8th to 10th August at the East of England Showground, Peterborough

RESULTS 

International Agility Festival 2008 photo gallery

Fight the Flab with Fido campaign

For the fourth year running, the Kennel Club, organiser of Crufts, ran its hugely popular International Agility Festival at the East of England Showground from 8th to 10th August 2008, supported by the pet food producers, Arden Grange.

More than 2,500 dogs from 27 different countries from around the world competed in around 150 separate classes at the event. Several countries - Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Hungary, Kenya, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia – were represented for the first time, as dogs and their owners battled it out for one of the 473 trophies on offer.

The agility addicts competed against the clock, using their handling skills to navigate their dog and themselves at top speed around the challenging courses.

Dogs large and small, from pedigrees with papers to dogs with none, tackled courses made up of jumps, see saws, weaving poles, ‘A’ frames, tunnels and tyres, in the hope of taking away one of the many prestigious awards and prizes.

The festival attracted a wide variety of pedigree dogs, from German Shepherds to Cocker Spaniels and even tiny Pomeranians! Both crossbreeds and purebred dogs competed in large numbers,with the most popular breeds of dog in agility being the Border Collie and the Working Sheepdog.

The main attraction of the annual festival is that it is open to any dog, as long as the dog is registered on one of the Kennel Club’s registers - Breed or Activity - making it the only world-class agility competition to be open to pedigrees and crossbreeds alike. Everyone gets a chance to compete, as well as the opportunity of securing a place at Crufts.

Top judges, from both the UK and overseas, kept a watchful eye on the dogs and their handlers to ensure that the courses were tackled correctly. Each course is set by the judge themselves, giving variety whilst catering for the different abilities and sizes of dogs.

The benefits of taking part in Agility with the Kennel Club are not only the fun competition and the chance to compete all over the world, but keeping fit, and enhancing the special bond with your dog, which will be happier and healthier for it.

During this year’s festival, the Kennel Club launched its ‘Fight the Flab with Fido through Agility’ campaign, outlining how handlers can use Agility to lose weight. A ‘Have-a-go’ ring was available for the first time, offering visitors the chance to get involved and try out this fun activity.

Competitors spent the weekend camping on site, so aside from thousands of dogs, there were hundreds of caravans and tents and over 20 trade stands offering goods for both humans and dogs; all adding to the festival fun!

The popularity of agility is continuing to grow. In its first year, the International Agility Festival had just six rings with 856 dogs competing. Only four years on, the festival has tripled in size and the 2008 event required 18 rings to accommodate the 2,500 dogs. The total number of entries for the event increased by 40% compared to last year.

Date:

Last updated on:

Categories:

Agility 

This article has been read 10412 times.