Denby succeeds in Advanced Freestyle

Canine Freestyle GB held the 9th Crufts 2016 Semi Final Qualifier in September 2015 with entries exceeding the allowed 25 per class so the Advanced Classes were split into two parts.

With his new routine to a Top Hat and Tails Medley, Denby and Kath were placed 2nd in the second part of Advanced Freestyle.  The scores were then merged for the two parts to find the highest scoring team who haven't yet qualified and Denby just missed qualifying by 0.06 points! There will be another year!!!

But Well Done Denby who hadn't competed in Freestyle for nearly 2 years! !!!   And in October at the Westglen Competition he competed in Advanced Freestyle and again was placed 2nd missing the Winners place by 0.05 points!!!!!!!   So close!!!

The Crufts 2015 Semi Final

CONGRATULATIONS to Lesley and her young dog Dewy for gaining 8th place in the Crufts 2015 Semi Final for Heelwork To Music.

If you want to support her in the Crufts Heelwork To Music Final, they will be competing at 11:35 am on Friday 6th March in the Main Arena.

GOOD LUCK LESLEY AND DEWY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Westglen - Top Lodge's Competition Season starts!

The first competition of the season for Top Lodge is always Westglen - held in Stourbridge. Early morning start and first in the ring was Kath with Amber in the Advanced Heelwork To Music for the first Crufts 2015 Semi Final Qualifiers of the year.  The class was so big it had to be spli into two.

A nicely focussed Amber and Kath danced to Celtic Kitten from Celtic Tiger by Ronan Hardiman.

A very happy Amber and Kath managed a bit of a smile too!

Amber worked well and was placed 2nd in the class with a huge score of 28.10 - gaining a full 10 points from one of the judges for Musical Interpretation.

The two classes for Advanced HTM were split with Intermediate HTM in between.  And Lesley took to the floor with Dewy.

 He worked very well to Boney M's "Rasputin"

 Well Done Lesley and Dewy - winning the class!

The following class was the second half of Advanced HTM with Kath this time competing with Denby and performing to "Creative" by Leon Jackson.

He had great focus and good positioning and he won the class! 

Well done Denby - but only two dogs can qualify for the Crufts 2015 Semi Finals so the two classes were "merged" and as Amber's score was higher than Denby's - she had the Westglen Qualifier.

 Karen also competed with Fly to the music "Roxanne".

Fly is always very enthusiastic when she works.

And of course Karen always works enthusiastically too!!! 

Hamish was the next Top Lodge Dog to work, but Lesley and he just trained in the competition environment, something that is quite hard to replicate in daily training!

 He always enjoys a game of tuggy.

 And he loves his "Body Pops" too!!

After lunch it was time for Spice to take to the ring in the Advanced Freestyle Crufts 2015 Semi Final Qualifier.  Love this photo - has Kath borrowed Spice's face???

 Fast and furious routine to The Dance Fight from Puss In Boots.

Push that barrel Spice!

Huge jumps from a little dog!!  Spice did very well being placed second and gaining a very early qualifier! 

Dewy was next into the ring for Intermediate Freestyle - ready for action in his routine with Lesley to the music "The Night They Invented Champagne"

Dewy worked the best he has ever worked - the routine flowed without any hiccups from the champagne!

And Dewy and Lesley won their class!

On the Sunday - Dewy and Lesley went on to win another Intermediate Heelwork To Music and placed second in the Intermediate Freestyle making Dewy a double Advanced Dog.  

Congratulations to the Top Lodge Team - two Crufts Qualifiers , 4 wins and 2 second places!! A brilliant weekend of results!!

Top Lodge Dogs Go To Crufts

25th January 2014 - a very special day for all the Top Lodge Team as they set off for Warwickshire at 6:00am for a long day's competition at the Kennel Club Building, Stoneleigh for Rugby DTC's competition.

An important day because for the past 12 months, not only the Top Lodge Team of dogs and handlers, but all enthusiasts and fellow competitors had been working towards these semi finals for places to perform at the Heelwork To Music and Freestyle Finals Crufts March 2014. The Top Ten placed dogs in both the HTM and Freestyle Semi Finals then go on to compete at Crufts.  So how did Top Lodge Team do?

First to compete was Lesley with her youngster Dewy, not yet two years old.  They were in the Intermediate HTM Class and finished in a good 3rd place after performing a fast routine to "Rasputin"!!

Then followed the first of the semi finals, The Heelwork To Music Semi Final and Kath had been drawn early to compete second in the class. Amber who can be so serious, worked well performing to Ronan Hardiman's Celtic Kitten and they finished 8th in the class with a place in the Crufts HTM Final. Kath was very. very pleased.  Amber and Kath had got through to Crufts in 2013 but due Amber being ill the day before the competition, she had withdrawn from the competition.  And in 2012 Kath was judging so no competing that year either!

Next to compete was Karen with Fly.  Following a difficult year with health problems, Karen and Fly were delighted to make it to the Crufts semi finals.  The cherry on top of the cake was to actually qualify!  Karen and Fly would like to thank everyone who supported them through their difficult time and sent good luck wishes for the semis - those positive thoughts and good wishes really worked!

Lesley was next to perform with her beautiful, bouncy Beardie Hamish. Hamish did so well - he was enthusiastic throughout their routine which was to "I've Got The Music In Me" and the huge ring at the semis was a real experience for him.

Directly following Lesley and Hamish was Kath again, this time with her young dog Denby.  He had only competed at the Advanced level twice before this prestigious event!  The ring and atmosphere and a little bit of stress were there as more of a test for him to see how he would cope.  Well, cope he did!!!  He finished really well coming in at a remarkable 7th place.  Yet another Top Lodge dog into the Crufts HTM Final.

Photo courtesy of Janet McPherson 

The next class was the Freestyle Semi Final with only one Top Lodge dog to compete, however, light failure was then followed by an horrendous thunderstorm and the KC Building with its metal roof and sides almost shook with the force of the accompanying hailstones!! This was not good news for Kath as Spice can be very worried in such conditions.  Lesley lent her a Thundershirt and she seemed to be getting back to normal - but on entering the ring after leaving the Thundershirt behind - one of the loud speakers crackled and it was all too much for Spice who couldn't move. Kath withdrew her from competing within the first 10 seconds of the music.  A years work gone but it was more important to care for Spice.

It was getting very dark outside by the time Lesley took to the competition ring once again with young Dewy - this time competing in the Intermediate Freestyle competition performing to "The Night They Invented Champagne" and yes it was worth waiting for the class and the results as they gained a fabulous second place!!   Again it was the first time that Dewy had competed in such a venue and didn't they do well?

Next stop is Crufts - the running orders have been issued with Kath and Denby drawn 1st, Karen and Fly drawn 2nd and Kath and Amber drawn 7th.   It will be a busy time on Friday 7th March at 11:15 in the main Arena for Kath, Karen and Lesley supporting each other.  Thanks to everyone for their support and for their good wishes for Crufts 2014.

Kes 3rd February 1998 to 13th January 2014

From Karen Sykes:

Kes

Kes was the first dog that I ever had from a pup; all my other dogs had been rescues.  I was pleased to be able to start from scratch to teach my new puppy all I knew.  Little did I know how little I knew!  Kes taught me more than any other dog I have ever known, before or since!  Thanks to Kes we moved through Obedience into Agility, Working Trials, Herding and Heelwork to Music.  We also learnt different methods of training, met lots of new people and forged some really strong friendships.  Kes has taken me to places that I could only previously dream of.

If truth be told, Kes was never an easy dog.  She could be moody, unpredictable and obstinate.  She inspired me to look beyond my boundaries for new things to do and different ways to train.  She was my crossover dog from compulsive training (which makes me shudder when I look back) to clicker training.  We transformed together from a disjointed couple to a real team working with mutual respect and a healthy dollop of humour.

Kes made many Crufts appearances and remained in the British Top Ten Freestyle dogs throughout her competitive life.  Allan and I have received some wonderful tributes to her since her death from people who knew her and from those who only ever saw her on video.  We have now come to realise how much joy she brought to so many people and also just how many people were inspired to take up Freestyle having watched Kes perform.  She was a true ambassador for the sport.

But more important than the competitions were the fun and games she brought to our home life; she leaves us with so many happy memories.  Whenever we had chance to go to the seaside our trip was always enhanced by Kes’ absolute joy from the sand between her pads and the waves up to her knees (never higher than her knees except by accident!)  Kes loved to paddle in streams, rivers and lakes but her absolute favourite was the sea.  Her trips to Anglesey were a real joy for her.

On Saturday 11^th January we trained as usual in the morning; yes, Kes at almost 16 years of age she still insisted on coming to the training hall for a 10 or 15 minute session, sometimes running through her favourite routine ‘Me Ole Bamboo’ and performing her repertoire of tricks.  On the way home it appears that she had a stroke and in spite of our best efforts it became time to say goodbye 48 hours later.

I am so grateful that we had such a long and happy life together; that she was so fit right up until the very last part of her life and that we were able to show her our last act of love by giving her sleep before she lost her dignity.

Kes

A big personality who has left a big hole

3^rd February 1998 to 13^th January 2014

Those who knew her personally will agree… 

She was a hell of a bitch, in more ways than one!

 

Puppy Kes

 

A Handsome OAP

A Fine Public Performance Aged 14

 

A Dip In The Sea

Barnard Castle and Scotland Wins for Amber and Denby

Kath and David had a bit of a holiday by taking time to go to Barnard Castle and Scotland HTM Competitions, staying for a few days near Seahouses on the East Coast.

But it wasn't all rest as Kath qualified Amber for the Crufts 2014 Semis in Heelwork To Music in Barnard Castle and went on to win the Crufts 2014 Semi Qualifier in Scotland.

Not to be beaten by Amber,  Denby was entered in 8 competition classes (4 x HTM and 4 x Freestyle)  He won 5 classes, came second and third once and was trained for fun in one class.
These results put him straight into Advanced HTM and Freestyle and still not quite 2 1/4 yrs old.  Now its time to consolidate his training to compete against the very experienced dogs!

The trophies, rosettes and prize cards awarded to Amber and Denby over 4 days competition.

Amber and Denby back home

And Spice "won" a ball as Kath trained her
each time in the ring  to have fun and to stay quiet!

Thank you to Fylde K9 Dancers (Barnard Castle) and The Scottish Beardie Club (Nr Lanark) for organising these competitions.

Spice Qualifies for the Crufts 2014 Semi FInal

September Spice (Spice) was placed second by just 0.05 points from the winner in Advanced Freestyle at the Canine Freestyle GB Competition held on 12th May 2013.

This means she has qualified in her first competition in 2013 for the Crufts 2014 Semi Final.  Spice has qualified for the Crufts semi final in Freestyle every year since 2004 - except when Kath was judging at Crufts in 2005 and 2012.

Radio Derby and The Derby Telegraph back Karen and Kath

Radio Derby were interested to find out how Karen and Kath and their dogs Fly and Amber had done when competing in the Crufts Semi Finals last weekend.

Amber and Fly waiting to be called for the interview

They were invited to the Mid Morning Show with host Sally Pepper to talk about the competition and for their views on dog training in general.

The interview can be heard here on Listen again.  (At around 1 hour 17 minutes)

And The Derby Telegraph are also trying to help Karen and Kath find an area large enough to practice in.  Read the article here.

Time to relax after the interview.

Thank you Radio Derby and The Derby Telegraph for all the Good Luck wishes for the Heelwork To Music Final to be held on Friday 8th March at around 11:15 am at the NEC Arena.

The Crufts Semi Finals

It’s that time of year again - the Crufts Semi Finals held at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.  Four of the Top Lodge dogs qualified for the semi finals during 2012.

For Heelwork To Music - Karen Sykes with Fly and Kath Hardman with Amber

For Freestyle - Lesley Neville with Angus and Kath Hardman with Spice.

The first class they competed in was the Heelwork To Music Semi Final and with great results.

Kath Hardman with Amber were first of the Top Lodge Trio to perform and they placed 5th with their Irish dance routine to "Celtic Kitten" from Michael Flatley's Celtic Tiger.

Karen Sykes with Fly were the next team to compete and they finished in a magnificent first place with a fabulous routine to "Roxanne" from Moulin Rouge

The finalists - those placed 1st to 10th -  who will be performing at Crufts in the ARENA on 8th March 2013.  Please let the Top Lodge Team know if you will be supporting them.

After lunch was the Freestyle Semi Final.

Kath Hardman and Spice just missed out on a place in the final by finishing in 11th place, but although disappointed, they enjoyed performing their routine to The Puss Suite from the film score of Puss in Boots.

Footnote:    The weather forecast was dreadful for the Friday night - with snow drifting in towards Derbyshire and the Midlands.  Karen and Kath decided that there was no alternative but to book into an hotel on the Friday evening to ensure the journey to Stoneleigh was passable!   On contacting home Saturday morning, it was revealed that 12" had fallen overnight blocking the roads from home to the venue!!   Thank goodness it hadn't snowed near Stoneleigh so the short journey from hotel to venue was easily done.

Sadly, Angus was diagnosed with arthritis in the latter part of the year so it was Lesley's decision to withdraw him from competing at the semi final.