Agility Team GB member Martin Reid, from Leamington Spa, and his two-year-old Shetland Sheepdog, Selfie, are celebrating bringing home a Bronze medal from the FCI Agility World Championships. The pair saw a weekend of success, starting with first place in the Small Jumping competition, followed by placing 13th in the Agility round, resulting in achieving third place overall in the Small Individual World Championship Competition to earn the Bronze medal.
Held in Schwechat in Austria, the World Championships saw hundreds of handlers and dogs take part over the weekend from 22 – 25 September 2022, with a variety of breeds competing from 38 countries, including South Africa and Argentina. The Agility Team GB squad travelled from the UK to Austria to take part in the championships.
Other highlights from the competition included the Agility Team GB Medium team winning first place in the Agility Team competition class, competing against 27 other teams.The team comprised of: Steven Richardson, from Cumbria, with Willow, his eight-year-old Shetland Sheepdog; Lily Dakin, from Hampshire, with Scout, her six-year-old Shetland Sheepdog; Shannon Springford, from Kent, with Gift, her eight-year-old Border Collie, and James Adams, from Warwickshire, with Willow, his seven-year-old Cocker Spaniel.
The Agility Team GB Small team celebrated gaining seventh place overall. The team comprised of: Katrina Hands, from Scotland, with Sizzle, her five-year-old Shetland Sheepdog; Marc Wingate-Wynne, from Derbyshire, with Snazzy, his six-year-old Shetland Sheepdog; Alan Bray, from Milton Keynes, with Ticita, his seven-year-old Cocker Spaniel, and Martin Reid, from Leamington Spa, with Selfie, his two-year-old Shetland Sheepdog.
The Large Individual Jumping competition saw 128 dogs competing and Team GB members Naarah Cuddy gained third place with her dog, Lemon, Euan Paterson secured fourth place with his dog Crazee, and Dalton Meredith came sixth with his dog Clippy.
After winning his Bronze medal with Selfie, Martin also competed with his dog Snooze, a six-year-old Border Collie, and secured fifth place overall in the Large Individual World Championship.
James Adams, from Warwickshire, competed against 78 dogs and gained third place in the Medium Individual Agility with Willow, his seven-year-old Cocker Spaniel.
Laura Chapman attended the championships for the first time and gained 11th place out of 78 in the Medium Individual Agility with her dog, Endeavour.
Agility Team GB Manager, Greg Derrett said: “This week’s results really showed Agility Team GB are moving in the right direction as we have podiumed across all three height categories!
“The World Championships conclude a successful year with Agility Team GB winning medals at all three major Championship competitions throughout the year, which is an excellent achievement for the team, especially after a long break due to Covid-19.
“I would like to give Martin Reid a special mention for winning a Bronze medal in the Small Individual World Championships. The future is looking extremely positive for Team GB, and we are excited for the 2023 season!”
Agility Team GB consisted of 18 dogs and handlers, including reserves, who were selected from the Agility World Championships Tryout Day held in Statfold, Tamworth in March 2022.
Earlier in the year, Agility Team GB attended the European Open Agility Championships in Belgium at the end of July where the Medium team, GB Gold or Sold, gained a silver medal.
Phil Keen, Managing Director from Natural Instinct, sponsors of Agility Team GB, said: “On behalf of Natural Instinct, we’d like to congratulate everyone on their results at the Agility World Championships. We are proud to sponsor this fantastic team and are excited to see what the future holds for these amazing athletes!”
Agility Team GB is supported by The Kennel Club, Natural Instinct, Dog Sports Derby and Galican.
The 2023 FCI Agility World Championships will be held in Liberec, Czech Republic from 5 – 8 October 2023. The European Open Agility Championships 2023 will take place in Denmark from 20 – 23 July.
