AND THE WINNER IS.......


It is the end of the year for Dog Sports Competitions and trophy organising time even though we don't do the ceremony until the AGM. It has been a big year of competition at shows and tournaments for our senior club members but also our regular Club Competition has again given a lot of satisfaction and advancement to those of us not yet quite competiting on the National Stage. Or at Senior level another reason to hone our skills with a cold start. The Sprints have been an amazing addition to the Club Competition and I would like to see them stay as a warm up to the Agility course.

SPRINTS -A- TEAM (with handicap)

1ST PLACE NICOLE & SOPHIE
2ND PLACE KATIE & MEG

BIG DOGS ON THE FLAT SPRINTS

1ST PLACE DEBBIE & SOPHIE
2ND PLACE CHRIS HUTCHINGS & BOSTON
3RD PLACE EQUAL JENNY & BREE AND RAEWYN & CHIP

SMALL DOGS ON THE FLAT SPRINTS

1ST PLACE CHRISTINE LONGTON & JESSIE JAMES
2ND PLACE PAM & KC
3RD PLACE PAM & JADE

VETERENS SPRINTS(8 YEARS AND OLDER)

1ST PLACE RAEWYN & BOO
2ND PLACE CHRISTINE HUTCHINGS & BOOTZ.

AGILITY WINNERS:

EXPERIENCED:

1ST EQUAL ON 31 POINTS DEBBIE & SOPHIE AND RAEWYN & BOO
2ND PLACE CHRIS HUTCHINGS AND BOSTON

ELEMENTARY:

1ST PLACE ON 33 POINTS CHRISTINE LONGTON & JESSIE JAMES
2ND PLACE RAEWYN & CHIP
3RD PLACE KATIE & MEG

LEARNERS;

1ST PLACE ON 21 POINTS GLORIA & MACY
2ND PLACE JENNY & BREE
3RD PLACE CHRISHUTCHINGS & KIKI

CONGRATULATIONS to you all trophies and certificates will be awarded to all the above. We have a number of trophies which are for top dogs in the various sports and top NALA dogs at our club as well so Awards Night always throws up a few surprises.

At Club Competition we had an average of 20 dogs competing each month aided by the first timers people who are members of the public and their dogs who simply come to 'have a go'. We have met some great people through this competition and occasionally one or two of them will stick with us and try their hand at getting some Agility going with their dogs. I just love watching the leader board all year as points are added and dogs start rising up through the ranks Macy, Bree and Molly have been steadily climbing both the Sprints and Agility ladders all year with all of them starting pretty much at the bottom and working their way up. Molly's points don't tell her story as well as they should but Sue and Molly will be the Learners to watch this coming year. It is pleasing to see people winning out of classes and moving up. Remember that every time you enter Club Comp you get one point for your trouble and points are awarded to fourth place as in 1st place receiving a total of 5 points, 2nd 4, 3rd 3 and 4th 2. when you have won three Learners you progress to Elementary and when you have won 5 Elementary you progress to Experienced. Gemma Meg and Chip progressed from Learners to Elementary this past year and Jessie James has just won through to Experienced which is great news for those of us in Experienced who want the opportunity to beat Jessie James. Club Comp may be the only place we might win a few points off him. There is no doubt that the top Agility Competitors at our Club currently are Christine Longton and Jessie James. Time dedication and the desire to go out and run at as many competitions as possible have certainly raised the bar in terms of performance at our Club.

I am truly hoping that all of our beginner dogs will compete this year. As far as I am concerned you cannot be serious about Agility unless you are competing at your level at Club Competition. As your trainer I want to see the fruits of each months labour coming through month by month. It shows up the holes in the training, the ability of the handlers to overcome nerves and mistakes and still make it work for them and their dogs. It helps me to put program together to make sure that everyone moves forward with enthusiasm.... I look forward to the first competition for the new year on 30th April

Notes from Raewyn


HI MUM. Most of you have not met my Mother although in earlier days in Ngongotaha she did come along on a couple of training days. My Mother donated the Container that we use to store our gear. If she hadn’t probably Dog Sports wouldn't have got off the ground. She is an avid reader of our newsletter as she says it is the only way she knows where I am. If the upcoming events in the newsletter say there is a show in maybe Cambridge, then she knows I will probably be there. I share dog stories with her and she loves hearing about our club dogs winnings. Mum has been unwell lately and is currently in hospital care to stabilise her long term health issues. But she is definitely still an enthusiastic Club Supporter and has always donated to our raffles and other bits and pieces, so HI Mum I am thinking of you.

TARGETED TRAINING at Rerewhakaaitu last week Chippy had his first ever Agility run in Jumpers C. It wasn't a very nice Jumpers C but it could have been worse if they had left up the first interpretation of the Judges sketch of the course which had everyone gasping. Anyway I have been training Chip for all of his 18 months that I have had him and I targeted Jumpers C work. Hurdle heights turns response times. I worked on our rhythm together as a team and aimed to get a clear round on his first outing. He did with 4th place as well. I am a fan for targeted training. If you want to know where you are going and what you have to do to get there please feel free to book a time to discuss your dog's progress, where you want to go and we will put a plan in place to get you to that target. It doesn't matter whether you have some experience or haven't yet been in the ring. Targeted Training gives focus to you and your dog so that you can campaign your dog properly. Not as I see every time I go to a show, the Gung-ho cowboy style. She'll be right, let’s just enter everything and blast our way through all the hurdles jump off the contacts. Both the people and the dogs look like unguided missiles. I wonder if they actually train properly to achieve results.
Raewyn

Club Captains Report


A late newsletter unfortunately. It has been a hard fortnight for Raewyn's Mother as she has been very unwell. So some things have to be put on the back burner and the newsletter has been one of them.

On the 30th -31st July we will hold a winter two day Fly Tournament so planning needs to get underway. This is much a club fundraiser so we need everyone to get on board and help in kitchen and with raffle donations. Cakes biscuits and any other food donations for the kitchen will be gratefully received. Contact Jenny on 027 4464385 if you are available to either donate or help out in the kitchen. We need people thinking that they will be available now so that in three months time we don't suddenly find that everyone is away that weekend as happened at our last Tournament.

We will have the honor of hosting the AGM for the New Zealand Flygility Dog Association on the Saturday evening. Raewyn tells me the last time this happened, Dog Sports hosted a dinner (paid for by the diners) and the meeting followed. The dinner was at 5.p.m, meeting at 6.30. So we will be discussing the best way to do this at the next Committee Meeting to be held on Saturday 30th April at 2.30 straight after our Club Agility Day. Remember everyone is welcome to have input at our meetings. At this meeting we also need to set a date for our AGM as
well.
Club Subs - Normally the subs are due by 31st March the end of our financial year. But this year because we offered a new deal to current members we extended the time for payment to the 21st April. Normal Club subs are $30 per annum. The offer to current club members is that they pay $180 which includes the sub of $30 and $150 in ground fees or rent. This is to replace the $2 we normally pay each time we use the grounds. It was fine for those coming a maximum of once a week but for most of us who are there three or four times a week it had become a bit expensive. So paying $150 for the year enables members to use the grounds as many times a week as they like. This is an immense saving while at the same time allowing the Club to set aside rent money for the Stock car Club to top up the months such as we had last winter when the takings were so down due to bad weather.

We all had a good day out at Rerewhakaaitu last weekend. It didn't result in much in the way of ribbons for our members but the courses were really good and most of us were impressed by the improvement in our work. Again Christine Longton did us proud with a win in Jumpers B and a second place in Novice. Well done Christine.

This is the start of a new training year with new classes for winter and plenty of events to attend. So get out there amongst it and enjoy all the Dog Sports you can.
Happy training
Debbie Trimbach
Club Captain.