– Obedience, Rally and Agility –

December 12, 2005 – Canine Agility, which we saw last week, is an exciting sport – not just for the dogs and their handlers, but for the audience as well. As is often the case at the GDCA Nationals, there are scheduling conflicts which force us to choose between viewing the "Performance Sports" or attending the Futurity Competition and/or the Educational Seminars. Unfortunately, we can't be two places at once, although some people have been known to try.

Although I can't offer you photos from the Obedience and Rally events, they should not be ignored. Again, just as she did last week, JP Yousha volunteered to help us out:

OBEDIENCE, RALLY & AGILITY RESULTS FROM THE NATIONAL

This an informal synopsis of the results from the 2005 GDCA National. I think I have the correct results for most all the trial information. I did my best and hope there are no significant mistakes.

Obedience
Thirty five (35) Danes (some with multiple entries) were entered in the Obedience Trial. The 2005 GDCA HIT (High In Trial) DANE was CHROMA Gamble N Rose CDX RN, with a 194: (BISS Ch. Dreamspinner's Cash'N'Carry x O-NAC NJC CHROMA Trompe L'oeil CD OA NAJ NJP TDIA CGC) owned and trained by Dina Whitehouse of El Paso, TX, and bred by JP Yousha. Dina and "Rosie" were HIT at the AZ Specialty as well, and achieved that feat both times from Open A while completing Rosie's CDX with back-to-back legs. And in the intermittent day Rosie also completed her RN (Rally Novice) title at the National's first ever Rally Trial, so they went home with two new titles. (Several others completed titles at the National, but unfortunately I don't have a complete list.)

There was no HC (High Combined) winner this year. There were no qualifiers in Utility, but we did have three dogs do credibly in the "Futility" class. In Open B there were 3 entered and 1 qualifier: MACH Desertwood's LV Mr. Bojangles CDX RN, owned and trained by Zee Marie and F. Moss (bred by Linda Reese) with a 181.5. In Open A there were 3 qualifiers (and 7 trialed!) with Rosie gaining 1st with a 194. Second in Open A was Kappadane's Rhythm In Blu CD, handled by owner John Agey, and bred by co- owner Liz Kappash. Third in Open A was CHROMA-Orion Of The Red Bluff, CD RE NA NAJ, handled by owner Carrie Burns, M.D., and bred by JP Yousha.  In Novice B, 1st place with a 181.5 was Kappadane's Bad To The Bone CD,  owned by Lisa DeLuca and the breeder, Liz Kappash; in Novice A, 1st place was Scooby Doo, handled by owner Joan Keif with a 170. A total of 14 were entered in Novice.

In non-regular classes there were the following results: in Pre Novice there were 5 entered and all qualified, with Ch. Kappadane's Terminator Too going 1st with a 192. This young blue is owned by Liz Kapash and M.J. Jones, bred by Liz & Kathleen Holland, Patsy Meehan. Graduate Novice was won by the Carrie Burn's CHROMA dog "Orion" with a 188. There were *TWO* obedience teams fielded: one from local members of the AZ Dane Drill Team, and a second team made of Harlequin-bred dogs owned by Sandy Schneider, Linda Huckaba, Carrie Burns, and Dina Whitehouse. Both teams did a beautiful job. The Harl team won with a total team score of 680. For those who have never seen an Obedience Team, this is a spectacular event, especially with Great Danes: 4 dogs and 4 handlers perform a series of Novice and Open obedience exercises while all synchronized together as a team. To see such team competition at the National was a wonderful thing!

Rally
Rally was a popular choice with Dane folks, with a total of 34 entries. This is the first time we have had Rally at the National, as this sport only became official in January 2005. It is the AKC's fastest growing competition, and fielded more entries and trial for the AKC in the first month of competition than agility (another popular sport) did in the whole first year! In Rally Excellent B, 4 Danes were entered and 3 qualified. First place was Payaso's Ringo Starr v Witzn CDX RE TD with a 98. Ringo is owned and trained by Sandy Scheider, and was bred by co-owner Cindy Harwin. Second was Venus Wilson-Caprata, owned by Helen Barbeau, and bred by Barbara Caprata and Toni Wilson. Third was the CHROMA dog "Orion," handled by owner Carrie Burns, M.D. In Rally Advanced there were 7 entered and at least 6 qualified. 1st place went to Sandy Schneider's "Ringo" again with another 98.  Second was Helen Barbeau with her Capstone's Melody. Third was Zee Marie's "Bo," and 4th was again the CHROMA dog "Orion." Everyone in Rally Novice (A & B) qualified: a total of 20 entered. First in Novice B was another dog Helen Barbeau bred and owns called Capstone's Wellington with a 99. Two Kappanedane dogs went 2nd and 3rd with 98's: CH Kappadane's Reach For the Sky, CD, and Kappadane's Rhythym in Blue, CD. Fourth with a 97 was the HIT dog "Rosie." First in Novice A was Zia's Just-N-Time v Bonehenge with a 98; bred & co-owned by Julie Gray DVM and owned and handled by Monika Olbrisch. Second was Liz Kappash's "Terminator Too;" 3rd was CH Longo's Cosmo Noble Legacy, bred by Tootie Longo and owned by Lena & Erik Skov, and 4th was Joan Keif's Scooby Doo.

Agility
Agility had 16 dogs entered. Four Danes qualified: Bonnie, Bo & Morgan in ICS Jumpers with Bonnie 1st in that class. Bonnie again was 1st and the only qualifier in Excellent Jumpers, then Bo & Morgan Q'd in Excellent Standard with Morgan 1st. Nobody qualified in any Open class. Nobody qualified in Novice Jumpers or any of the Preferred classes. Newton was the single qualifier in Novice Std. Bonnie is Dynklind Fairhaired Bonniblu AX MXJ, handled by Jean Liebmann. Bo is MACH  Desertwood's LV Mr. Bojangles CDX RN, handled by Zee Marie. Morgan is MACH Morgan "Danger" Powers CD, handled by Keri Caraher. Newton is Holz Mr. Las Vegas, handled by Stephanie Holz. (Breeder & owner listings for agility were not completed, so are not reported.)

Congrats to all the qualifiers, and bravo to all the participants!

— JP Yousha, Chromadane

There is a wealth of information about Obedience, Rally and Agility on the AKC's web site. Here are some good places to begin:

Getting Started in Obedience – Why Train your Dog?
Getting Started in Rally – What is Rally?
What is Agility? It's the Fastest Growing Dog Sport in the US!

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