The FCI Agility World Championships made history in 2013 when South Africa became the first country outside of Europe to host this prestigious event.
From 11 – 13 October 2013, the Agility World Championship was held at The Dome, Johannesburg, South Africa. Eight countries competed, these being USA, Czech Republic, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, and of course South Africa. I managed to attend the Friday and Sunday events. The camaraderie was wonderful to see, even though the countries were very competitive and were obviously out to win. Here is a picture of the handlers walking the course.
Not only was it wonderful to see the handlers and dogs in action, but also to watch all the new handling techniques that the various teams used. The whole event was a lot of fun, with the spectators getting into the act as well. Here you can see a group of us enjoying ourselves. From left to right: Saretha, Caroline, Charles, Dorianne and myself. There was much dancing and singing throughout the event, in which the spectators were encouraged to participate.
Hinky Nicols won the title of World Champion 2013: Agility Individual (Small) with his Shetland Sheepdog, Pitch. What a personality he is, and what an incredible sense of humour Hinky has. He and Pitch made a formidable team. He made it look effortless, and both he and Pitch seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves during their time on the floor.
Hinky gave a series of workshops at Noelene Pretorius’ agility training school. I was able to attend a few of these sessions, and learnt a tremendous amount. Here is a picture of Hinky Nickols along with Noelene Pretorius,Yolan Friedman with Kera and myself with Panga. The Malinois are 9 months old here, and we are expecting great things from them. (Kera won Best Puppy on Show at the HBSDC championship show, and Panga has qualified Tracking Trials 1). Both puppies will start competing in agility next year.
A few shots of Panga in action: