mum24dog Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Our own show FB page - dogs not much in evidence, I'm afraid. https://www.facebook.com/groups/222945217809069 (I don't do FB but as Show Secretary I ought to show a bit of interest in what is on there.) I'd left by the time the hay bale fun started. "Has anyone got a pack of cards?" was the last I heard as I went home. And the bar wasn't even open. And I didn't know we had club onesies. Probably just as well. Who said we Brits are reserved? On the "All finished for the day" photo that's just part of the site taken from the top of the smaller exercise area. There are 10 rings in total and you can't see the big marquee. There are more caravans and tents than you can see and beyond them several acres of exercise field. We had 3 days of competition, 3 days off, then another 3 days competition. On the 3 days off we had charity events - Canine First Aid demo, talk by a guy from S & R, training rings for hire and a Working Trials introduction and we even ran a real Rally competition. At the last count we raised over £2k for our 2 rescue charities but it will be more. Not many shows do things in such a big way but we try to have fun however small the show. One dog out of control, one incidence of harsh handling to report to the KC. One medical and one veterinary emergency (plus more minor cases) to deal with. One person claiming her score ticket had been changed. Not bad with 1500 dogs entered for competition (plus pups and oldies) and accompanying humans around. All part of the job, as unfortunately is the seemingly increasing number of people who think the world revolves around them and want everything NOW. Deep breath, smile...... However, the vast number of people we get at our show are lovely people and we do it for them. And we must be doing something right - we need 54 judges plus reserves next year and I have 48 already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickif Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 WOW, just WOW!!! And very cool!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 I am still blown away be the sheer size of British agility trials.. and the length of some of them. A really impressive feet of organization. Just finding 54 judges and volunteers for all those rings is truly mind boggling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlwzgd Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 I hesitate to comment, but just beautiful - awesome scenery and an amazing amount of work and organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChantalB Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 I need to come compete over there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 I need to come compete over there!! You'll be welcome - everyone is, at least in our part of the country. I am still blown away be the sheer size of British agility trials.. and the length of some of them. A really impressive feet of organization. Just finding 54 judges and volunteers for all those rings is truly mind boggling. We start with a field. That's the case for most shows. We have water taps in some of the hedges and the luxury of some points where we can connect to the electricity supply but most shows I go to only have water. The rest we have to bring on site - Mobile loos - blocks and singles Showers Skips (dumpsters) to be emptied regularly Marquee PA system which we (our club and a few others) use with a restricted radio broadcast system to provide communication all over the site without having to have speakers everywhere. Our own catering equipment to set up a field kitchen to feed judges and helpers - our team works wonders. Golf buggies and quad bike to save our legs. Deliveries of bottled gas throughout the week. Real Ale bar. 10 rings of hired agility equipment etc etc Some of it is gone within an hour of the show finishing. By noon the next day you'd never know we'd been there (except for some pale patches in the grass where people have camped). And then we start thinking of next year....... No, correct that - we start thinking of next year while the show is going on. I'm up to 50 judges now, only one of whom I have actually asked. The rest have volunteered to be considered for next year. The first demonstration of agility that we might recognise as such is said to have been at Crufts in 1978 and one of our judges took part in that. At the other extreme I have a couple of teenagers who have just qualified as judges. A small outdoor KC show here would be 4-5 rings, medium 6-8 ish. Non KC shows are smaller. I don't want to give the impression that all shows are like this but ours is because we are on the edge of the Lake District and people come for a holiday as well as the competition, although you can find people making their own non agility fun anywhere. It's the same people travelling from show to show after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 And just to add that if there is a major sporting event going on we'll fix it so that people can watch. This year we had a big screen for the Wimbledon final. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 When I was watching the last game of the final and it was 0-30 I had a strong suspicion that not much was happening in the UK at the moment, that it then seemed to take another half hour to close the championship out must have really brought things to standstill... Don't know if I would have been wanting to run my dog right then The logistics are amazing, kitchens, turning bare fields into a full campsite. Am I right that you need all those judges because they volunteer for a day and the get free entry / camping etc for the rest of the show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 When I was watching the last game of the final and it was 0-30 I had a strong suspicion that not much was happening in the UK at the moment, that it then seemed to take another half hour to close the championship out must have really brought things to standstill... Don't know if I would have been wanting to run my dog right then The logistics are amazing, kitchens, turning bare fields into a full campsite. Am I right that you need all those judges because they volunteer for a day and the get free entry / camping etc for the rest of the show? The final set coincided with the end of competition so it was fine. Judges judge for a day and in return we give them reasonable travel expenses (although some don't accept them or only ask for a nominal amount as they come for the week anyway), 3 nights free camping and 10 free runs, plus a very good home cooked lunch. In the past shows have traditionally given a token gift to the judge but nowadays many would prefer something worth money. If they don't run a dog we give the option of a gift voucher. I'm sure it doesn't sound much by US standards but our judges are primarily competitors themselves and know that it is all part of a system that keeps the cost of participating low for everyone. As it is such a long show it would be expensive for us to give everything free for the week to all the judges. Sometimes a pair of judges will share a ring for the day. As there are 6 days of competition it is tiring for both dogs and humans and some volunteer to judge to give their dogs a rest. Also it isn't such a big deal to give up running for 1 day out of 6. They also volunteer because they can be sure of getting camping and don't have to rush to enter and they get a better camping pitch than they might otherwise get. We have 4 days with 10 rings, 2 with 7 each so that's where the 54 come from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 This is where our next show at the weekend will be - http://www.catton-hall.com Haven't been there before. The grounds of country houses / stately homes / castles are quite often used. We've been here http://www.hutton-in-the-forest.co.uk and here http://www.arleyhallandgardens.com this year and we'll be at the KC International Festival here in August http://www.rockinghamcastle.com/index.php?ID=1 Still the same story though - any facilities that are needed for an agility show have to be brought in just as they would if.it were a farmer's field. Our own show is held on an agricultural showground - used only one day a year in September for that purpose. We often have to clear up some of the detritus left from this event before we can use the site but it wasn't too bad this year - http://www.westmorlandshow.co.uk/country_fest.html (The sheepodog trials are held in the field where we have our rings. The Terrier show is for real terriers, not the KC type.) Welcome to my world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 "Welcome to my world. " Sounds like fun! and you get to enjoy these awesome fields. Jovi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louisewood12 Posted November 24, 2013 Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Wow. Your hard work pays off because it looks amazing. I might have to come to one just to observe. We are doing agility as a bit of fun at the moment but we are a long way off being competitors. Lou.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum24dog Posted November 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Check the Show Diary here to see if there is a show near you to go and watch - http://www.agilitynet.com/ We all start thinking it's just for fun and hopefully that's the way it stays, even when we start competing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louisewood12 Posted November 29, 2013 Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 Thanks for the link. There's quite a few in the midlands in reach of me so will definitely go to one in the new year! Would be an interesting learning curve I'm sure!!! I find agility tremendous fun! Seeing how much my girls enjoy it spurs me on even more!!xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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