Five is the lucky number for Agility Team GB following impressive performances at European Open Championships

The Kennel Club would like to congratulate Agility Team GB for their performancesat the European Open Agility Championships in Arnhem, The Netherlands over the weekend (25th-28th July).

For the first time in the team’s history, all three large dog and handler teams made it through to the Team Large final, with GB All4One placing fifth overall. The group competed against 109 other teams from around the world in the qualifiers, which took place on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th, with GB Darkside and GB High Hopes respectively placing 10th and 16th overall.

GB All4One was comprised of Jo Tristram (Team Captain) from Gloucestershire with her Border Collie, Brite; Euan Paterson from Aberdeenshire with his Border Collie, Crazee; Jo Gleed from West Midlands with her Border Collie, Scooter; and Megan Hunt from Kent with her Working Sheepdog, Thyme.

Additional Team GB efforts saw fifth place awarded to Sam Lane from Buckinghamshire and her Cocker Spaniel, Ninja Zippy in the Small Individual final; Hayley Telling from West Sussex and her Shetland Sheepdog, Teal, in the Medium Individual final; and Natasha Wise from Northamptonshire and her Border Collie, Pebbles in the Large Individual final.  

Agility Team GB experienced additional challenges during their time in The Netherlands owing to the adverse hot weather conditions, with the championships having to be held overnight to ensure the health and welfare of those competing were not put at risk.

Next year will see the Kennel Club host the European Agility Championships, which will be held at Rutland Showground in Oakham, Leicestershire, from Friday 31st July until Sunday 2nd August 2020. More information can be found by visiting eo2020.com.

Team Manager, Mark Laker commented: The European Open 2019 will be remembered as EO by night! Although the team are coming home without silverware, they responded admirably to the changes in the programme caused by the extreme heat and put in consistent performances, making this one of the most successful European Opens for the overall team.”

Agility Team GB is supported by the Kennel Club, Natural Instinct and Nottingham Trent University.

Emma Cooper, Marketing Assistant from Natural Instinct, said: “On behalf of Natural Instinct, we’d like to congratulate everyone on their results at the European Open Agility Championships. We are proud to sponsor this fantastic team and are excited to see what the future holds for these amazing athletes!”

The team of 24 dogs and handlers were chosen following this year’s squad selection process, which concluded at the Performance Weekend held at Arena UK, Grantham in April.

For the full list of results, visit https://www.eo2019.eu/results/

Learn more about the squad qualification process to try out for the 2020 Agility Team GB.

Find an agility club near you.