               
For further information on this competition or qualifying events please contact us viat the contact page _________________________________________________________________________________________ CSJ Novice Agility Final 2008
Congratulations to our worthy winner Fiona Vaughn and DD
Well I think its fair to say this was probably the closest run final we have ever had at Malvern! The top three were split by a hairs whiskar and the standard of dog and handler was quite remarkable! A huge thankyou to our judge Ian Jackson for some lovely courses, to our fantastic ring party who yet again did a wonderful job, and to all the competitors who were real ambasadors for our sport! We had a huge crowd, and I think its fair to say, the agility once again has become a big feature at this show. Thankyou also to Malvern for once again being our hosts, its a great show and a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase agility in this way and provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for many to compete in front of such a big crowd too. even the weather was kind! Finally, a big thankyou once again to our sponsors of this event CSJ specialist Canine Feeds everyone went home with lots of goodies too! CSJ Novice Agility Final Reports 2008 Judgest Report Report by Ian Jackson I was delighted to be asked to judge the CSJ Final at Malvern this year, although slightly nervous, as it was my first ‘Final’. A new part of the Malvern Showground was to be the venue, slightly smaller than previous years but it turned out to be very well attended by the public who saw some outstanding agility at it’s best. The morning invitation produced a few problems going onto the see-saw from the collapsible tunnel but still a very high standard with a faultless run from our eventual winner Will Rolfe with Nedlo Black Magic. The afternoon final was run in perfect conditions with a very large crowd making for a superb atmosphere around the arena. Running fourth, Fiona Vaughan with Black Diamond of St Kenelms with a stunning round on a time of 29.89. Further excellent clears by Rachel Stevens and Darren Stokes followed. It was then the turn of our morning winner Will Rolfe who once again put in a fantastic clear timed at 29.90, so close! Several more good clears followed including Jackie Cliffe, Fiona Walker and Bob Scott. Then running 16th was Joanne Tristram with Cascades Itsy Bitsy with a dog walk running contact to die for, just fell short of Fiona's time. What a competition! Thankyou to CSJ for their continued support to Agility and Ann and Stuart Harmes for organising such a great event and managing to put everyone at their ease. Thanks also to the members of the ring party whose help was much appreciated. Ian Jackson (Judge 2008)
From CSJ Agility Well I am not too sure what we did, but we must have been ‘very good people’ to deserve such stunning weather, ordering tee shirts for this final is always a gamble, but this year as with others, they fitted the bill perfectly! (we wont mention the initial fog…in which I located Ms Robson only by her bright pink lipstick ..but it soon cleard!) The backdrop to Malvern showground is stunning with the most fantastic rolling hills…its beauty always makes this particular final feel quite special. Down to business: We had been allocated a new ring this year in the middle of the busy show, which I have to admit did cause me a sleepless night or two , logistics and timing being more critical as the ring had a packed program of events for us to work into. I need not have worried, and I think its fair to say that the ring was perfect, and the appreciative crowd for the final filled the stands and left no standing room around the ring. The Line up for this event gets more impressive every year, with some rather impressive g7 partnerships , this year was set to be once again an excellent standard and we weren’t disappointed. Our Judge for this years’ event was Mr Ian Jackson. Ian set some lovely fair fast courses for both events, producing some excellent results. Warm up event: The warm up event was won by Will Rolfe and his stunning little girl Nedlo Black Magic. This partnership put in a paw perfect performance, in a time of 32.69 very well deserved.
Second place went to Jason Gardner and Chaffords Prodigy in a time of 33.64 Third place Susan Duncan with Glenalco Fly Fifer in 34.38 CSJ Novice Agility Final 2008 With Ian fed and watered, we waited patiently for the birds of prey to make an exit…so we waited…and waited…. Finally (..did I hear someone say has anyone got a gun??) they exited the ring and the 2008 final was underway. Stuart Harmes’ dulcet tones introduced each nervous handler and dog as they entered the ring….his light hearted banter has become a feature of this event, and warmed up and amused the appreciative crowd that had gathered. Once our white dog had shown the competitors the course, we were ready to begin. First up was our 3rd place dog from this morning, Susan Duncan and Toots… a beautiful round in 32.88 but sadly picking up 5f on the dog walk. Next to go has to have a mention… this lady travelled all the way from the Isle Of White! (on a bike according to Stuart!) A lovely positive competitor determined to enjoy her big moment (and I think they did!) Cathy Humphries and Tasha conquered her nerves, and put in a really lovely clear round in a time of 35.01 making the long journey well worth it! Barrie James from the welsh contingent and winner of last years’ warm up event picked up an unfortunate 5f on the dog walk, then enters one of the favourites for this competition…and they didn’t disappoint! Fiona Vaughn and the lovely DD put in a faultless stunning clear round very early on in the running which really set the standard for the competition. A time of 29.89 it was clear that was going to be a tough one to beat! Fiona had a nail biting wait as we watched some good attempts at knocking her off that top spot! Our next Clear was from Rachel Stevens and the lovely Finn, slightly weighed down by a large rock on her finger (32.92) then a very determined Darren Stokes had a real crack at Fiona’s time… A superb clear in 32.92 resulting in a very well deserved 4th place. Our winner from the invitational event Will Rolfe had to be a strong contender for the title and with Fiona wearing a track outside in the collecting ring, (more Gin Fiona!) Will put in yet another stunning performance! This pair just make it look sooo easy! How close was this? 29.90! (the color momentarily returns to Fionas face….or was that the gin?)Just a 100th of a second splitting the top 2! Nice clears followed from Fiona Walker (32.90) and Jackie Cliffe, (32.37) Then Joanne Tristram and Blitz all the way from Dorset took up the gauntlet and executed one of the most stunning dog walk contacts I have seen in a good while, She pulled off a really nice clear to secure her 3rd place and the crystal keeping the top 3 times unbelievably tight(30.07) you can see how exciting this event had become! Cracking performances from Christine Robson and Daisy, Rachel Dudley with Ludo and our own Stuart Harmes and Noonoo all picking up an unfortunate 5f but all with excellent times however, the clears continued to come: Michelle Sturge and Cai (33.63) Bob Scott and Lottie(33.06) Veronica hill (34.21) all put in really good clear performances but this was such a tightly fought contest, a clear was not always going to be enough for them all to stay in the ribbons.
The Results The final results stood as follows: Invitation Event Wnner Will Rolfe Nedlo Black Magic CSJ Novice Agility Final 2008 1st Fiona Vaughn Black Diamond of St Kenelms Clear 29.89 2nd Will Rolfe Nedlo Black Magic Clear 29.90 3rd Joanne Tristram Cascades Itsy Blitsy Clear 30.07 4th Darren Stokes Copperlad of This Clear 30.51 5th Jackie Cliffe combyandaway Chase the ace Clear 32.37 6th Fiona Walker Mischief Managed Clear 32.90 7th Rachel Stevens Laetare Pikes First Edition Clear 32.92 8th Bob Scott Wiccaweys Lottery Clear 33.06 Food For Thought…. We have been running the CSJ final for some years now, and during this time we have made some great friends, had many sleepless nights and frantic days however we have thoroughly enjoyed the events, and the memories I have of each and every final have been great. From the comments we receive from competltiors the finals are very much enjoyed by those who take part. However, and I do hate to be negative but there is a growing trend here that over the last 2 yrs its fair to say there has been a big shift in the motivation of qualifying handlers as to how much people value such events. The CSJ final like most major events is a huge amount of organization and is run by us on a voluntary basis. Whilst we are more than happy to do this if it continues to be what people aspire to the amount of often l’ast minute apathy’ from some heats is quite soul destroying! At 2 of this years’ heats (and these are not those the furthest away) I have really struggled to attract finalists to the event. I have beenmet with a less than half hearted response from people when chasing up invitations from qualifying handlers. We have responses such as ‘oh no its only 2 runs’ or ‘no there is a show on that w/e’ ‘..This I find really difficult….am I just out of touch because I know from my own experiences, I would never miss a final I had qualified for…these are the moments that I remember so fondly with my dogs past and present. We do try and make this event an occasion which is very special for all those who take part to make it a day to remember. Our sponsors are generous, so everyone goes away with memetos of their day, and the show itself is accessible and really enjoyable. Agility is showcased in a way that provides are fantastic image of our sport to the general public, hopefully increasing its profile and giving people a moment in the spotlight in front of a huge welcoming crowd. I know some other finals are also struggling in the same way so… Tell me…Has the tide shifted in that people just don’t value these events as they used to? Do we now have too many finals in our sport to make them ‘special’ or is it just not what people aspire to anymore> I would be very interested to receive competitors constructive views That said…What we do end up with at our events is always a keen core group of people who are thrilled to be there and that’s what we want….(those who aren’t are perhaps better staying at home) Thanyou to everyone who helped make this final a huge success and well done to all the competitors and I hope you all enjoyed your moment! Ann Harmes CSJ Agility
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