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!

Awesome August: Can You Dig It Show

This year is flying! August already! The first Sunday of the month brought another of our Can You Dig It Shows.

The weather forecast had been dubious but thankfully the rain held off all day. Lydia set out the Jumping courses and Nigel very kindly offered to judge for the whole day, rather than just for the afternoon as had been previously arranged. Lou Cadman made a rare appearance to a summer show and judged the Agility for the whole day. The course standards were very high, challenging the more experienced handlers to find the fastest lines while keeping it very much do-able for the less experienced handlers and dogs.

Beginners Agility - Lou Cadman

There were many talks and whispers of "this is my first show" heard throughout the day and we are always very proud and pleased to do our best to support and encourage agility newbies. As well as the first timers we also had a good range of experienced handlers showing us what they can do in the Advanced classes. Vic Royle got a little more than she bargained for when she asked for some cake and nearly ended up wearing it. Smiles and laughter all round! There was a real family spirit about this show, as there is at all Dig It events!

3 years on from this photograph and still the same club atmosphere, only now we have a sit on mower!!

A big, massive thank you to Sharleen Toller who kindly baked some delicious cakes to give to helpers for free! There was even a glutton free cake! Poor Sharleen couldn't run her dogs, but despite this she was still seen scriming for well over an hour. 

Ash was a busy bee scoring in the caravan and the results were quickly rolling out. Deb's face was a picture of shock and amazement when we announced that Beanie had won a class! Sue Bebbington rocked up late with Mia and only went and won her Jumping and Steeplechase classes with storming fast times! Mia the tiny pocket rocket! 

Cake, chuckles, lovely judges, lots of beginners, whippet zoomies and an early finish all made for a very very enjoyable day!  Thank you to everyone who contributed to make it so. 

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!

January 2014 Winter Series: Pudding Bellies

We welcomed January 2014 with our Winter Series Show. Everyone was running a little slower than normal and complaining about tighter waist bands, and I think even the dogs were feeling the effects of a big Christmas dinner.

We were very privileged to have Agility Champion Amanda Hampson judge the Jumping for us. She put out some challenging but flowing Advanced and Intermediate courses that were praised highly.

Karen Stubbs got the Agility started with Veteran and Anysize, followed by Beginners. Katie's Labrador Dave (known more commonly as Doofus) had 3 storming clears while being handled by Sally, and Sally had success with her own Veteran Collie, Bob, who won Agility. After all of that running she welcomed a "rest" by Judging in the afternoon. Rachel's dog Daisy was obviously feeling much better after her recent ill spell and she ran like the supersonic Whippet that she is! Nice to see the competitive Daisy is back.

Post-Christmas diets were ruined by the cheeseburgers and bacon baps (it's good to have a naughty day) and people were starting to flag as the day got later. Eventually the Steeplechase courses were laid out and those who stayed until the end ran it with great spirit. The Large ring was very competitive with friendly Advanced handlers watching each others time and seeing who had the fastest round. 

Avril's youngster, Dodger, won his class despite a tricky course and Sue had a break while Bex stepped in to handle Polly and had a blast running her Not For Competition. 

Lydia was missing from the show due to being on a sunny beach somewhere with a handsome man, but the Dig It family banded together strongly and kept the show running as normal (..hopefully..). We had some fantastic helpers and first time Show Manager Rob was enjoying himself so much that he carried on throughout the whole day! Thanks to Charlie for coming in the morning to show him the ropes.

As it got darker and colder we eventually wrapped up for another late finish. Back to the Club to unload and Lydia's Dad, Rob, took center stage by organising the trailers and getting the equipment to and from the club. 

Thanks to all for another lovely show and what a great way to start 2014!

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!

July Summer Show

Wow it was hot hot hot this weekend for our UKA and Can You Dig It Show! We certainly like extremes; heavy rain in May and a heatwave this time. Snow in September?!

Everyone made sure their dogs stayed happy and cool and we were kindly donated a kiddies paddling pool by Instructor Katie which was a great relief for the dogs to have a dip in. We also got our big shelter up to provide more shade for people and their dogs.

Rode Heath Scout Group came with their fabulous cake stall and had sold out by early afternoon and on Sunday we had the delicious Burger Van Man who we love. There were also a number of different stalls including Oscars Dog Food and Eddie the Toy Man.

The biggest success story was Jill Francome and Harry who competed at their first show and got 1st, 2nd and 3rd across the two days! Well done you guys.

Sunday was especially busy and we had to open up an overflow car park! We even had a handsome Policeman come to visit us to check that all the dogs were okay. He left with a big grin after being invited into Lydia's caravan.

Another friendly and enjoyable weekend!

May Summer Show

This weekend we opened our doors for our first of three summer shows, and boy did the heavens open on us! It rained and rained and rained.

Saturday was our UKA Show and the wettest of the two days. I think the poor judges must have shrunk by the time we finished, but everyone wrapped up and battled through. The atmosphere remained positive and very friendly with people cheering and clapping each others runs and laughter could be heard. 

 Entry numbers were fairly low, with a rough head count of about 30 people, making the show generally relaxed and inviting. Rode Heath Scout Group provided a BBQ and Cake Stall and the cakes especially were very popular! Yum yum yum. 

Ruth one of our instructors had recently passed her UKA Judging course and judged for the first time on Saturday. She did a brilliant job and kindly let us share her courses. Here's Beginners Steeplechase:

On Sunday it was our Can You Dig It? Unaffiliated Show. Again the rain came but we still had a good attendance and saw lots of new faces. It was nice to see people coming for their first time and some for their first ever show. 

The judges put up some lovely, but challenging courses and people commented on how they'd enjoyed running the tricky but interesting Advanced course. One of the funniest moments of the day was reading a tickets that said "Dog - Marley, aka useless. Time - Forever. Free to a good home". It certainly made a couple of us giggle.

An enjoyable weekend for all with nice spotty rosettes for the winners and some generously donated prizes. Let's hope for sunshine next time though!

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.