Hayley Marshall from Bristol, and her dog, Jack the Gent (Jack), an eleven-year-old Shetland Sheepdog, won the Starters Cup Final for medium dogs at London’s biggest dog event, Discover Dogs, run by The Kennel Club, at ExCeL London last 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.
Delighted owner Hayley said: “Jack is my first agility dog, he introduced me to the sport by trying to join in at a fun fair but he was too young to have a go. We found a local club and have both grown in confidence.
“Sadly Jack will be retiring after this season, so this win meant absolutely everything to us. Ending on a high!”
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 Hayley and Jack for winning the final against some tough competition!”
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. Find out more about getting started in dog agility and results from the show.