Category: News

Rocket completed her final required clear round in A0 this weekend, so she can now compete in A1. Congratulations, Sabine, it was really a short A0 carrier!

Just like last year, we’re not competing for a spot on the national team this year either, but since we had the chance to compete in the Open category in the first round, we decided to go and compete.
Niagara took first place in one jumping and one agility, while Nova took first and third place in two agility over the weekend, and it was also a great opportunity to try out a few things in a real-world setting.

We competed in the Republic Cup again this year. Fox, Nia, and Nova all took part.
Nia and Nova each had one bar in agility—their usually one bar of the year—and then both won the jumping event. With by far the best combined times, they both finished in fourth place.
Fox placed third in agility, won the jumping, and thus became this year’s Hungarian Republic Champion.
The RKKI Team, consisting of Lencse, Szömörce, Nova, and Niagara, placed second among the teams this year.

Four dogs from the Dancing on Fire team competed in the final round of Lord of The Winter. Luigi made his debut in A1 at his first major competition, and Chios also joined us from Greece. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get a group photo this time, but we’ll make up for it next time 🙂
Chios, Nia, and Nova advanced to the finals after Chios won one qualifying run and Nia won two. Niagara ultimately won the finals as well; you can watch  here runs here.

 

 

 

 

Nia, Nova, and Fox also competed at this year’s Hungarian Open.
Fox and Nia made it to the finals, but Nova also had some very nice qualifying runs; we could just still feel the effects of the break on both of us. Video of his runs here.
Nia performed wonderfully once again: first place in three qualifying runs, first place in the finals. Video here.

Now that our annual agility break is over and the competition season is slowly starting again for us, it’s time for a little review.
Many people ask us if we regret missing the qualifiers (obviously, the question is directed more at Gergő and Nia). Indeed, this was the first year since our “sheltie agility life” began that we did not participate in the qualifiers, not because of COVID or a litter, but “just because.” This is a very complex question, and although I will try not to get too deep into it, I would like to share a few thoughts on the matter.
We both have jobs, and although we try to be perfectionists, agility is our hobby. A World Championship and a European Championship are not only financially burdensome, but also take up a significant part of our free time (I am obviously referring to the preparation as well). In the years when we participated in these competitions, literally nothing else happened during the year except for the qualifiers, the World Championships, and the European Championships. We put absolutely everything on the line. In addition, these competitions usually meant that the dogs spent much more time in the car than they enjoyed.These competitions are fantastic. The experience and atmosphere are incomparable, and it’s amazing to be there at such an event. We can only congratulate everyone who gets to participate in these prestigious competitions from the bottom of our hearts; we enjoyed them immensely.
However, I can safely say that we enjoyed last year just as much, and what is even more certain is that the dogs enjoyed it much more. We always try to make the most of our opportunities to give them the best, and since we can’t fit everything in, we decided to try this route. Although it is obvious that nothing can compare to the atmosphere of a World Championship, many small things add up to a lot. And last year, we accumulated a lot of “small” things in terms of experiences. And if I ask the dogs, they certainly don’t mind that they got to run in so many other places instead of two major competitions.
For us is not important to summarize the specific results, but here’s a little video review from Nia’s perspective, who made it to the finals in all the competitions she entered and finished on the podium in most of them. It also includes Nova’s perspective, who has to contend with a less skilled handler, but still managed to reach the finals in almost every competition with impressive consistency.
In a nutshell: it’s wonderful to run at a World Cup or an European Championships, but no, our year wasn’t any less good on this path either.

This time, Ria Putzker captured Luigi on camera, and the photos of the gentleman are magnificent!

We were at ISAC for the first round of the series, but we made it to the second one. This is always one of our favorite competition of the year.
Nia took two first places in the qualifying runs, and Nova took on second place.
Now they are both taking a little break for the year, with Nia getting 6 weeks and Nova getting 8 weeks of “vacation” from agility 🙂

We received photos and an agility video from Rocket’s owner. It’s amazing how time flies, Rocket is no longer a puppy, he has grown into a beautiful young boy! Sabine and Pascal: thank you for taking such good care of him!
Video here.

Nia, Nova, and Fox competed in this year’s DogFlow Open. In the qualifying runs, Fox came in 1X 3rd, while Nia took 4X 1st places.
All three made it to the finals, which Nia ultimately won.
Of Nia’s five winning runs, she also had the best time four times, from all sizes
Nia’s runs