UK To Host The European Open Dog Agility Championships For The First Time

The Kennel Club is proud to announce that the UK has been selected to host the European Open Agility Championships for the first time in 2020.

The championships, which is one of the world’s most prestigious international dog agility competitions, is open to both pedigree and non-pedigree dogs which have been selected to represent their country.

The event will take place from Thursday 30th July – Sunday 2nd August 2020 at Rutland Showground in Rutland.

This year, Agility Team GB headed to Salice Terme in Italy to take part in the championships, which attracted over 800 handlers and their dogs from all over the world, with 39 countries represented at the competition.

The competition, which celebrated its fifteenth anniversary this year, has become increasingly international in scope with teams from countries such as Russia, Venezuela and Greece, South Africa and the USA attending in recent years. The UK has sent Agility Team GB to the European Open for the past ten years and has now been given the unique opportunity to host the competition itself.

The Kennel Club also holds the International Agility Festival at Rockingham Castle, Market Harborough, which attracts over 3,000 dogs from all over the world. In 2020, the European Open will finish four days before the Kennel Club International Agility Festival is due to begin. The two competitions are a mere 13 miles away from each other and camping for the festival will be open earlier to competitors and spectators who want to attend both events.

Steve Croxford, Kennel Club Vice-Chairman, said: “The Kennel Club is extremely proud to be able to host the European Open Agility Championships in 2020. It is a huge honour and we are grateful to the FCI for presenting us with this fantastic opportunity. We are looking forward to welcoming handlers, dogs, judges and spectators from all over the world in 2020.”

Read more information about the European Open, how to become an Agility Team GB member, and details of other international agility events held or supported by the Kennel Club.