CRUFTS OBEDIENCE WORLD CUP 2009
Judge: Brian McGovern

Held at the NEC Birmingham on Sunday 8th March 2009

I would like thank the Kennel Club Crufts Show Committee for the invitation to judge this competition. It was an honour. It's only when you judge such an event that you realise the hard work and time that has to be invested by the whole judging team. It is a credit to the obedience fraternity that the three Crufts obedience judges can recruit an army of helpers who selfishly give up not only the Crufts weekend, but also untold days of preparation to make this event the most prestigious obedience competition anywhere in the world. Well done to all of you.

My personal thanks go to my own team who made my job so much easier with all of them doing a first class job from the first preparation day many months ago right up to the day itself.
My team members were: Alan Hagger, Ria McGovern, Shelagh Page, Sylvia Allebone, Roly Allebone, Bronwyn Bartley, Mavis Mills and Jane Sutherland. To all of you; my heartfelt thanks and endless gratitude.

My preparation was made so much easier because Shelagh, Mavis, Bronwyn and Jane had all been in Roy Pages World Cup team in 2008 and I shamelessly used not only his team but also his preparation notes as a basis for this year. It saved me endless amounts of time and made things so much easier. A special thanks to both Roy and Shelagh for all the help.

THE COMPETITION
Crufts Obedience is our sports display window and as such we should all do our utmost to show our sport at its best. We all like (or should all like) to see motivated, stylish dogs showing lots of attitude. I designed the test so that these attributes could be displayed to their full. The round and instructions explaining what I wanted was sent to all competitors some months before Crufts. This gave team managers the chance to select a suitable team for this type of round and the handlers' time to learn the round and what would be expected on the day. This remit was issued well in advance so that handlers could practice the round and be prepared. This allowed me to mark any hesitation from either handler or dog as a major error, as was the failure of handlers to show clear definition of pace or to maintain a constant distance from the lines drawn on the carpet. I did not insist that a handler worked on the line, but I did expect that the distance from the line remain constant. Any handler that failed this fairly simple instruction was heavily penalised. The heelwork pattern was a series of circles and weaves and was very simple. I was disappointed to see that a few creditable performances marred by handlers that either couldn't or wouldn't do normal and fast pace and then compounded this fault by failing to follow a clearly marked line on the floor. I was amazed to see one or two handlers drift from about a foot outside the circle to the same distance inside, all within a few yards. Anyone wishing to understand the marking needs to look at the performance of both the dog and the handler and not just the dog.

On a more positive note, we were lucky to be witness to some memorable rounds that showed competitive obedience at its best.

INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION RESULTS:
1st 294½ pts. Danielle de Jonge and her Border Collie MIKEY. Quite honestly this was one of the best rounds of heelwork that I have ever seen. Both handler and dog attacked the round and gave the ultimate performance of attitude, style and motivation that was exactly what I was looking for. This dog had all the style you could dream of without any back end movement or dipping. It was technically very correct and Danielle's handling should be used as a bench mark for anyone competing in obedience. It really was that good! Congratulations and thank you Danielle. You made my day.

2nd 284½ pts. Gemma Lewis and her Border Collie (Dog) REDISTEDI MISSION PAWZIBLE (Puzzle). Another top class round with both handler and dog giving a first class performance. This little dog oozed style and was as keen as you could wish for. Gemma complimented her dog with lots of attitude and some excellent handling. I could have watched them all day. Gemma and Puzzle were unfortunate to meet up with Danielle and Mikey working at their best, as on any other day this team would have blown the competition way. I'll take bets that this team are working in the championships next year. Very well done.

3rd 282½ pts. Mary Ray with her Border Collie WOODSORREL RED DEVIL. It is a testament to the ability of this incredible lady that Taz achieved this place today. Taz doesn't look to be a naturally high drive dog, but Mary has taught this dog to work with elegance and style which resulted in a very attractive performance today. Full credit to you Mary. Well done.

4th 280½ pts. Sarah Delaney and her Groenendael; OB CH VANISTICA FRENCH ECLIPSE OW. Another attractive round with the fast pace being extremely nice to watch, with Sarah upping the tempo and getting the best out of her dog. Slow pace was expensive with inverted crabbing being the major fault.

TEAM RESULT:
1st ENGLAND – Excellent all round performance with the whole team contributing to the win. The World Cup is a team event and requires a good all-round performance from all team members with no one individual failing a major exercise. England certainly achieved this today. This was a well deserved win simply because the team, as one unit, did what was required to win the team prize. Congratulations and well done.

2nd HOLLAND – Won the competition for the two previous years, but sadly missed out on this year. Holland produced the best combined heelwork mark of the day, but to win a team competition, all members of the team have to produce a round without any major errors. Sadly this year that was not to be. The handler in question not only failed to throw the dumbbell correctly, she also decided to collect it twice without waiting for instructions from the steward. This greatly increased the points lost.

3rd BELGIUM – Repeating last year's achievement. Team Manager Lucie is obviously making a good job of teaching her two "young lads" as the team as a whole produce some of the best heelwork marks of the day. They certainly seemed pleased with this place. Well done to you all.

4th WALES – Yet another repeat of last year when Wales also came 4th. Once again a strong team performance with some very attractive heelwork. Unfortunately a major fault in the both the retrieve over the hurdle and the directed retrieve ruined any ambitions of a higher place for this year.