Another friendly and well organised show!  It was held at Horsham Rugby club which was a perfect venue with flat, well mown grass and bar that opened at lunch time!  The show opened at 8am with the judging starting at 8.30am and were were all done by 12.30pm!

Our classes were all combined - G1-4 Agility, G1-3 Agility and G1-3 Jumping, each with around 50 dogs entered.

I was really pleased with our Agility runs - Pepper stopped on all of her contacts and I held her in position for a couple of seconds before releasing her.  The courses were really nice - not too easy but very fair.  I'm starting to feel more confident in trusting Pepper and no longer choose the easiest way to handle a tricky section.  We tackled several rear crosses today and Pepper did all of them brilliantly - I would definitely have avoided them 3 months ago!  We managed to go clear in both runs and were 6th in the C1-4 Agility and 3rd in C1-3 Agility

The Jumping was a different story!  The course was not that easy - I had a plan A, B and C but still wasn't sure that any of these would work!  We set off and sailed throught the first hard bit using plan A which worked beautifully - into the weaves and for some unknown reason she popped out half way through and barked at me!  I have no idea why and my friends who was watching said that I didn't do anything to have caused it!  Second attempt and she completed them without a problem, onto the next hard bit which again was no problem, and then on to the end.  Even the judge commented that it was a shame as she had done the rest of it so well!  So 5 faults, but I'm happy that we negotiated the hard bits without a problem.

The sun shone all day so I used it as an opportunity to try out the canopy to shelter the car.  I'm sure that all of the people parked near me had a good laugh while I tried to erect it, but now I've done it once I'm sure that it will get easier, and it definitely provides good shelter.

Definitely a show to enter for next year!

JFS = Just For Starters

JFS was set up by Cliff and Charlotte to run friendly shows aimed at people who are new to agility.  They have some great rules such as the false start rule - if your dog breaks it's wait, the time is reset and you can start again.  You have three chances at a smooth start - they have a similar rule for the weaves.  It's a great way to help new competitors build their confidence in a show environment.

I used the Agility runs for training to check how solid Pepper's contacts are getting.  She's really getting there but she didn't stop on the A-Frame in one run, so we had to run it again!  The course wasn't that nice to run but I achieved what I needed to.

The jumping and steeplechase courses were quite tricky with some awkward changes required at either end of a pipe tunnel.  We picked up 5 faults in the Steeplechase as Pepper missed a tunnel entry, but we came 1st in the Jumping, so overall not a bad day!

This show was the last of their Summer series, but the first I had attended.  They awarded the overal winner prize at the show and I was delighted for my friend Sarah Smith and her gorgeous Cockapoo, Molly, who won the whole series!  I'm sure they are destined for great things!

Today we received the gorgeous collars and matching bandanas that have been made for us by Dapper Doodles!  Here are the girls looking very smart:

Happy 3rd birthday to our beautiful little minx! 

Wow!  What a successful day we have had at the Cranleigh Show!

We only decided to go this morning as the sun was shining, but we weren't expecting the weather to hold and agreed that as soon as it started raining we'd come home.  My friends at Kelluki were running a have-a-go agility ring with a little competition, and a companion dog show in the afternoon.

The show was great - lots of stalls and action in the main ring.  We particularly liked the cider stand who had products called Suicider and Perryletiic!  The Suicider was only available in halft pints due to it's strength!

We headed to the agility ring and had a practice run and our competition run.  Even Ruby had a little go but she wasn't terribly keen and kept running to Daddy sitting at the side of the ring!  Pepper did a great competition run and won the agility!

The companion dog show had a section for pedigree dogs followed by a fun section for all dogs.  I entered both girls for all of the classes they were eligible for - it was for charity after all!  Lyn was the judge for the day - she's a proper judge and really put us through our paces.  There was some stiff competition from some gorgeous dogs and very cute puppies, but somehow we managed a massive haul of 6 rosettes!

Pepper    1st    Judges Choice
                2nd   Prettiest Bitch
                3rd    Best Condition
                5th    Best Movement
                6th    Best Crossbreed

Ruby        3rd    Best Crosbreed

Ruby is the one that naturally attracts attention when we are out and about, so I expected her to outshine Pepper, so it was interesting to see how things worked out when judged by a professional! 

It was a great day and will definitely look forward to going again next year!

The postman delivered our long awaited rosette for coming 3rd in the Doodle Agility League last year!

It was great to receive it and Pepper looked very proud with her achievment!