled like crazy at the Secretary’s tent.

And so, the weekend drew to a gentle close. Around us, like over energized Wombles, the helpers from North West Kent were dismantling rings and collecting all manner of things. It must have taken hours to put up, it didn’t seem to take that long to take down however I am sure the clearing up went on until late in the afternoon. I do hope they avoided the rain, which torrented down and made the drive home rather challenging. Next stop Halstead. See you there.

Katrina Arnold

Well, what a fabulous weekend I’ve had.

I was at the Willow Farm Exemption Show in Doncaster, organised by Wendy Nottingham and her team. 3 classes on Saturday – Pre B, Begs and Novice, plus ‘have a go’ Hoopers and a couple of fun events – a ‘pairs’ competition and a ‘team challenge’ – both well supported, and then A, B and C on Sunday plus another chance to ‘have a go’ at Hoopers. Capped. Full running orders. No stays of course. Scent in with ring work, but to the side of the main ring area.

Classes designed to motivate and reward.Rosettes for 1st to 6th, plus rosettes for ‘best BC’, ‘best Gundog’, ‘best GSD’ and ‘best crossbreed’.

An event that was small enough to be Covid safe and incredibly relaxed and friendly, but big enough and competitive enough to feel like a proper show. Even the weather stayed reasonable. I loved, loved, loved it.

Thanks to every single person and dog that was there and therefore contributed to making this weekend. Oh for many more such events – a really fabulous way to encourage newcomers, as well as give us old timers a big enough challenge.

Dawn Cox

So after sixty years plus stays look like they have finally gone – Is it right? I think it is probably right, it will definitely free up time and make life easier for most clubs who run the shows.

It made no difference to me personally except for the way, in some instances, how you would mark them. My own thoughts are that you have to look to the future – Obedience has largely never changed, but in one way or another it has.

I remember years ago sending a letter into Obedience News about people complaining about folks at the shows playing with their dogs, but the same people never complained about harsh handling. The letter was described as smutty and sarcastic and it was, but at least the letter worked because now people do play with their dogs, and the harsh handling has now almost gone thankfully.

Now it’s motivation and rewards, I also remember when a certain team who was denied ticket wins because the dog was deemed too flashy and bouncy by some judges who were still thinking about the old style in their heads. Of course that team became a legend and proved beyond doubt that nothing can stay the same for ever as now most teams train with the idea of flash, enthusiasm, and precision – so in one way or another we have to move on.

I still say there is nothing wrong with obedience and its enjoyable but would like to see more variety especially in the lower classes. If by any chance we get an influx of more people starting obedience do you really think they would want to be doing the same things for the next sixty years?

Just a thought now that it looks like stays have gone, could it be possible that we have a full running order for all the classes, I know there are a lot of people who do not want any change, well that’s fair enough that’s their choice, these are just my thoughts as I’ve never stood still with anything, always looking to the future, sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t, but if you don’t try, you will never know – Stay safe folks

REEDYFORD D.T.C. Show Saturday 29th February 2020

On behalf of the Committee of Reedyford DTC I want to thank all the Judges and Stewards for giving up their time to judge for us yesterday, without you all we wouldn’t have a show. I hope you all enjoyed your day as much as we enjoyed having you.

Reedyford DTC is a small club with only a handful of Committee members working so hard on the day of our shows, and this time has been no exception. everyone gets stuck in to make our Show run as smoothly as possible. As well as the Committee we are very grateful to have much needed help from the early morning crew at silly o’clock to help with setting up the rings and anything else that needs to be done although not Club members are always there to volunteer there help on show days .
Me & Lynne went over to Croft Top on friday teatime to put up direction signs ad drop most of the show stuff off ready for morning and to say we had a couple of OMG moments is an understatement, firstly the road just before you turn into Croft Top was knee deep in flood water right across the road, then when we pulled up at Croft Top you couldnt even see the carpark it was a proper pea souper fog and a river running down the lane towards the arena, thankfully the weeks of heavy rain turned into drizzle overnight, with a very cold start to the day next morning.

An early start on Saturday and in just over an hour we have set up a show a quick brew and bacon butty then all ready for the off. Thank you Elaine and the stay ring team..

I also want to thank all the competitors for giving our show the support needed to keep this show. As far as I am aware you all enjoyed your day with us , I received many compliments, also lots of lovely comments regarding the food served in the cafeteria, Elizabeth did an amazing job and never stopped all day long.

Not one complaint from anyone also and can I also add that anyone at all that asked for easily accessible parking so they didn’t have to walk up and down the lane got it , Congratulations if you went home with a rosette and one of our trophies, I saw quite a few happy people walking out clutching their rosettes & prize cards making their journeys home all that much better.

I would also like to give a BIG thank you and thumbs up to everyone for cleaning up after their dogs, you did us proud, We left Croft Top SPOTLESS again and got another compliment to pass on to each and everyone of you from the owner who in her words “ your lot are a lot cleaner than the horsey people.

Good Luck to everyone competing at Crufts next week, Obedience Championships, KCGC Special Pre Beg finals, Rally and All of the Inter regional teams especially our very own Northern Team, enjoy your special day with your dogs, Hopes & Dreams can and do come true.

Hope you all had a safe journeys home with your precious 4 legged cargo.
Our next show is to be held on the Saturday 6th March 2021 here at Croft Top Equestrian Centre. Haslingden, BB5 2DP easily assessable from both the M6 and M62

Kym Pearson

Lune Valley DTC – Winter Show 25th January 2020

Just to say a big thank you to everyone who made our Winter Show another success.

To all our Judges and Stewards, you know what a ‘rare breed’ you are and how difficult it is to find you! So thank you to you all for allowing another show to go ahead.

Thank you to Pat Wilson for an excellent job as Chief Stay Steward, thank you to all our stay steward volunteers, your help is much appreciated.

To all our competitors who seemed to be a happy bunch with no complaints, well done to all our winners, good luck to you all for the season to come.

Last, but by no means least, thank you to our small band of Lune Valley members who set up, take down and do all the jobs in-between, mostly with a smile on their faces!

Hope to see you all at our Summer Show 1/2/3rd August 2020.

Lesley Alsop
Show Secretary

Reedyford DTC Show Saturday 30th November 2019

Can I first thank all of the committee for putting in the amount of work needed to put on this show, their really are just a handful of us ,Brenda Holden our acting Chief Steward, Elaine Hargreaves our Chief Stay Steward along with Susan,Wendy,Judith, (stay Stewards) , Lynne& Judith serving the Judges & Stewards their meals in the Cafeteria, also Ian Hargreaves, Audrey Wilkinson, Steve Rutter and Rachel Millington who were all there to help at the crack of dawn on a very cold and frosty morning with setting up the rings and anything else that needs doing early on show day, the help was very much appreciated as it always is but even more so today as we were 3 members down due to ill health

A MASSIVE Northern THANKYOU to all the Judges and Stewards for giving up their day to judge for us at Croft Top Equestrian Centre, with some of you traveling quite a distance to do so, without you all we wouldn’t have a show to put on, hope you all enjoyed your day and our hospitality,

It really does go without saying THANKYOU to all the competitors who entered and joined us on the day a very cold and frosty day at that, think I heard someone say it was -4 at 7.30am, I don’t think it got above freezing the entire day.

I saw some very happy faces walking past carrying their Trophies, Rosettes & Prize Cards, well done all of you.

The food in the cafeteria was excellent and the staff brilliant all day , and as a bonus the cafeteria overlooks both the main arena where all the rings were and also looks over the smaller arena where the large stay ring was, so you could if you wanted to sit in the warm and just watch,.

Hope you all had safe and uneventful journeys home with your precious 4 legged friends ,

If you won a ribbon or not your dogs are all so very precious and should never be taken for granted they can be gone in a heartbeat, cherish every moment with them at your side .

The staff at Croft Top again pass on what a pleasure it is to have so many well behaved dogs at our show and asked me to pass on their compliments.

All of us at Reedyford DTC look forward to see you all at our next show on Saturday the 29th February 2020.

Kym Pearson

WIGTON DTC SHOW – 16TH NOVEMBER 2019

I would just like to express my sincere thanks to club members, friends and relations for the effort they put in at our Winter show to ensure, what I thought, it proved a great success.

We had one of the biggest entries we have had for a while at this show and so in this regard have to thank all judges and stewards, especially Neil Walton who agreed to judge B part 2 and Jackie Muir who took on Julie Rowlands’ ‘C’ when Mario took ill – we sincerely hope he is making progress Julie – you were in all our thoughts. A new pairing in charge of the stay ring as we had to use the usual culprits as ring stewards so Gary – got yourself a job!!!

Thank you to all who helped in the stay ring and in the secretary’s department and of course our catering staff upstairs. You are all stars, thank you so much.

To add the icing to the cake, our members won Pre-Beginners, Beginners and ‘B’ as well as other placings so well done Sophie and Fly, Tricia and Gale, Henri and Millie on your wins. Onwards and upwards.

There didn’t appear to be much waiting around for dogs to work so a lovely early finish meant competitors getting home before the cold struck (and in good time for Strictly!!)

I only have one item of lost property, a purple rubber ring attached to a purple, pink and white tuggie – if the owner gets in touch (either e-mail patwilson142@btinternet.com) or phone (01697342656) I will arrange to get it back to them. Out of interest, I still have a grey Primark zipped jersey jacket from the August show if anybody has mislaid it – it was found in the marquee at the end of the weekend.

Our next “event” – Bank Holiday weekend 29th (Championship) and 30th August (Open) 2020 at Dalemain – hope to see you there!

PAT WILSON (Secretary)