Agility at Olympia

One of the two most important 'showcase' events for agility in the UK takes place every December at Olympia's London International Horse Show (the other major event being Crufts in March).

Every year the country's most talented agility dogs and handlers vie with each other in qualifying heats at agility shows across the country to gain a coveted invitation to compete at the Olympia finals. In 2010, GWF Nutrition added its support to the Kennel Club Olympia Agility Stakes, and this much appreciated sponsorship will continue for 2012. This exciting collaboration between the Kennel Club and the manufacturer of the successful Joint Aid for Dogs product will ensure this event continues to remain a top class competition.

Olympia Agility Stakes
Olympia features a separate agility final on each of its five days, offering handlers the chance to compete in front of an audience of up to ten thousand noisy supporters:

KC Olympia Medium Agility Stakes - for medium dogs
KC Olympia Small Agility Stakes - for small dogs
KC Olympia Large Agility Stakes - for large dogs competing at grades 6-7
KC Olympia Novice Agility Stakes - for large dogs competing at grades 3-5
KC Olympia ABC Stakes- for large dogs other than Border Collies and Working Sheepdogs (Anything But Collies)

The Road to Olympia 2012
The 'road to Olympia' starts off with a series of qualifiers held at agility shows all over the UK throughout the year. The highest placed dogs in those qualifying heats meet at the semi-finals, held at the City of Birmingham Championship breed show in September, where they compete for a place in the finals at Olympia itself.

Agility Olympia 2008 agility stakes Dawn Weaver Ag Ch Piquant Painted Sunshine See below for the rules for the Kennel Club Olympia Agility Stakes, and for the list of qualifying events taking place around the country. As the heats progress, we will add updated lists of the handlers and dogs that have qualified so far.

Rules & Regs for Kennel Club Olympia 2012 Agility Stakes heats and finals (PDF)
Diary: dates and venues of ALL Kennel Club Agility Qualifiers during 2012 (PDF)
(including Crufts, Flyball, Olympia and European Open qualifiers)
Finalists: Handlers and dogs qualified to compete at Olympia 2012
(A regularly updated list of finalists will be posted here once the first qualifiers have been held)

The Finals
Olympia arena Kennel Club Agility Stakes The finals of the Kennel Club Olympia Stakes take place at Olympia in December each year - the next will be from 19-23 December 2012 (TBC). For Large Stakes and Novice Stakes dogs, the first eighteen dogs from each of two Birmingham semi-finals qualifiy for the relevant final. The 36 Large and Novice dogs which qualify for Olympia are invited to compete in a further semi final at Olympia, and the top ten highest placed dogs in the Olympia semi final qualify for the relevant evening grand final at Olympia. For Medium and Small dogs and ABC Stakes dogs, the first ten dogs in the Birmingham semi-final for each category are invited to the Olympia final.