# FCI Championships (spoiler alert)



## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

I bought the pay per view because I knew somebody competing. But the American Large dog team really rocked! (1st place!) I was watching and the runs were great with only 1 refusal, and fast times! 

The small and medium teams run tomorrow and the individual tests also start tomorrow. 

Results from today.
http://results.agility2012.cz/3_R_Jumping%20squads%20Large.html


----------



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Let's see if this works:








(Left to Right: Katherine Leggett, Daisy Peel, Silvina Bruera, Tori Self, Channan Fosty, Nancy Gyes)

Super! Looks like it's time to learn their names! Perhaps a little more humility in this team than in other international teams.


----------



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

All women this year... 

Here are their runs..


----------



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)




----------



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

Have you guys seen the final results? One _just has_ to point out the interesting Canadian results. FCI World Agility Championship 2012

SG came in at a shocking 68th in the individual (overall). She was 8th in standard and disqualified in jumpers. Team Canada Large (overall) came in 8th. Certainly this will get some people talking. 68th!? I think people will continue to follow one of the winningest (I wonder if she is _the_ winningest?) agility players, but these sorts of results beg the question if times are changing- and changing fast. Even Susan is questioning this:



> What a great photo. Showing 3 of our 4 _“large dog”_ team handlers who need bi-focal glasses in order to read the course maps. This may be the last time we see a sight like this; with so many brilliant young dog and handler teams coming up I predict the average age of the Canadian World Team handler is about to drop.


See more of Susan's reflections on her outcome: Random Reflections From 2012 FCI World Championships | Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog

[EDIT]- Susan also makes this comment which I think holds a lot of weight:


> My next thought was;_ “agility is no longer about the speed of the dog but about the tightness of the turns while at speed.”_ That is when I started working on my my _“check, check”_ and _“s-w-i-n-g”_ verbal cues which have brought the skill of tight turns at speed to each of my dogs since that time.


While this isn't from the 2012 FCI Worlds, it still highlights the point perfectly. Silvia came ahead by quite a bit on all three contacts, but Lisa Frick overtook her with tight turns. We focus so much on contacts (well, I do anyway) but in the end- it's the tight turns that are winning agility!


----------



## christinaekenn (Jan 10, 2011)

wildo said:


> SG came in at a shocking 68th in the individual (overall). She was 8th in standard and disqualified in jumpers. Team Canada Large (overall) came in 8th. Certainly this will get some people talking. 68th!? I think people will continue to follow one of the winningest (I wonder if she is _the_ winningest?) agility players, but these sorts of results beg the question if times are changing- and changing fast.


Even the very best of the best trainers have down days...in any sport. And when a dog is involved too, it can make a huge difference. A sore leg, upset stomach, jet lag, etc can make or break a team. I think most will recognize the caliber of Susan's training and it won't make a difference what place she got in one show....JMO. But yes, tight turns will make or break you...but so will slow contacts, not shaping the line right, etc.


----------



## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

True... and I definitely agree! My point was that even Susan was saying that times are changing. People are getting faster. Dogs are getting faster. She mentions sweating the "will I make it in time!?" issues. These are all big changes, and training methods will adapt to keep up. I'm thinking the likes of Lisa Frick and Daisy Peel (who have very different running strategies) seem to be doing a bit better. It might not be fair to base it on just one event, but come on- it's the FCI Worlds. Off day or not, I don't believe that they weren't in tip-top shape and ready to go!


----------



## christinaekenn (Jan 10, 2011)

True, and I agree mostly. But some handling styles will always work better for certain people. I don't see Terry Smorch handling like Lisa. Frankly, he is so fast himself he can be there for all those front crosses! But I do think the training style/handling of Sylvia, Lisa, etc lends itself better to the European style courses. Also, America and Canada do not have truly European style courses at trials. Just does not happen. So I would think they are a bit at a loss when going into a trial where Europe pretty much only runs these types of courses all the time. Regardless of what Susan or others can set up at home


----------



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Also show why you don't see our GSD's at these top levels of international competition. I know my girls don't take those wicked turns at top speed well at all....

When you look at the 'big' dogs http://results.agility2012.cz/26_S_Agility%20%20Large.html how many of them do you think are over 60 pounds?


----------

