Will & Rudi selected for Scotland – WAO 2023!
Now it’s official! Following the tryouts mentioned below, Will & Rudi have the great honour of being selected to represent Agility Team Scotland at World Agility Open in the Netherlands in May 2023.
The team have been selected for the Junior spot in the 400 Height category meaning they will run in all three events – pentathlon, biathlon and games.
UKA Grand Finals – Masters Podiums for The RAW Agility Team (October 2022)
The team had qualified for both the Junior and Senior Masters finals at this year’s event. Wizard ran in the Junior Masters at 300mm height. After an elimination in the jumping round, Wizard showed some real speed and style in the agility round. There were faults early on, but he performed really confidently on the big stage:
Will and Rudi ran in both competitions at 400mm height. In the Junior Masters, a dropped pole put the pair in 5th place with 5 faults. A lovely agility run was almost perfect but for 5 faults on the long jump:
That slight error meant the pair just missed the win, but were happy with a very creditable 2nd place overall. Congratulations to Harry and Marley on winning the title!
In the Senior Masters finals, there were two challenging but flowing courses that were absolutely right for such a final. Rudi took the first pole in the jumping round and then ran superbly to finish with 5 faults.
The agility course required some great handling and a great understanding between the pair to go clear. Will said it was one of his favourite courses of the year and Rudi obliged with a lovely clear:
This gave the pair a well deserved 3rd place overall – a super result in a prestigious event. Congratulations to Sammy Pegg and Bliss who put in a super quick double clear to take the title.
Prestbury Park – Super weekend for Rudi! (Sept 2022)
In the stunning setting of Prestbury Park in Gloucestershire, the RAW Agility pairing of Will & Rudi had a super successful weekend. On Saturday, the pair qualified for the final of the Cirencester Champion Challenge Trophy after coming 4th in the jumping round (10 faults) and 2nd in the agility (clear round). The final was held in the cool evening in front of a very appreciative crowd!
A lovely, controlled clear round gave the pair a well deserved 2nd place finish.
On Sunday, Rudi continued his great form. Starting with Grade 7 agility:
Another speedy clear gave the pair first place!
This was followed by a very challenging G6-7 jumping course that saw only 4 dogs get round the course. Some super handling and teamwork saw the pair go clear again and claim another first place by more than 3 seconds:
It was a great weekend for the super reliable Rudi who was happy to pose with his haul of trophies from the weekend:
Welsh KC – Another Champ final, Wizard goes so close and Platinum Pooch! (August 2022)
The beautiful setting of the Welsh KC show in Builth Wells gave the RAW Agility team another great weekend of top class competition.
Will and Rudi were in Championship competition again. After a single knocked pole gave them 5 faults in their jumping run, there was still a top 20 finish and a final place to play for in the agility run:
A really nicely judged clear round put the pair in overall 10th place and saw them comfortably into another champ final.
As expected, the final course was challenging and, for the first time, the pair were eliminated as Rudi went for a tunnel that he wasn’t supposed to!
Across the weekend, Wizard showed further improvement without quite getting the clear round and the win needed to start moving up the grades. The improvement in his confidence is noticeable.
Just how close he is was shown in one of his jumping runs. After taking the first pole, the rest of the round was clear and fast. The 5 faults meant that finishing more than 2 seconds quicker than any other dog counted for little as other pairings went clear. Will and the team are so encouraged and convinced that KC event wins will come soon!
Sunday at the show saw Rudi run a jumping class and an agility class. Lovely clears in both gave Will and Rudi a third place and a second place. Rudi had earned enough points to move from Agility Warrant Gold to Agility Warrant Platinum – a real honour and an achievement only gained due to consistency and many clear rounds over an extended period. Will and Rudi’s jumping run on the day they went platinum!:
Kennel Club International – Champ Final! (August 2022)
The biggest agility show in the world is a draw for handlers of all abilities from the UK, Europe and beyond. The intense heatwave that dominated the four day event did not spoil the quality of the agility on show. The organisers of the festival did a fantastic job to protect the welfare of the dogs with classes running from 7.30am each day, finals running in the cooler evenings and paddling pools and shade provided for dogs and handlers.
On the first day of the show, Thursday, Will and Wizard took part in the Starters Cup for Grade 1 and 2 dogs. After two very quick runs – one each in agility and jumping – the pair had accrued faults in both runs. Will was happy with the runs, but did not expect to make the final which would comprise the top 30 pairings after the results were combined. To their great delight, the pair had qualified for the final to be held in the main ring on the Saturday of the biggest show around! A great effort in the final resulted in an unfortunate elimination, but a great experience for a dog still definitely learning his way in agility.
Later on Saturday, Wizard ran in a Grade 2 jumping class with well over 100 dogs entered. A beautiful clear round gave them a 4th place and Wizard’s best ever KC result!
Rudi was in his first competitive action since his exploits in Finland and the rustiness showed – three eliminations in his three runs across Thursday and Friday – the first time in several years that this has happened!
Will and Rudi were certainly focussed on Saturday. Will had the ambition of reaching the Championship Final at KCI for the first time. To do that, the pair would have to finish in the top 20 after combining the results of the agility and jumping runs. 155 entries, all Grade 7 dogs at the biggest championship show of the year – a real challenge!
The agility run was first. A tricky course that the pair handled really well:
Despite running a lovely clear, such was the quality and size of the field, the pair lay in 32nd place! They knew that to achieve the ambition of a final place, only a second clear round in the jumping was likely to be enough. The pressure was on!
A double clear gave the pair an overall position of 17th and a place in the final!
High on the achievement of another ambition, Will and Rudi went into the final on Saturday evening in front of a large, noisy crowd knowing they had to go for it to have any chance:
This super run gave Will and Rudi a 4th place finish in the Champ final of the biggest show of the year!
Congratulations to Natasha Wise for a stunning winning run with Toto!
After a quieter day on the last day of this wonderful show competing in YKC qualifiers (Wizard with two eliminations and another clear round from Rudi – unplaced) the team returned home to a lovely surprise in the post:
This lovely memento, organised by the Team GB management team, was the best way to round off a super weekend.
Will & Rudi – World Champions! (July 2022)
Wow, wow, wow! Will and Rudi are part of the medium team that won gold medals at the Junior Open Agility World Championships in Finland!
After a 3 day, 1500 mile journey to get to Vantaa, Team GB were ready for competition at the highest level at the JOAWC. Will and Rudi had four runs to look forward to. A Jumping and Agility round in the Team competition and the same in the Individual competition. For the full story on how Will and Rudi became world champions, click here for details, pictures and videos of the runs.
One weekend, TEN first places! Ruffs UKA (June 2022)
What a weekend the team had at the Ruffs UKA show.
Aston came out of retirement to run a steeplechase at Championship level and won!
Wizard had a fantastic weekend and looks more and more like he is beginning to fulfil his undoubted potential. He won both steeplechase runs on the first day and came second in the jumping. this meant he progressed from Beginner to Novice in Steeplechase
On day two, Wizard won the Beginners jumping. This is a landmark run for Wizard – his first win in competition that wasn’t a steeplechase. He ran really confidently in all seven of his runs and to come away with three wins shows his improvement.
Will and Rudi were in their last competition before travelling to Finland with Team GB.
On day one, the pair ran a lovely clear to win Championship Agility:
The pair then took part in the Masters competition. The highest level available at UKA shows, the competition consists of two runs, one jumping and one agility where the results are combined to find a winner.
The Jumping was first. Another clear round on a challenging course gave the pair first place:
That left the Masters agility round. Despite faults on another tough course, the run was good enough for another win. This gave Will and Rudi the overall win too meaning they were Masters champions and qualified for the UKA Grand Finals.
On day 2 Will and Rudi teamed up again to win Championship Agility and Championship Jumping:
The whole weekend produced 10 first places:
Aston – one run, one win
Wizard – seven runs, three wins
Rudi – five runs, five wins and first place overall in the Masters competition.
Nottingham DTC Championship Show (May 2022)
Wizard had a much better competition than of late, completing four runs of his 6 over the weekend and hitting his weaves beautifully in each. He had poles down in each run meaning, as often before, he posted the fastest or second fastest time in each run, but couldn’t quite get the clear round that would give the win. He is so close!
Rudi continued to show what a consistent and reliable dog he is. Running in the Championship event (only open to highest level Grade 7 dogs) Will and Rudi went clear in both the jumping and agility rounds on very challenging and unusual courses:
The double clear put them in 9th place when the results were combined out of a field of well over 100 entries. This was good enough for a place in another champ final.
Another tough course saw Will and Rudi make just one error as Rudi slipped past the dog walk. 5 faults was still good enough for a 10th placed finish overall confirming that the pairing consistently perform at a level of the top teams in the UK:
WAO Championships – Netherlands (May 2022)
Will and Rudi had the great honour of representing Scotland at the World Agility Open Championships in Ermelo in the Netherlands. From the opening ceremony, through seven runs, shirt swaps and the closing ceremony, it was an exciting, unforgettable experience.
Appropriately kilted, Will was incredibly proud to have been selected to carry the Saltire and lead his team out at the Opening Ceremony. After the Team Competition on Day 1, Will and Rudi were in action on Day 2. The individual competitions included Pentathlon, Biathlon and Games (Snooker and Gamblers). Will was running as a junior – but competing against all handlers on the same courses. Only at the very end of the championships are the junior results separated out for final junior placings.
WAO Pentathlon
The Pentathlon consists of a maximum of 5 runs. Every pairing runs an agility and jumping course. Results are combined and those finishing high enough get to run a second set of agility and jumping courses. The top 20 from runs three and four get to run in the speedstakes final.
Agility 1 – In the main arena, Will and Rudi combined beautifully to start their first WAO with a clear round!
Jumping 1 – After a super start, a slight miscommunication meant Rudi to an extra jump instead of the weave entry and an elimination occur. The torrential rain meant the film crew did not get pictures of this run. However, the two runs combined meant that the RAW Agility pair had made it through to stage two!
Agility 2 – A very quick course and a high quality field meant Will really had to push hard. A great run with just a missed dog walk contact meant 5 faults.
Jumping 2 – Another very fast course that Will and Rudi had to give a good go resulted in Rudi being pushed into the wrong tunnel on a tricky part of the course giving an elimination. This is where the Pentahlon journey finished for this year!
WAO Biathlon
Every pairing runs a jumping course and the top 40 pairs run off in an Agility final. Running in torrential rain, Will and Rudi had a great run on a challenging course. All was going really well when, unusually, Rudi popped out of the weaves. The 5 faults (and a very high quality field) meant the pair finished just out of the top 40 and did not make the final Agility run off.
WAO Games
This competition consists of a ‘Snooker’ run for every pairing. The top 20 make it through to the ‘Gamblers’ final.
Agility Snooker – gives the handlers the chance to plan their own way around a course. Some obstacles are designated as red and worth one point, the other obstacles and combinations of obstacles are designated as yellow, green, brown, blue and black. Each is worth the equivalent points to the colours in snooker. Dogs have to alternate between red and colours and then complete the end sequence in order. There is a very strict time limit, so handlers have to plan their route according to the speed of their dog to maximise points.
This was the first time Will and Rudi had ever run a Snooker course in competition!
A beautifully judged and handled run (that Rudi loved) meant the team finished in a fantastic 10th place!
In their very first competitive run in Snooker, the pair finished in the top 10 at the World Champs!
Gamblers – another competition where the handlers design their own course. Each piece of equipment is worth a set point value. Handlers gain as many points as possible in 30 seconds, at which point they have to complete a final combination within a set time. There is an ‘easy’ and ‘hard’ combination to choose, one giving more points than the other. Any deviation from the final combination after the whistle gives no ‘gamble’ points. There is also an additional bonus available – in this case by completing all four designated tunnels. Timing and planning are essential before executing that plan to the split second!
Again, this was the first time that the RAW Agility pairing had ever run a Gamblers course in competition…
An astonishing run saw Will and Rudi go for the final bonus tunnel just before the gamble whistle. By the tiniest fraction of a second (so close it was appealed and reviewed) the tunnel entry was too late meaning the bonus and gamble points were missed. This gave the pair 28 points – they were 0.1 of a second away from 58 points and a top 5 finish!
At the end of such high quality competition, it was time to get swapping shirts to retain some mementos of a fabulous few days. As well as shirt souvenirs from Spain, Norway and Canada, Will also bagged a South Korean shirt:
At the start of the closing ceremony, the junior results were announced. Will and Rudi finished in a very creditable 6th place (and the highest placed British pairing at medium height). The two eliminations in jumping rounds cost them a place on the podium, but they can be very satisfied with some stunning rounds at their first ever WAO.
The Scotland team as a whole were a fantastic team to be a part of – everyone supporting, singing and shouting for teammates throughout. Many thanks to Alan Short as manager for his fantastic leadership, organisation and humour.
The Scottish juniors:
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Will and Rudi reach first Champ Final of the year (May 2022)
After a long break from running in Champ shows, Will and Rudi entered their first Champ show of 2022 at the Vyne show. The event is only open to dogs in the top grade (Grade 7) and consists of a Jumping Round and an Agility Round. The results of the two runs are combined and the top 20 go through to the final – an agility round.
After running a great jumping round that was clear, Will and Rudi knew they had a chance of a final place with a good agility round. They both held their nerve to put in a lovely round with just 5 faults for a missed contact on the dog walk.
After waiting for the rest of the competitors (a field of over 100 entrants)to complete their qualifying rounds the pair finished in 15th place when the results were combined – definitely good enough for a place in another Champ final to compete with the elite!
The final run on a challenging course started beautifully, but a couple of slips in the middle meant the pair finished with 10 faults. The course was clearly a challenging one as Will and Rudi were still able to claim a top 10 finish!
RAW Agility welcomes its newest member (April 2022)
We are delighted to have taken in our latest addition to the RAW Agility team. ‘Brave’ is a beautiful working cocker spaniel who has already made himself part of the family.
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The Legend retires and Mr Consistency performs at Kernow (April 2022)
Having recently announced his retirement (read it here) after a fantastic agility career that included Crufts finals, representing Team GB and a Reserve Ticket, Aston took part in his final competitive agility runs appropriately at the Kernow show.
As always, he gave everything, made sure everyone in the queue knew he was there and did all he could to steal the show. Here is his last agility run:
Aston is Will’s first agility dog and they have been a partnership for more than 7 years. The pair have had some amazing adventures together and Aston is still fit and healthy enough to look forward to a long and very well deserved retirement. He will still do all he can to keep everyone entertained!
The Will and Rudi partnership continues to provide a high level of consistency. The pair had 6 runs together over the weekend and 6 clear rounds!
The field in each run was full of very high quality partnerships and the pair finished in the top eight in every run including the Olympia qualifier – KC Agility stakes.
Videos include a super quick jumping run that gave Will and Rudi a third place finish:
A lovely steady clear in one of their agility runs:
And another clear round in Jumping on a Barrie James course:
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Will & Rudi selected for Team GB!! (March 2022)
The month ended with another exciting challenge for Will and Rudi. The final tryout to qualify for a place in Agility Team GB to represent their country at the Junior Open Agility World Championships to be held in Finland in July.
The qualifying criteria were, not surprisingly, tough. On day 1, each pairing would run a jumping course and an agility course. The overall winner would we guaranteed a place in the team and the team in overall second place could gain a spot if their combined runs did not yield more than 10 faults. This process, with the same conditions, was repeated on Day 2.
Will and Rudi ran a lovely jumping course, spoiled only by Rudi taking down the very first pole. So tight was the competition, this took the pair from 3rd place down to 9th.
So, the pressure was on for the agility run which was held over a very challenging course. Will and Rudi put in a very skilled, technical quick run that was blighted only by a missed dog walk contact one from home. Such was the difficulty of the course (and the pressure on all competing to run it well) that this was still good enough for first place!
The overall results put Will and Rudi in 2nd place with a total of 10 faults meaning they were guaranteed a place in the GB Team! Congratulations to Taylor Lyons and her spaniel Elliott who got the win on spot on Day 1:
This meant that, to some extent, the pressure was off on Day 2, but Will and Rudi both have a steely determination to do well in any circumstance! The jumping run was a lovely quick clear but the level of competition was again shown as Will and Rudi finished in 4th place.
The agility round was another challenging, speedy course. The team again performed really well under pressure and, again, finished with just 5 faults. This was good enough for another 4th place.
The combined results showed the rewards to be gained for consistency in getting round multiple courses without being eliminated. Will and Rudi again finished in overall 2nd place meaning they had gained win on spots two days running! Congratulations to Mariann Bayliss who guided her super speedy Coral with great skill around both courses to win onto the team:
Many thanks to the judges Natalie Webb and Jason Bartram, the super ring party and everyone in the management team for a really well organised event!
So now the preparations begin for two international events in the coming months. Will and Rudi will be heading to the Netherlands in May to represent Scotland at the World Agility Organisation Championships in May. They will then head out to Finland to represent Great Britain at the JOAWC in July. Exciting times!!
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