Willow Wins at The Kennel Club International Festival!
The Kennel Club International Festival is the biggest UK agility event every year, often with competitors travelling from overseas to compete. With 17 rings and a live-streamed Main Ring, competition is at its toughest, but the opportunity to watch the best UK agility partnerships (handler & dog) for a full four days is fantastic. The event is open to competitors and spectators, allowing those who may not yet be involved in agility get a glimpse of this exciting world.
This year, James and Willow went with one main goal – to qualify for the British Open Final at Crufts 2022.
To make the British Open Final, there is both an agility and a jumping qualifying round at the KCI Festival that give you a combination result. If you score high enough and make it into the top 30 dogs, you go through to the semi-final which is also at the KCI Festival in the main ring on the final day.
194 of the UK’s top Grade 7 dogs and their handlers entered the qualifying agility and jumping rounds. Realistically, you need a clear round with no faults, with a time placing in the top 20 in both runs to be in with a chance of making the semi-final. In true style, and if you’ve read our previous blogs, you’ll know that James never likes to run a course “safely”. He and Willow run to win – and that’s exactly what they did, winning both rounds!
Making the semi-final was so exciting and a huge achievement but being the highest-scoring partnership blew all our minds. In the semi-final, competitors run in reverse order, meaning James and Willow ran last in the ring … no pressure! Watching 29 other incredible dogs run builds excitement and nerves, but James and Willow took it in their stride, and went ahead and won the semi-final as well.
By qualifying for the British Open Final, this means James and Willow will be at Crufts for two days in 2022! But if you want to know a secret, their goal is to get there for three! During the year you can build up Singles and ABC points from winning or placing high enough in the qualifying rounds. So, fingers crossed for them, you might see them there for three of the four days on the green carpet.
James, Lizzie and Willow