Should Olympia be everyones dream?

If I owned a cart horse I would not be aiming for the Horse of the Year show.

If I own a fat Labrador as a pet dog should my aim be Olympia?

I normally write about my dogs and my experiences but the recent news on various ABC Qualifiers has made me think about writing about issues in Agility. ABC classes do not affect me, I run 2 collies. ABC classes may effect Dan for the 2013 season, but as it stands at the moment we run 3 collies and a kelpie x (who we have always assumed is crossed with a collie, eventhough she was advertised as a lab x).

There has been much discussion on the new Large 1-5 ABC Qualifier for Discover Dogs/Crufts and I feel it is certainly a valid question to ask ‘why are the grade 6-7 dogs being missed out’? There is now also the ongoing debates about the alteration to Olympia.

If this is a chance to showcase other dogs other than collies why are we leaving out the very best dogs?

Time and time again people are saying well it’s only fair; some breeds will never be able to beat the kelpies and the beardies. Some collies will never be able to beat the kelpies – but we don’t exclude the kelpies from the Novice or the Large Qualifiers!!!

Isn’t the point though to be the best you have to have the best trained dog that is fastest on the day mixed in with a bit of good handling. Why are we penalising those handlers who have worked hard with their dogs and compete at the top level.

I can understand a new qualifier being set up, new rules, a chance to showcase breeds at Discover Dogs and Crufts, but I cannot understand why Olympia - which in my opinion is THE Final to reach and should contain the best dogs around. It is not a showcase opportunity in many people's eyes, it is a final that people have spent a lot of time, money and effort to reach.

It may sound harsh but I believe that competing at Olympia should not be everybody’s dream, at least not with their current dog. I’m sure there are plenty of people who would love to compete at Olympia or Crufts but understand their limitations with their current dog. Why are we lessening the criteria to allow lower standard dogs to qualify for these events?

Last season I competed in several Novice Olympia Qualifiers’, you needed to be in the top 1% in a class of 300, that is a tall order for any dog and handler combination. I would enjoy running in the qualifier classes if I had a dog I didn’t think was good enough for Olympia as the courses always tended to be a little more interesting, but unless I believed I had a dog that was capable of winning that class and gaining me a qualifying spot then my aim and dream would not of been to qualify! (I did qualify at Thames, and we did reach Olympia :) )

I put this theory into practice this season – I ran in 6/7 Olympia and Crufts Qualifers for the first time. My dream is still to run at Olympia again with my dog, but I did not in anyway expect to be there this year as my dog and I were not of a high enough standard now we are in Grade 6. I would not expect to be there as my dog is not of the standard required, I will work towards getting there, and if this means it is with a different dog then so be it. I will not be there ringside saying well this is unfair my dog will never be fast enough.

My point is if you have a dog good enough for Olympia or Crufts you are in the minority, you should be very pleased you can get into that top 1% in a qualifying class and keep working towards being able to stay there. If you have a dog that is just not going to make the grade then maybe it is time to alter your ambitions.

I am in no way trying to say that if you don’t have a kelpie you shouldn’t expect to get to compete in the ABC Olympia, what I am saying is if your dog is not in that top percent of really very good dogs then you can’t expect to get to Olympia regardless of what breed your dog is.

Many people start agility with their current pet dog, I started with my rescued Springer Spaniel 12 years ago. My dream has always been to compete at Olympia as I went every year when I was young as I am also a ‘horsey’ person. I would watch the morning semi-final every year in complete awe of these amazing dogs and wish that one day I might get there. I knew that the dog I had then and my ability as a handler would not be good enough to win at somewhere like Olympia (as it happens he did qualify for the Semi’s one year, the course was a helter skelter as they reportedly wanted the fast ABCs to get through as the course at the semi’s the year before had been really tricky and therefore some slower dogs had qualified and people said that it wasn’t a very good show for the size of Olympia and for showcasing the dogs……….but that is a whole other blog post!). I believe I achieved a lot with my first dog, he had 5 homes before we got him, he was my first agility dog, he reached the ABC Olympia Semi’s, we competed at Crufts several years in Junior classes, he came 2^nd overall in the first UKA Grand Prix Nationals. So although I had a dog I could never win at Olympia with I believe we still achieved a lot and probably more than I could of expected to. I do believe I never once said 'I wish that ABC dog wasn't in the ABC class its too fast, its not fair!' It never occured to me that that very fast dog that was not a collie could be prevented from running in a final they had qualified for (I do remember several times saying that collie shouldn't be in the ABC class, but again that's another blog!).

  Olympia is the place to reach the ABC FINAL, how is it a final if some very good dogs that have fought through the qualifiers and gained their top 10 spot at Stoneleigh but then because they were the 3^rd fastest for their breed they are not allowed to go to Olympia? What also worries me is how the crossbreeds will be thrown into the mix here? I would say Dan will be ok we can register Blade as a Catahoula Leopard Dog X - but there is 8 more of those to join the Agility Circuit next year!!

Maybe the final 10 should get tehir spots and then 5 or so other ABC finalists could be invoted to attend. The majority of the audience aren't aware of what the Finals mean to us Agility people so I highly doubt they'd question, or even notice, if the official placing rosettes were given to the original final 10. This would mean the Final 10 can run in the class they deserve to, but the audience get to see a variety of dogs on the day.

There are a lot of very good ABCs out there, as there are a lot of very good collies out there, but we can't all expect to have a dog that can make the grade to get to Olympia. I do not think it is fair to cut out some of the best dogs in the country just because they are 'sheperding' type breeds. As far as I am concerned there is a Novice Qualifier for 3-5's to enter, a Large Qualifier for 6-7s to enter and an ABC class for non collies to enter - how can we put further restrictions on any of these classes???

I would also start talking about the Medium ABC Qualifer.......... but that will probably just make me even more angry :P

I will get down off my soap box now, and jsut say that i am interested to see how the Qualifiers run next season!

Maybe I'll get an ABC next year.........