A COVENTRY woman and her two dogs have qualified for the finals of a prestigious agility competition.
Jo Gleed and her Border Collie, Scooter, and Malinois, Zippy, will travel to London later this month to take part in the final of the Kennel Club Olympia Agility Stakes.
Three-year-old Scooter will be competing in the large competition, while eight-year-old Zippy hopes to scoop the gold medal in the Anything But Collies (ABC) class.
Jo has been involved in agility for the last eight years – training her dogs to complete the obstacle course in the quickest time they can.
Speaking ahead of the competition, Jo said: “I am very excited to be taking Scooter to Olympia, for a dog so young she really understands her job and I trust her immensely.
“I’m also really excited to have qualified with Zippy too, I have been trying for several years to qualify with him and this was our last attempt of making the final – we finally did it.
“Zippy is a very challenging dog to run as he has no self-control, we spend so much time training on this but he just finds it incredibly difficult, I guess that’s what makes our journey together interesting.”
The country’s most talented agility dogs and handlers have been competing in qualifying heats at agility shows across the country in an attempt to gain a place in the finals, which take place from December 15 to 19 as part of the London International Horse Show.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club secretary, said the Olympia competition was a ‘big highlight’ in the agility calendar.
She added: “The standards continue to grow and this year is no exception.
“We are looking forward to watching all those talented dogs and their handlers in action, with such a fantastic atmosphere it’s certainly not one to miss.
“We would like wish Jo, Zippy and Scooter the best of luck and look forward to what is set to be another exciting year for the event.”
