Month: January 2020
Suco Sled Dogs collect silver and bronze at Pembrey
At the weekend the teams travelled over 7 hours to the BSSF British Championships rounds 3 and 4 at Pembrey Country Park South Wales.
Due to flooding of the trail the race distance was cut to 2.6 miles the trail was a mix of twisty turns ,sand dunes and fire roads.
Gonzo was out first on the bike and he ran well to be in 3rd place after race 1 8 secs behind first place after further heavy rain on the Saturday night the course was really muddy and cut up and Gonzo ran another great race to finish 3rd overall and take his second bronze of the series.
Next out was Jane Lothian with Diamond and Granite it was a tough course for the 2 girls but they ran 2 great races to finish in 4th place overall a great improvement from 7th in the first 2 heats.
Dexter was next out in the 1 dog scooter and he struggled with the hard surface of the fire road but still managed to lie in 2nd place after day 1 we put booties on him for run 2 and he handled the conditions better to hold onto 2nd and collect a silver medal his second of the series.
A huge thank you to CSJ specialist canine feeds for their continued support.
Our next race is the SHCGB race at Aviemore on 25th and 26th January.
#fuelledbyCP30
Happy New Year – 2020. Mark Laker talks about the challenges facing dog sports
Happy New Year – 2020 has arrived and promises to be another interesting year with big challenges facing us politically, on a world scale, the environment and of course topics closer to our own interests – dog sports.
On the 1st January a new jump height was introduced at Kennel Club licensed agility competitions. The new height is 50 cm and called Intermediate. It aims to address an age old issue of smaller large breeds (if that makes sense) jumping in the highest jump height category (65cm). So in effect, Border Collies (sorry to be breedist, but they’re a good example) could measure into either the intermediate or large height category.
The debates, arguments and reasoning for this additional height have been going on longer than Brexit. I won’t go over all the pros and cons – it’s done and it’ll be interesting to see how the competitions deal with the increased number of classes this year….we could have probably told Teresa May that even a simple thing like changing agility dog jump heights can’t be enacted in less than three years; she didn’t have a chance on a Brexit deal in any less!
The new height category doesn’t effect my current agility dogs Rhyme (large) and Pikachu (small) but the three existing heights (small, medium and large) have all been reduced by 5cm too. So they will be jumping slightly lower obstacles in the future. Karen’s young bitch Chic has measured in this new height.
This reduction in jump heights for the small, medium and large categories bring KC competitions in line with the FCI and most other organisations – a good move. Increasingly more countries who compete under FCI rules are introducing a 4th intermediate type height and I wouldn’t be surprised if the governing body introduce this at their showcase European Open and Agility World Championships within the next five years too.
A more pressing matter is to get Rhyme and myself back up to agility fitness ready for Crufts in six weeks (yikes!). We’ve both had a few injury niggles over the last few months, and put on a few extra pounds over Christmas. We now need to knuckle down and get working on our fitness plans.
All the best for 2020.
Mark
Congratulations Will Clulee on a superb season. ‘Tink’ – Championship Winner 2020 F.T.CH Trochry Eau Rouge of Poolgreen was made up to Champion this season.
Will Clulee is a CSJ sponsored gundog handler.
This season’s wins –
Tink – Championship Winner 2020 F.T.CH Trochry Eau Rouge of Poolgreen – made up to Champion this season.
- Placed 1st – West Midland Field Trial Society open cocker 22/11/19 Open Cocker
Sam – F.T.CH Poolgreen Griffin – Gained diploma of merit at the 90th Cocker Spaniel Championships 2020. Made up to a champion in 4 trials.
- Placed 1st Scottish Spaniel Club 1/10/19 Novice
- Placed 1st – Glamorganshire Field Trial Society 26/11/19 Open Cocker
- Placed 1st – Essex field trial Society 4/12/19 Open Cocker
Richy – F.T.CH Mallowdale Rocky of Poolgreen – qualified for the championships made up to Champion this season.
- Placed 1st & guns choice -Kent Working Spaniel club 20/11/19 open cocker
- Placed 1st & guns choice – Coventry & district 10/10/19 open cocker
Jess – F.T.O.W Poolgreen Grace – qualified for the championships
Placed 1st Welsh & English Counties Spaniel Club open cocker 14/12/19
Pepper – F.T.O.W Poolgreen Hubba – qualified for the championships.
- Placed 1st Pembrookshire Working gundog society open cocker 5/12/19
Stevie – F.T.O.W Skronedale Stephen of Poolgreen – Black & white springer – Qualified for the Springer Championships 2020.
- Placed 1st novice – Glamorganshire Field Trial Society 5/11/1
- Placed 1st open – welsh & English Counties Spaniel Club 30/11/19
Another great year for Poolgreen Gundogs and thank you for sponsoring us.
All the best and Thank you once again for your support.
Sue & Will
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