Winter Is Here!

Our Winter Series shows at Alsager Equestrian Centre started this month!

This year we are keeping the shows to two rings only and have limited entry numbers to allow for a suitable finish time, car parking spaces and to release pressure from the exercise arena.

Well it was a little weird at first! Where is everyone?! It's a bit quiet! It was compared to last Winter, but it was perfect! The day ran like a dream.

Also new for Winter 2014, a sexy new scoring system! Katie and Ruth took scoring duties for November and there were lots of excited sequels and high-fives happening as they figured out the ins and outs of working the new program. Lydia wasn't quite so keen on the high-fives...

Big thank you to The Undesirables and FAB Agility Club for running the two rings. There was a fair amount of rivalry between the two parties, who could finish first, who had the better ring. Midway through the day The Undersirables presented a list of demands to Lydia; massage chairs and hot water bottles to name just a few! These were quickly denied with an effective Computer Says No.

The atmosphere at Dig It Winter Shows are always great and everyone was in high spirits and having a lot of fun. 

A few club members were bringing out their young dogs for their first shows or training in the ring after their first summer of competing. Sarah and Lola managed a 1st place at their first ever show! It's so exciting to have seen this dog progress all the way through the Dig It Obedience classes, from Puppy to Gold and then into the Agility ring! Deb and Beanie pulled a 1st out of the bag and everyone took cover while Lou and Paddy went for a Jumping run... he always manages to complete about 20 extra obstacles on his 100mph lap of the course! 

A lot of people are now progressing up the levels from previous Winter Series and some secured their final win this month to now move up. Don't forget: 2 wins in Agility or Jumping and you go up! The Intermediate and Advanced competition is starting to get really exciting.

Thank you to our Judges; PJ, Audra, Rob and Bex and to all who were involved in making the day a success, as always.

We'll see you next week for the December Show!

Amazing April: Winter Series Show

Ahh. April is here! Daffodils. Lambs. And the last of our Winter Series Shows!

It was a mostly dry day throughout with one or two short spells of heavy downpour. Ruth kicked things off with a fast, flowing Beginners Jumping that rocketed out some sub 30 seconds times. Over in Ring 1 Matt's Intermediate Agility tested the handlers ability and in Ring 3 the Veterans and Anysize plodded around a comfortable Agility course.

The day ran quickly, although help was surprisingly scares at times, and everyone was itching to hear the overall series results!

Gill Vann from K9 Skool was running a Rescue League throughout the Winter Series and she was busy scurrying around collecting results, while also running her dogs and doing a spot of scribing.

Onto Steeplechase and everyone cheered as Deb and Beanie managed a great clear run! 3rd place! Hurrah Deb, all of that patience is starting to pay off.

Everyone was in great spirits as the day started to come to a close and jokes and laughter were wafting across the radios from ring parties to scorers box.

The Rescue League was announced and up in 1st place, our very own Sue with Rosie! Not only that but they also took Winter Series Medium Advanced 1st place! Two very pretty rosettes for them.

More instructor success came as Lou and Poppy took 1st place in Small Advanced Winter Series and Bex and Gemma 1st place Small Intermediate Winter Series! 

Back to Dig It and both trailers were unloaded onto the field and the rings were erected for our outdoor training rings and our summer shows! It is so exciting to see the field set up in all its glory. Summer is definitely close by!

Thank you to all for making our Winter Series the enjoyable, friendly and fun atmosphere that we all love!

Mild March: Winter Series Show

March is upon us and spring is definitely in the air! I thought I was late when it was light and I was still at home but no, thankfully the sun is starting to peek its head out for longer each day!

Lou had staggered out of hospital and right into the show on Sunday, looking a little green around the gills, but stubbornly Judged for half of the morning. We were all pleased to see her up and about although also pleased to see her go home to rest at lunch time.

Three rings were running once more with FAB and On Track Agility Clubs taking charge of a ring each. The Show ran quickly and smoothly, although the exercise arena was a little stretched at times with some of the little dogs being run over by 100mph collies.

Avril championed the day by doing the triple with her youngster Dodger! Agility, Jumping and Steeplechase Win! Adele and her newbie Luna also performed really well and Rachel and Daisy got 3rd place with Daisy's first show on Standard height in Beginners Jumping. Wowie. It's so heart-warming to see dogs that have come through Puppy and Bronze Obedience at Dig It now starting to find their confidence and produce results at Agility Shows.

One of the comedy moments was Christina running Echo for Rachel! Poor Echo did a lovely stop contact on the dog walk, and Christina, not expecting it, was looking all around thinking she'd lost him! Her fellow Advanced competitors were very... supportive?! (We're laughing with you honest!).

Quickly we were finishing up and the scorers were struggling to keep up! With the night still light we had packed up and gone home for a reasonable finish time!

Only one more show left to do and at the end of March our Club Competitions start outside. Winter shows are brilliant for training and keeping our dogs fit, but we're all itching to start getting out onto the grass!

Fantastic February: Winter Series Show

What's this, no rain! February brought the sunshine to our show, but of course we couldn't avoid the mud. Three rings were opened up with FAB Agility Club and Tailwaggers Agility Club running a ring each, the show was nice and relaxed! Big thank you to them for their fabulous ring parties!

Becky Sargent honoured us with her first time judging and said she loved seeing the high standard and different breeds in Beginners Agility. We gave her a bright rosette in her favourite colour!

It was nice to welcome back lots of stalls and we even had a charity selling cute little fluffy chicks and cream eggs! The atmosphere was friendly as always and Bex was approached by a stranger and asked to run her dog which she thoroughly enjoyed! Oscars became our new sponsors of the Veteran and Anysize class and the rosettes looked great with printed tails.

Deb and her youngster Beanie managed half a clear round which was met by much cheering from Lou, be it quiet and collected cheering! There were many new entries and it is always a pleasure to see new handlers and dogs starting their agility journey at Dig It.

Nick was back on the scene and Lydia set him to work scoring on the laptop, without telling him much about what to do. Despite this he took it on like a pro! Watch out Ash, you may be getting replaced.

We finished in style at a reasonable time, with all hands on deck to pack away. Don't forget you get half an hour free arena hire if you help to pack away and unload at Dig It, plus half an hour if you help to set up on the Saturday!

See you in March! Our Club Competitions start in March also, last Friday of the Month!

Dazzling December : Winter Series Show

We welcomed December in with another Winter Series Show. As the sun rose on a new day the burger van was a welcoming sight for some of us who had arrived before breakfast!  Entries were limited to keep the show to two rings and it was much smoother to organise and manage. We had plenty of help and everyone had more space and room to relax.

The competition soon heated up with many Dig It Members taking home prizes! Rachel & Daisy had an amazing first show getting placed in every class and even taking home the 1^st in Steeplechase. Bex’s dog Gemma didn't let age stop her as she took home two 1^st and a 2^nd, despite being 11 years old! When the results were announced Bex reached a pitch of squealing that only dogs could hear! Avril & Adele brought out their "pups" for their first show and Luna took home a 6^th and Dodger a 3^rd! Also Dianne had a lovely run with Jess for a 2^nd place and Ella and Woody had two 1^st in Intermediate! Advanced is not far away for them!

Our Judges were fantastic and it was great to welcome some Kennel Club Judges who are fairly new to the position. Our shows don’t just cater for newbie dogs. We also had first time Judge Matt who thoroughly enjoyed himself and has promised to come back again. I guess we aren’t so scary after all. I particularly enjoyed his Steeplechase course (but that may be because we won it)!

Greyhound Gap brought along their fabulous cake stall which caused a lot of Christmas diets to be broken, or temporally put on hold, and the Agilitywear stall was busy handing out and taking orders (I am looking forward to getting my new Dig It hoody at the next show!). Oscars were there with some great dog goodies as well as Monkey Dog Wear with their amazing leads and collars. All of this shopping almost left no time for agility.

It was a long day and people were flagging a little as we reached the final Steeplechase classes. Well done to all of you hardy guys that stuck it out to the end! The atmosphere was friendly throughout and there were a lot of people supporting each other while course walking and competing, with the occasional friendly banter here and there.

With the second show now done winter is truly into the swing of things! Entries are filling up fast so get your butt moving if you haven’t yet entered our 2014 shows! The future is bright.

Remember November : Winter Series Show

The first show in November marks the start of Winter and it was a tad chillier than anticipated! We had a busy show and due to someone not being able to count (Lydia) we ended up with more entries than planned so opened up a third ring for Steeplechase.

There was cheer and laughter in the air (very loud laughter from Avril) and a number of instructor misfortunes contributed to the enjoyment. Sue never made it to the show due to her house mate leaving for Birmingham with her car keys! Then I covered myself in hot chocolate while doing the drinks run and had to lose my jumper (brr). Lastly Katie's Springer, Milo, jumped up at her and ripped a big hole in her jeans and she had to wrap a jacket around herself apron-style to hide it!

There were plenty of mishaps in the ring too! Rob and Buddy (famous from previous posts) had a cracking run until Buddy somehow mistook a jump and got stuck with his front legs on one side and back legs behind, with the pole under his armpits! He eventually managed to scramble over and didn't even knock the pole down. Lou's dog Twiggy somehow got in between the timer and the jump wing (no one quite knows how) and then her other dog Poppy had a wild run; firstly self-releasing off the seesaw and then running off the dog walk and over the finish jump, leaving Lou stood at the second to last jump waving goodbye!

However it wasn't all bad. Intermediate was definitely the busiest class this time and it's pleasing to see that a lot of dogs have moved up the grades during summer. The show still had its beginner appeal and Deb had her first run in a new place with her youngster Beanie and they did really well. Bex and Gemma got placed in every run. Katie and "baby" Milo got a 2nd on his 2nd Birthday! Sue, Avril, Lou and Sheli all got placemets with their dogs and Adele and Oliver beat Lou to 1st place for once!

We had some great judges putting together lovely courses and we all really enjoyed running Emma's Steeplechase. Rachel ran Emma's dog Tess, but half way around she realised her mum was in the ring and had to run over to say hello! Poor Steve our website designer then got bullied into scribing for Judge Emma, who happens to be his daughter.

Away from the agility everyone couldn't help but notice the new added muscle to the show in the form of a tall welshman! It was a great help having two guys at the show and Nick (Mr. New Guy) and Ash are always a welcome sight when it comes to packing away time. Even if Ash was wearing a very bright, pink hat. It clashed a bit with his ginger hair!

It was a late finish but the spirits and atmosphere were high as usual (although I think it's safe to say we all collapsed once we finally got home at 8pm)! December will be back to the plan of 2 rings and away before 6pm!

Winter Series Agility Shows

In August 2012 Dig It decided to take over Tailwagger’s Winter Series Shows. Held in an indoor riding centre, the winter series is a set of 6 unaffiliated shows which run once a month from November to March. The shows are limited to 850 runs and aim solely to provide a relaxed, friendly experience for new dogs and handlers as well as for experienced handlers wanting to maintain their dogs fitness and show training over the quieter winter months.

Who Should Enter?

The shows are specifically designed for new handlers and new dogs who want to get that first show experience as well as those experienced handlers and dogs who want to smooth out the kinks and knots. Our shows encourage training in the ring, with silent toys allowed to be held when running for competition and NFC runs available. These shows are a great time to reinforce your contacts, try new handling skills and crack that start line wait. Have you ever thought “I wish I could try that again?” Well you can! You get 2 runs for Agility and Jumping and the option to run your 2^nd go NFC if the first was for competition. Grade 3 dogs can be entered in Beginner or Intermediate allowing inexperienced Grade 3 dogs the chance to train the basics in a show. Rings are fully fenced with clear entrances and exits and as much queuing space as possible. 
Courses for higher levels present challenges and valuable training opportunities to proof those difficult sections, weave entries and contacts. 

Show Day

Not far from the M6 and there is ample parking. Outside there is a spacious equine exercise area that doesn't get muddy and a burger van for those rumbling tummies. Inside you will find a variety of trade stalls selling cakes, clothes,dog toys & treats. Local charities Greyhound Gap and Rode Heath Scout Group make a regular appearance with a tombola and second hand book stall. There are frequent announcements and the ring managers are clearly found in their high-vis jackets. Ring plans are kept simple and a friendly face is never too far away to help.

 WhyNot?!

Small unaffiliated shows are vitally important to get you and your dog comfortable in the show environment. Limited numbers keep it from being too crowded and the courses are smooth, simple but challenging to match your level.2 runs for Jumping and Agility and training allowed in the ring, plus a brilliant burger van! Why pass at an opportunity to train in the ring?! Once you try one show you’ll be ready to come back for the rest of the series.