The Kennel Club is now accepting entries for the annual Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme (GCDS) Supermatch event, which will be held at the Kennel Club Building at Stoneleigh Park on Sunday 4th December.
The Supermatch took place for the first time last year and brought a new element of excitement and competition to the GCDS community and highlighted the role of the scheme in providing welfare education and training to owners involved in a range of dog activities across the country.
The inaugural winner in 2015 was Geron Abbott from Gwynedd in Wales, with his two year old Bullmastiff bitch, Wilma (Ardhub Black Obsession at Alonzobar).
The competition is limited to a maximum of 128 entries (64 dogs and 64 bitches) and places will be allocated in the order in which applications are received. There will be a series of knockout rounds on the day of the event.
The GCDS Supermatch will only be open to dogs in the GCDS breed classes at general, group or single breed championship shows. To be eligible, dogs must be:
- Winner of a GCDS breed specific class (single or mixed sex) at a general or group championship show, or
- Winner of a GCDS class (single or mixed sex) at a breed specific championship show, or
- Placed 1st – 5th on each day in the AV GCDS Stakes classes held at general or group championship shows.
The qualifying period runs from 1st November 2015 - 31st October 2016 so dogs can qualify retrospectively with awards won until 31st October. To enter GCDS classes at championship shows, all dogs must have achieved at least the Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme Bronze Award.
The final closing date for entries will be 4th November 2016 (received by).