AGILITY NEWS
April - June 2015
Editors Report
Hi Everyone,
Spring is finally here and the weather is warming up so make sure you have plenty of water available for your dog whilst training. ADC want to keep your dogs safe so please don’t take them off lead unless you are asked by the instructor and it is your turn. Also, do not let your dog/s walk up to another dog on lead or in a crate as you don’t know how that dog will react unless you know it. If your dog is nervous whilst on lead, don’t be afraid to ask people to keep their distance. OK, enough of the serious stuff.
Every year in September the Festival of Agility is held at the Bill Spilstead Centre for Canine Affairs at Orchard Hills. This is the biggest event on the Agility Calendar. There were a large number of ADC members who competed at the Festival and everyone had a successful weekend. Congratulations to everyone on their successes.
Also held at the event is the Festival Club Challenge and this year ADC came 2nd. Congratulations to the team. (see below)
Our Spring Trial is being held on Sat 24th of October this year and we are having a fund raiser to raise much needed funds for Women’s Cancers. To achieve this we are holding a raffle and a cup/pup cake stall. You can help us by baking cakes or cupcakes for the day or donate prizes for the raffle. Your help would really be appreciated. Thank you to all the people who have donated wonderful prizes so far for the raffle.
We are going to need volunteers to help with stewarding at the trial. If you would like to volunteer you can see Erica Hockley or Jo and Tania behind the counter. We need as many people as possible to help run the trial efficiently.
Newsletter Editor
Jo Campbell
ADC Committee as of Oct 2014
President – Paul Enriquez
Vice President – Robyn Jones
Secretary - Michelle Oldfield
Treasurer - Vanessa Dowson
Trial Secretaries – Mary-Anne Corry and Dot Drescik
Committee
- Patricia Walsh
- Erica Hockley
- Mary-Anne Corry
- One Committee position remains open and unfilled
Chief Instructor - Vacant
Newsletter Editor - Joanne Campbell
Office Assistants - Michelle Oldfield, Jo Campbell, Tania King, Erica Hockley
Club Shop - Vanessa Dowson
Trophy Steward – Trial - Bronwyn Dobeson and Catherine Egan
Trophy Steward – Club – Tania King
Media Co-coordinator – Chloe Kasbarian
Meetings are held in the Secretary’s room at Castle Hill Showground on the second Wednesday of the month. Meetings start at 7.30pm
General meetings are held in December, February, April, June, August and October.
ADC’s Annual General Meeting will be held Wed Oct 14th in the clubhouse starting at 7pm. All members are welcome.
New Members will be announced in the next Newsletter
PROMOTIONS: April – Sept - CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Intro - Beginners Beginners - Green Green - Yellow
Carlya Harrold & Rosie / Terry Black & Dash / Tim Maddever & SebastianKathy Ferris & Macca / Hayley Watts & Puzzle / Jan Birks & Willow
Amelia Ash & Bea / Andrew & Walker / Steph Betts & Monkey
Evan & Rebecca Dodds & Toby / Sarah & Warren & Dexter / Ashleigh Truscott & Maya
Lara & Lina Salem & Noan / Clive & Sophie / Jeanette Muller & Maggie
Andrew & Fiona & Smudge / Amy Busdon & Axel
Vera Sadikin & Po / Terry Black & Zoey
Catherine Lane & Mack / Evan Dodds & Toby
Sonia & Corey / Amelia Ash & Bea
Natalie & Georgian & Mandi / Cathie Barclay & Scooter
Karen Fisher & Shelbie / Cathy Lane & Mack
Chris & Yvonne & Bowie / Courtney May & India
Courtney May & India / Yvonne Koncek & Bowie
Rachel Lawler & Quiz / Anna & John & Gregan
Oliver Obst & Nelly / Georgia Chin-Nam & Mandi
Peter Whicker & Rosie
Stephanie Carroll & Thor
Nicole Reckerman & Diesel
Jess Isaacs & Leo
Kerry Richards & Tia
Bec & Rich Stevenson & Archie
Yellow – Purple Purple – Blue Blue - Red
Bronwyn Dobeson & Brodie / Teresa Kernahan & ElphieCatherine Egan & Riley
Dot & Leo
Jo Campbell & Morgan
Festival of Agility 5-6/09/2015
The biggest event of the year on the Agility calendar is the Festival of Agility. Apart from the normal Agility events held at trials the Festival also holds the Agility and Jumping Dog of the Year which consists of the top 40 dogs in NSW competing. The winner will be the dog with the fastest time and no faults. ADC had a number of members compete in the competition this year. Congratulations to all that ran in the events. It is a great achievement to make the top 40 dogs in NSW.
The Festival also holds the Festival Club Challenge which consists of all the clubs in NSW having a team consisting of one dog from each height category.
The team this year was:
L-R
600 – Lia & Kaos
200- Tania & Biscuit
300 – Helen & Gypsy
500 – Dale & Stryka
400 – Robyn (handler), Jo & Tira (on A-Frame)
ADC did a fantastic job and came 2ND
Congratulations Team ADC on a great win.
Don’t Forget Unite in Pink Fundraiser at our Spring Trial
October 24th 2015
If you can bake then please bring along some cup/pup cakes to sell at our stall or if you have anything you can donate for the raffle please bring it along and give it to Chloe Kasbarian or hand it in at the counter. We want to raise as much money as we can for much needed funds for research into Women’s Cancers.
We have had lots of great prizes donated by these wonderful people so far: Cutedogs Agility
Jenny Ryan
Luciana Callaghan
Bronwyn Dobeson
ADC would like to thank all of our sponsors for our Spring Trial.
There are going to be lots of great prizes.
SR Tuggies
Both Ends Of The Lead og
Enriched Paws Pawfect Touch Canine massage
Recipe of the Month
Frozen Yogurt Pops for Dogs
If your dog loves to chase ice cubes around the kitchen, then he’ll love these frozen treats. They’re made from human grade ingredients and include fruit juice and carrots, which give your pup an added vitamin boost. Yogurt has calcium and protein, and can help your dog digest food.
Note that this recipe calls for non-fat yogurt, which is a much healthier alternative to other types of yogurt, especially if your dog is overweight.
Ingredients
•6 oz. container of plain, non-fat frozen yogurt
•1 cup of no-sugar added fruit juice
•1/2 cup of carrots, minced
Directions
1. Add the yogurt, fruit juice, and carrots into a medium-sized bowl. Stir until the ingredients are smooth and well-blended.
2. Drop the mixture into the ice cube trays by spoonful.
3. Freeze until the ingredients are solid.
Pro Tip: Use hard plastic trays instead of the softer rubber ones to make the treats. The treats are easier to remove from a hard tray.
When you are leaving the grounds please have your dog on lead. We also ask that you always have your dog on lead in class until your instructor requests otherwise. No thongs or bare feet in classes. Closed shoes are preferable and safer.
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To make it easier for the office ladies please try to bring the correct money.
Club Competition
We have a club competition. Why don’t you check out our web site on www.agility.org.au and have a look under the Results tab then 2015. We hold the club comp on the 4th Thursday of the month and members of Blue and Red Classes can compete. It is always fun and our judges set great courses. If there is a 5th Thursday of the month there will be a games night held. This is a great way for the new members of Red class can learn the rules of the games.
Scoring for ADC Club Comp
Scores are allocated as follows:
•All clear rounds are 5 points
•First place, 5 points – possible 1
•Second place, 4 points – possible 9
•Third place, 3 points – possible 8
•Fourth place, 2 points – possible 7
•Fifth place, 1 point- possible 6
•Clear round, 5 points
•1-5 faults, 4 points
•6-10 faults, 3 points
•11-25 faults, 2 points
•26 plus, 1 point
•Disqualification, 0 points
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Please remember to wear your badges.
It is important to wear them so the instructors know you have paid, this is also important for insurance purposes.
Training may be cancelled if the weather is bad. You can call 0449 736 271 if in doubt, but please do NOT leave a message. In bad weather we still may have modified training either on the ground or under cover or we will watch a training DVD.
You can also check the website www.agility.org.au or check Facebook.
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This newsletters special article has been written by Chris Johnstone from Blue Class. Chris is sharing the memories of her trip of a lifetime to Gallipoli for the Centenary of the Anzac Landing. I shed a few tears reading her story. Thank you so much Chris for sharing it.
THE ROAD TO GALLIPOLI
1915 - 2015
CENTENARY OF THE ANZAC LANDING
THEIR SPIRIT – OUR PRIDE
Australian travelers have been making pilgrimages to the Gallipoli battlefields since the 1920s. This special year, the Centenary of the ANZAC campaign however, was our year to visit one of the most spectacular and moving battlefields on which Australians have fought.
My husband, Greg had put our names down for the ballot when it opened. On each of the first 3 ballots for the Dawn Service we were not successful. Oh well. We decided that we would go anyway. We had tours and flights booked, our dogs Amy and Ashley were booked into kennels (which was something we have never done before), we were ready to leave Sydney on April 14, 2015. Unbelievably, we received an email at the end of March to advise that on the second ballot Greg had been successful in the ticketing ballot – 2 coveted tickets for the Dawn Service and the Lone Pine Service.
Our tour company are specialist s in their field and we were to be accompanied by a specialist guide – a Senior Curator at the Australian War Memorial whose particular interest was in Australia’s role in the First World War.
This trip was not just about the 25th of April – the Centenary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli Cove. It was also a lesson not only about the Australian, New Zealand, British, French etc. involvement in Turkey but also about the other side – the Turkish involvement. The Turkish people have a genuine affection for Australians and they recall the First World War conflict between our two nations as a tragedy.
Bright and early on 19 April, we travelled from Istanbul to Gallipoli arriving in the early afternoon, where we were to take in our first views of the landing beaches, the stunning view of Plugge’s Plateau, the Sphinx with dusk at Anzac Cove. It was a pretty miserable day that day, cold, windy and wet. Two things struck me ~ the normality of this place, it really could have been anywhere; but I felt an aura, an intangible feeling ~ the ghosts of those whose lives had been lost and those who suffered? Maybe……
Over the next 4 days, we walked the ANZAC front line from Lone Pine, Johnston’s Jully, Steels and Courtney’s Posts to Quinn’s Post and the Nek, considered the key to the ANZAC beachhead. The Nek was the post featured at the end of the movie “Gallipoli” . We walked up to Plugge’s Plateau to take in the views of the Sphinx and the extent of the ANZAC positions held in the first stage of the campaign. We visited the northern area to Hill 60 and Suvla. We saw remnants of the trenches which twisted their way across ridges and into the ravines. We had discussions on the landings and the campaign. The lovely manicured cemeteries with their rows of marble headstones, told us stories. We saw row upon row of marker headstones bearing names, ages and words supplied by their loving families back home. These markers, in their straight rows, do not necessarily indicate the soldier was buried in that particular spot, most were only identified years later and left buried where their mates had buried them but for formality the headstones are placed in rows. Those soldiers who could not be identified but were known or presumed to have fallen, have their names inscripted on memorials.
One of our tour members had a great uncle who was killed. We were able to join with her and her husband when they visited his memorial and left a wreath from their family. This really pulled at our heartstrings and made it very real.
Over those days, we were gearing ourselves up for the 25th. The peninsular was “in lock down”. No-one really knew how, and if, this was going to work, as our Australian Department of Veterans Affairs, the Turkish Government and the local constabulary did not really communicate. Each day the rules changed as to how things would be done. The tour operators were having late night meetings, trying to ensure they had ticked all the boxes.
So at 7 a.m. on 24 April, we set off from our hotel within the “locked down zone” and made our way to the first check point. From there, we were checked, identified, wrist-banded and had lanyards attached. We then had to cool our heels at another meeting place for several hours before then moving onto Checkpoint 2. More waiting followed by supposedly stringent bag and body checks, shuttle buses and eventually walking to the commemorative site. We arrived at the site at approximately 3 p.m. and after the initial exuberance and sense of accomplishment that we had “made it”, we settled down in our seats to wait it out. So for the next 15 hours through into the night we sat, we talked, we listened to commentaries, but most of all we allowed ourselves to be a part of something we knew was very special.