The Kennel Club would like to congratulate Agility Team GB for their performances at the European Open Agility Championships in Vienna, Austria over the weekend (26th-29th July).
‘Team GB Red’ won a silver medal in the Large team relay final on Sunday 29th July. The team was made up of Dan Shaw from Chipperfield, Hertfordshire with his Border Collie, Geek, Natasha Wise from Watford, Hertfordshire with her Border Collie, Pebbles, Greg Derrett (team captain) from Evesham, Worcestershire with his Border Collie, Addict and Martin Reid from Cullompton, Devon with his Border Collie, Spring.
The group competed against 105 other teams from around the world in the qualifiers on Friday 27th where they reached fourth place, winning them a spot in Sunday’s final where they then achieved their overall silver medal.
Another Team GB achievement was Hayley Telling from Arundel, West Sussex and her Shetland Sheepdog, Teal, who won 1st place in the individual Medium agility round on Saturday 28th July.
Agility Team GB competed in both the team and individual rounds and the event provided a great opportunity for the team to demonstrate their skills on European courses and to compete against world class competitors.
The European Open Agility Championships attracted 850 handlers and their dogs from all over the world, with 37 countries represented at the competition including Russia, Venezuela and Greece.
Team Manager, Mark Laker commented: “Going home with medals and class wins makes all the preparations and practice for the European Open 2018 worthwhile. Agility Team GB dogs and handlers looked strong, fit and well prepared for the challenging courses they faced.
“I’m very proud for the opportunity to work with these top handlers and support them as they compete with the best in the world.”
Agility Team GB is supported by Kennel Club, CSJ Specialist Canine Feeds, DOG StreamZ, Nottingham Trent University, Agility 1st, Animal Trust and Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, the Kennel Club's preferred cross-channel partner. The official equipment supplier is First Contact.
Ceri Rundle, CSJ’s founder and sponsor of Agility Team GB, said: “Well done to all our handlers and their incredible dogs for competing at the European Open Championships last weekend – they all performed extremely well and we are very proud to sponsor Agility Team GB. The determination and dedication of the dogs and handlers was very clear to see and they all should be pleased with their performances out there. Congratulations to the team!”
Matt Campbell, founder of DOG StreamZ, commented: “Congratulations to the Agility Team GB squad on their achievements at the European Open in Vienna. The team’s dedication, skill and commitment to the sport was a pleasure to see. Go Team GB!”
The team of twenty five handlers and their dogs were chosen following this year’s squad selection process, which concluded at the Performance Weekend hosted by Nottingham Trent University, Brackenhurst Campus in April.
For the full list of results, visit www.eo2018.at/
Find out more about what it takes to become a part of Team GB in 2019.
Details on squad training days and the performance weekend dates will be available in due course.