Stour Valley Newsletter December 2009 9

www.stourvalleyagilityclub.co.ukChristmas Edition

Founder and Hon. Member Frances Elliott

Honorary MemberMary BakerAudrey Weekes

Committee

ChairmanCarol Maclean 01303 874190Email cazmaclean@hotmail.com

SecretaryVacant

TreasurerMelanie Buxton 01797 270769Email: mel.buxton1@virgin.netDee Morgan 07973671069Email: deemorgan@talktalk.netSue Culmer 07761344726Email: sue@zebedeedoodah.freeserve.co.uk Norma Thompson 07796 180231

InstructorsMelanie BuxtonDee MorganSue CulmerNorma Thompson

Dear Members,

Welcome to our Christmas edition of thenewsletter. Congratulations first to Melwho passed her instructors Training course,well done we know how difficult it is.

Congratulations to all those who havegone up a grade in competition agility.Thank you to all our instructors who giveup their time and possibly their sanity totrain us all each week and thanks to allwho turn up each week to train aswithout you there would not be a club.

Have a wonderful Christmas and welook forward to seeing you all in the NewYear.

Carol - Chairman

Agility Club InstructorsSeminar 2009

At the end of October I was luckyenough to finally, after 2 years on thewaiting list, be invited to attend the'Agility Club' Instructors Seminar inGuildford, Surrey.

I arrived at the college around6.30pm on the Thursday evening whenafter a swift introduction to the fourinstructors, we were put into groups ofabout 10 students and straight into ourfirst seminar which finished at 9.30pmthat evening. We were then able tomake our way to our B&Bs for an earlystart the next morning.

We had been given the followingtimetable, so I guessed that there wasgoing to be a lot to cram in.Friday - Practical and lectures 8.30am- 6.00pmSaturday - Practical and lectures8.30pm-5.30. Written exam 6pm-7pm.Sunday - Examinations 8am- 3.30pm

Practicals and lectures were alternatedthroughout the day as I think that manyof the students there had not studiedsince they were at school and wouldhave found it hard to sit and take in theinformation given out during the

lectures without the 'break' of thepractical lessons. The lessons coveredeverything from setting up of sequencedcourses, teaching beginners, to learningthe correct ways to critique yourstudents performance whilst givinghelpful exercises to improve anyproblem areas. My instructor was LizMorgan and her teaching was bothinformative and great fun. I'll neverforget her catch phrase used throughoutthe weekend 'you might want toremember that'! which always senteveryone in the group scrambling forour note pads as we desperately tried toremember what she had just said!

The course was hard work because itwas very intense with lots to rememberbut it was made tougher by the driveback to your B&B, having to walk yourdog then make a choice betweenfinding somewhere to eat/purchasefood or staying in, doing yourhomework and swatting for the nextday. Being a nervous wreck and by thistime, certain that I was going to fail, Idecided that I should for go the eatingand get on with my homework - yepr e a l l y ! )

The people in my yellow group rangedfrom dog walker to computer salesmanto behaviourist at Battersea Dogs

Home, really diverse and interestingpeople and on the Sunday of the examour group really gelled. It was great tosee how, as people started to feel thepressure, we all started helping andsupporting one another. No rivalry, nojealously, simply a real will to help andsupport your teammates. There weretears, laughter and one person almostleft for home as the stress and lack ofsleep finally got to her.

As is always the way with hindsight, theexams were not too bad in themselves,the instructors judging us were wonderfuland did their best to put you at ease.

When I left the college on Sundayafternoon, I felt quite sad to leavebehind those ten in my group, weseemed to have shared and learned so

much together in such a short spaceof time. It was a once in a lifetimeexperience because everyone therehas the same passion for agility andso badly wants to succeed. Am I glad I did it? - Yes. Would I do it again? - No thanks!!

I am pleased to say a week later Ireceived my results and am now anAgility Club Approved Instructor, witha little badge to prove it. Whoopeee!!!

Mel and Bruno were proud to representthe Blue Cross as a member of theirNational Agility Rescue Team at DiscoverDogs this year. The aim was to raise theawareness of the general public thatStaffies and their crosses can make good,fun pets and are highly trainable dogs.Mel and Bruno at Discover Dogs

Training Session with Roy Napper

Once in a while the club like to bring

in an outside trainer for our members

to train with. As a thank you for all of

you that helped at our club show this

year we arranged for Roy Napper and

his wife, unfortunetley Kathy his wife

was ill and so she could not make it,

to come along one Saturday and

spend half a day training us all. The

amount of time was very useful

because we could take our time, watch

others and hopefully learn from it. It

also gave both handlers and dogs

time to rest so that it was not

constant. This would not be fair to the

d o g s .

Roy was interested in seeing us all

run our dogs over an agilty course

first to see where we could all

improve. Roy was happy to work on

through but some of us needed our

coffee break and dare I say it our

nicotine hit!

We then worked on weaves and those

that may have an issue with them

were used to demonstrate ways of

improving this.

The last part of the session involved

jumping and Roy was keen to step it

up a level by asking us to pull round

and across. Some found this fairly

easy to execute, usually the higher

grade dogs but for others it took a

little longer for the dogs to grasp and

some didn't grasp it at all. Not

because they were not trying but

because they were young and still

have a bit to learn. But it was obvious

that every one took something away

from watching others deal with these

p r o b l e m s .

We hope to hold another training day

in the not too distant future and hope

that all those that were unable to

attend will have the opportunity to

participate next time.

Dee Morgan

Roxy having fun - as usual

Competition Report

Handler: Judi Cross

Dogs: Liza, Keira, Marja

Breed: Samoyeds, Finnish Lapphund

Height: L a r g e

Results: 5 clears and a 6th with Liza,not bad for a 9 year old in January.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Handler: Chris Phillips

Dog: J a c k

Breed: Border Collie

Height: L a r g e

Results: 4th and 5th~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Handler: Roz Gentry

Dog: B e r t i e

Breed: Golden Retriever

Height: L a r g e

Results: Clear only last weekend attheir first winter show.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Handler: Jennifer Bannister

Dog: T i l l y

Breed: Spaniel cross

Height: L a r g e

Results: Clear and very well done.~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Handler: Dee MorganDogs: Candy, Chey

Breed: L u r c h e r s

Height: L a r g e

Results: 9 clear rounds, 5th and 2 x

6th places.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Handler: Julie Macey

Dogs: Stanley, Gilbert

Breed: King Charles Caveliers

Height: S m a l l

Results: Several clears

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Handler: Carol Maclean

Dogs: Patch, Meg

Breed: Jack Russell, Border Collie

Height: S m a l l / L a r g e

Results: 1st with Patch and clear round

with Meg at her first ever show

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Handler: Elaine Smith

Dogs: B e n / R o x y

Breed: Lurcher/ Spaniel

Height: Large/ Medium

Results: 5th, 6th place

Instructor Training

During October we held a series of

in house training sessions for those

wishing to become instructors, which

Sue organised.

It took place over a few weeks and

involved both theory and practical

with a test to complete the course.

Sue was very pleased with the

enthusiasm and results of the group

and so as from January we look

forward to some new faces in a

teaching capacity.

Well done to you all and good luck.

Guest Instructor

During November Sandra joined us

as a guest instructor. We would like to

thank her for her time and input

which we all found to be both

rewarding and refreshing.

Caption Competition

Who won the caption competition!

All will be revealed at the fun night

along with the mystery prize!!

On behalf of the committee may we take this Merry Christmas and

N o t i c e B o a r d

Christmas Dinner

To all those that have booked to attend

our Christmas dinner, please arrive at

7pm to be seated at 7.30pm at

Conningbrook Manor Hotel on 17th

December. Dancing commences at 9pm!

Don't forget to bring your secret Santa!

Payment Dates

Jan 2010 £12.00Feb 2010 £12.00Mar 2010 £12.00

Club will be closed from Thursday

17th December 2009 and will re-open

7th January 2010.

See you all in the new year!

Show Schedules

Anyone looking to compete needs to

log onto:

www.agilitynet.com or

w w w . a g i l i t y e y e . c o . u k

A d v e r t i s e m e n t s

For all your canine massage

requirements please contact Elizabeth

Ford on 01233 502536 or go to her

website www.dogscanheal.co.uk

Agility Equipment

For good quality made agility

equipment, highly endorsed by Toni

Dawkins, please contact David or

Angela on 01233 733024.

Club Clothing

If anyone would like to purchase club

clotihng this can be found on our

w e b s i t e :

www.stourvalleyagilityclub.co.uk

opportunity to wish all our members a very . a Happy New Year! .