2003 Great Dane Club of America National Specialty - Agility Trial
AGILITY on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21 (morning)
Orlando, Florida, October 19-24, 2003

Well after the 46 runs we had in 2002, the turnout of only 21 runs in 2003 was pretty disappointing. However, considering that Florida is in the far corner of the country, it's understandable that not too many people could make it.

The Danes that did show up were some of the top Danes in the country, however the low qualifying rate (19% in 2003 vs. 28% in 2002 and 38% in 2001) reflected the poor quality of the ring conditions - it wasn't the Danes! The ring ended up being much smaller then planned, which caused the courses to be very tight, and the floor surface was slippery mats over asphalt with water dripping from the ceiling - far from ideal for any breed!

Of the 9 Great Danes entered in the Standard classes (5 of which were Excellent level dogs), there was only one qualifier - Cheshire's Allthat N'Thensome OA OAJ owned by Shalein Bonney and Handled by Keri Caraher, with a score of 89 and almost 4 seconds over the SCT, in the Regular Standard Open class. The Standard courses were extremely tight and twisty, and most of the Danes knocked bars when they slipped on the mats or else incurred refusals because they couldn't turn tight enough because of the flooring.

The Jumpers classes were more successful, due to the more spread-out courses with fewer 180 degree turns, and wider course measuring by the judge. The two biggest classes of the trial were the Novice A JWW class (all the new Danes!) and the Excellent B JWW class (all the pros!). First place in the Novice A JWW class went to Chandler Bing's Romance, Owned and Handled by Katelyn Key, with a perfect score of 100, and 1 second under the SCT. First place in Novice B JWW was Paquestone's Southern Pride, Owned and Handled by Billie Medendorp, with a score of 93 and 7 seconds over the SCT. The highest scoring Dane in the trial was Hillside's Whisper My Name, Owned and Handled by Rosemary Hill, with a perfect score of 100 and 2 seconds under the SCT, in the Preferred Open JWW class, with a run that clocked at 3.3 YPS.

There were no qualifying runs by any of the 10 Excellent-level Danes who competed in the trial, partially because the more experienced handlers were frustrated by the conditions and their experienced dogs had a hard time adjusting to the footing and close quarters. And of course the dogs were frustrated as well, because they couldn't run at the speeds that they are used to running at - often 5 to 6 YPS.


Official Results:

STANDARD CLASSES
Novice A (0 entered)
Novice B (1 entered)
Novice Preferred (0 entered)
Open (2 entered, 63 SCT 145 yds)
  1 Ch Cheshire's Allthat N'Thensome, S Bonney, 89 / 66.84
Open Preferred (1 entered)
Excellent A (2 entered)
Excellent A Preferred (1 entered)
Excellent B (2 entered)
Excellent B Preferred (0 entered)

JUMPERS W/ WEAVES CLASSES
Novice A JWW (3 entered, 40 SCT 118 yds)
  1 Chandler Bing's Romance, K Key, 100 / 38.87
Novice B JWW (1 entered, 40 SCT 118 yds)
  1 Paquestone's Southern Pride, B Medendorp, 93 / 47.06
Novice Preferred JWW (1 entered)
Open (1 entered)
Open Preferred JWW (1 entered, 47 SCT, 146 yds)
  1 Hillside's Whisper My Name CD NAP NJP, R Hill, 100 / 44.71
Excellent A JWW (2 entered)
Excellent A Preferred JWW (0 entered)
Excellent B JWW (3 entered)
Excellent B Preferred JWW (0 entered)

The highlight of the week for most of the exhibitors was not the GDCA Agility trial, but the 4-day trial in Georgia where 5 Danes competed on fast dirt in a big arena with great courses for several Q's and double-Q's. Also the Agility Dane Seminar, held the day before the GDCA trial, was a great chance for all the Agility Dane people to meet each other, hang out, and learn techniques to improve their handling and training.

	2003 Agility Seminar in Florida! Zee Marie, Keri Caraher, and Judith Lascola headed up a fun seminar the day before the Agility Trial for the Agility exhibitors and those who were interested in getting their Danes started in Agility. Top Left, Louise and Bella test out the full-size dog walk with a lot of treats and encouragement after trying it at a lower height. Top Right, Judith helps lure Happy through the weave poles spread out in a V-channel...by the end of the seminar Happy was weaving like a pro! Left, Keri demonstrates some handling techniques while handlers walk the course. Below, Zee discusses motivation with the handlers. In 2005, Zee and Keri are offering an Agility Seminar on-site two days before the Agility Trial, for registration info go here.
All photos by Max Moss

Other Agility Events in the area...

10/20 - Agility Dane Seminar in Orlando, FL
Monday - a special training session for Great Danes Only! Instructors are Keri Caraher, Judith Lascola, and Zee Marie, handlers of three of the top Great Danes in Agility. Click here for details and registration! (Online Registration will be available at Dog Events Online.)

10/16-10/19 - 4-Day Agility trial in Georgia
On your way to the GDCA Specialty, join Morgan, Ali, and Greta at the 4-day AKC Agility trial in Alpharetta, Georgia on October 16-19 (Thursday-Sunday). 4 days of practice will have your Dane in top form by Tuesday at the Nationals! This is a Random Draw trial and will be very difficult to get into - make sure you VOLUNTEER to help and you send in your entry to arrive on the opening day, 8/13/03!
Premium List and Entry Info available at Dog Events Online.