I'll eventually get the videos posted of the actual performances of the Danes on this website...but right now we're too busy competing almost every weekend!

2002 Great Dane Club of America National Specialty Agility Trial
by Keri Caraher at MorganDane.com

In the last year, the number of Great Danes competing in Agility has skyrocketed! At the 2001 GDCA National Specialty, only 6 Danes entered the Agility trial, but this year in Kentucky on October 15 there were a record 27 Danes entered for 46 runs! There were entries in every single class, from Excellent B to Novice Preferred - this was the very first trial for several of the entrants. There were Danes of every age (from 18 months to 8 years), every color, Champion Danes, Working Danes titled in Obedience, Tracking, Flyball, and Therapy, and several Rescued Danes.

The new Preferred classes were a hit - there were 6 Danes in Standard Novice Preferred and 7 Danes in JWW Novice Preferred. Most of the Preferred entries were young dogs new to the sport, and there were some veterans entered as well. 1st place in JWW Novice Preferred was 7 year old WYSIWYG's Nikko Blue, earning her first qualifying score in Agility. 2nd place in JWW Novice Preferred was 20 month old Diamond Danes Victorian Lace, "Sarah," who was competing in Agility for the just second time and double-Q'd with a 1st place in Standard Novice Preferred, too. Sarah's mother, CH Diamond Danes Victorious Winner CD NAJ, "Tori," also competed in Agility for the third year in a row as well as Obedience.

The Novice A & B classes included several Danes who also were competing in Obedience and decided to give Agility a shot at the Nationals. Hillsides Whisper My Name CD earned her first Novice A Jumpers leg with 1st place, and third-year GDCA Nationals Agility competitor CH Lyn-Bar's Blue Max Von Croix, "Max," qualified for 2nd place in Novice A JWW. Paquestone N'Zaniri Rollnthndr NA NGC FD, "Natty" took 1st place in Novice B JWW, competed in Novice B Obedience and performed in a Flyball Demonstration, too.

Liberty's Magic Touch CD NA NAJ, "Vanna," who also competed in Open Obedience, won the Open Standard class. Surprisingly, one of the largest classes was Open JWW with 7 entries and 3 qualifiers: 1st place was Cheshire's Allthat N' Thensome NA OAJ, "Ali," earning her OAJ title at just 18 months old; 2nd place was Ezekial's Midnight Star NA NAJ, "Zeke," whose sister, Bailey, was also competing in Agility and Obedience; and 3rd place was Big Daddy Cool Diesel, "Nash" who is a rescued Dane.

Two of the 3 Great Danes in the country who have earned AX/AXJ titles were competing in the Excellent B classes. Double-Q'ing for her second year in a row in Excellent B with 1st place in Standard and 1st place in JWW was Morgan "Danger" Powers MX MXJ OAC OJC NGC AD FDCH, "Morgan," who also earned 1st place in Novice A Obedience (Morgan will be competing in this year's AKC National Agility Championships). 2nd place in Excellent B JWW was 7 year old "retired" CH Legacy Del Norte's Dijon AX AXJ, "DJ."

The trial was judged by Agility-titled Great Dane owner Bonnie Drabek, who designed some very nice, flowing and open courses for the Danes. There were only 3 qualifying scores in the Standard classes, because generally Danes have a harder time with the contact obstacles. They often miss contact zones (both up and down!) and they waste a lot of time on the table because they are uncomfortable sitting and/or downing on such a small surface. Several of the Danes were entered in the JWW classes only, because their Danes are too big and are nervous doing the narrow dogwalk. But the JWW classes were quite a success with 11 qualifying runs, and several near-qualifying runs.

Overall, the GDCA Nationals Agility trial was phenomenal and amazing to watch. It is rare to see one or even two Great Danes at an Agility trial, so seeing 27 at once was incredible. We are looking forward to an even bigger turnout for next year's GDCA Nationals in Florida, and you can expect to start seeing more Great Danes at your local Agility trial soon!

AGILITY DANES: Isis, Horus OAJ, Bailey NA NAJ, Zeke NA NAJ, Morgan MX MXJ, Ali NA OAJ

Complete Agility Trial Results: