Karen Young from Bognor Regis, West Sussex, and her dog, Rock Madrigal (Madrigal), a three-year-old Bearded Collie, won the Starters Cup Final for large dogs at London’s biggest dog event, Discover Dogs, run by The Kennel Club, which took place at ExCeL London at the weekend.
The Starters Cup, The Kennel Club’s premier agility competition for dogs new to agility, was created for dogs in Grades 1 and 2 of the discipline. The top six large, six intermediate, six medium and six small dogs, who qualified in the semi-final at The Kennel Club International Agility Festival at Rutland Showground in August, took part in the exciting final, but only one was crowned winner in each height.
Proud owner, Karen said of the win: “Madrigal is the seventh Beardie I've owned and trained in agility, and she has been the most challenging, difficult and stubborn dog to date - which makes this success all the more precious and special!
“Madrigal is also the fifth dog I have managed to qualify to run at Discover Dogs - a huge personal achievement for me.”
Vanessa McAlpine, Events Executive at The Kennel Club said: “The Starters Cup is a wonderful opportunity for dogs who are relatively new to agility to perform in front of the big crowds at Discover Dogs. It is always inspiring to see dogs at the start of their agility journey competing at such a high level.
“Congratulations to Karen and Madrigal for winning the final against some tough competition, we are sure to be seeing them in future competitions!”
Discover Dogs, run by The Kennel Club, took place on 15 and 16 October at ExCeL London.
For further information, visit the Discover Dogs website. To find out more about getting started in dog agility and results from the show.