The Armidale Dog Training Club Obedience and Agility Trials were held over the weekend at Charleston Willows, north of the city, off Rockvale Road. They were a howling success, to the satisfaction of weary local organisers. This is a sport where participants are prepared to travel and they came from all over NSW, Qld and the ACT.
President of The Armidale Dog Training Club, Tarnia Patton, said the weekend was a huge organisational undertaking. We have two trial events a year, in April and October. We spend the six months between the events making preparations,” she said.
There was steady rain almost all Saturday morning but the show went on. “A lot of people travelled a long way to be here. Many set up camp and the wet, boggy conditions added some challenges,” Ms Patton said.
The Agility Trials were a regional qualifier for State level competition, which helped lure some of the nation’s best. Greg Collins travelled from the ACT. He and ‘Kellie’ are one of the top dog agility teams in Australia. They won more events at the National Dog Agility Trials in 2008 than anyone else. Mr Collins was disappointed with their performance but was still beaming. “Agility dog trials may require a lot of hard work to get to the elite levels but having a go is simple for beginners. It’s all good fun. Sometimes people can take it too seriously and they need perspective – we are in a paddock with our dogs, ordering them over obstacles,” he said.
The canine calisthenics in agility were jaw-dropping to behold. It seemed that there was rarely a middle ground; owners were either supremely proud or flabbergasted with their four-legged friend’s performance.
There were many different events or competitions throughout the weekend. One of the most demanding agility dog trial events was ‘The Gambler’. In this, the dogs were put through their paces under the commands of their handlers and the orders of agility judge, Allan Schmidt from the ACT. They went over ramps and jumps, up and down a see-saw, leapt through a suspended tyre, scampered through tubular cornered tunnels and weaved through a row of poles. The difference with the ‘The Gambler’ was that, after a whistle was blown, the dog had to negotiate a section in order, without the accompaniment and hand gestures of its master. The scoring is complex but it all counts for little if the time is not up to par. Armidale’s Janine Carson and her dog ‘Arnikka Spy’ were the only competitors in The Gambler with enough speed and accuracy to qualify. The local team looked to be in a league of its own; in 55.59 seconds; they upstaged all other dogs and owners, without pause.
National veteran of the agility dog arena, Mr Schmidt said that the standard of competition on the weekend was first rate.
Meanwhile, the Obedience event was taken very seriously. There was no need for speed, just dogged determination and attentive obedience. Following a lengthy instructional session, owners or handlers headed to a course with dogs on leads and marked directions to follow. 
