Vapresto BSD Agility League News Page

Need a pairs partner? - Check out Pat & Phil Spillman's site to team up with other Belgians...

Vapresto league website has record number of visitors in 2006: We had exactly 11,111 visits to the league website alone over the year, which beats our total for 2005 by a huge margin (that was just 8,400 - which included our Vapresto Tervueren website as well.)  Thank you, and please keep coming back!

Diane Griffin and Inca won the ABC Agility at Suffolk Five Rivers - just ahead of Inca's Dad, Chase!

David Leach & Rusty are clearly not content with going Senior in agility - having branched out into 'Cani-Cross' and winning at their first attempt at Paws in the Park!

Pat Spilman and Kia won their last ever Novice class at Easington.  Just to finish off a great last novice weekend they also had a 3rd in another novice class & 8th and 15th in Intermediate classes as well.

David Leach and Rusty (Bonvivant Kallisto) have gone Senior in style - with their second Agility win at Shuttleworth today (27/8/06).  What makes this even more incredible is that Rusty is David's first agility dog and she only turned two years old last month!

Pat Spillman and Kia (Delark Vodkatini) convincingly won the FCI Rules Pay-on-the-Day class at Dog Vegas show. 

Diane Griffin and Heidron Inka's Chasing Luck (Inka) are in the ABC news again after winning the first ever ABC final at Dogs In Need on Sunday! Wish we could have stayed to see it.

David Leach and Bonvivant Kallisto (Rusty) are already half-way to Senior, after winning Novice Agility at Dashing Dogs, just a few days after their last Starters classes at Aylesbury! (Pictured opposite at the KC Agility Festival - Rusty is the lighter coloured dog >>>>)

Pauline McCallum won out of Starters at Aylesbury with her Groenendael,  Lisnoir Gaelic Charm (Raffles), and shoots into the lead of the Starters League as a result.

Margaret Hudson competing with Jaraz Ambition ( Voe ) at Kingdom of Fife show last weekend won the Novice Show Champion Trophy and also qualified for next years ABC semi final

Diane Griffin and Heidron Inka's Chasing Luck (Inka) not only won ABC Jumping at Aylesbury (by more than 2 seconds), but came 2nd to his brother in the ABC agility, closely followed by Diane again with Inka's Dad - Chase (Delark Lucky Chase)!

July:  A record month for the Vapresto website:

3 Aug '06        Changes at the top in the Starters League:  We have recently received a large number of results from a few people who don't have Internet access.  We have taken the decision to allow results submitted within TWO months of the date they were submitted, due to the difficulty of submission.  However, from now on we will strictly only allow points for results submitted within a month of the show end date.

Congratulations to 'Razzle' (Minka Lexey Q.T.) on going Senior at RVA show and shooting to the top of the Novice league

Also to David Leach and 'Rusty' (Bonvivant Kallisto) for following up his first Starters win with another at Lansdown.

Also to new league member Louise Wood and 'Timber' (Vapresto Chimera Timber) for 15th place in Starters Agility at their first show together - literally a couple of hours after Timber was measured and approved for competition

Spring At Shuttleworth

The show is over now, the tents and equipment packed away (soaking wet) and that's it for another year!

A very big belated thank you to all those kind people who pretty much gave up their weekend to help us run the rings with absolutely minimum numbers of ring party, and several of you also helped us set up and pack down the whole show.  I won't name you all (in case I miss someone), but you know who you are - we quite literally couldn't have done it without you...

THANKS AGAIN

18 Jan '06    Vapresto Agility Club has 42 dogs entered:  Despite the fact that few competitions will take place before the Spring, we already have half of our total 2005 entry...  Thank you!  We have kept our entry fee the same for 2006 and we are hoping to offer more features throughout 2006 to make membership even better value for money...

The first of these new features is the new 'Members Forum' - this is an opportunity for our members to share their news, ask for advice on agility / BSD related matters, and generally communicate with each other.  Please also feel free to use the forum to let us know what you think of the Vapresto website, and to share any ideas you might have, that we could implement, to make your club even better...

5 Dec           League Tables finally corrected...  After the software problems at the start of this year, I have finally found a way of identifying the correct scores for everyone's results from early shows (results submitted using the points form prior to 14th May were all incorrect!)  Some of you have already kindly emailed me with your correct placings for those shows, and you will probably not see any changes in your points as a result.  However, those that hadn't emailed may notice some changes in scores and positions - some have gone up, some have gone down - but all are correct according to what you put on the form!

4 Dec           Last new Vapresto BSD League member of the year?  Carole Harrison was so happy with Bertie's (Vapresto Cougar) first ever KC clear round at SBCC today, she decided to celebrate by joining the league to see his name on the 'Starters' results page!

28 Nov         League results all updated:  Please note that the change of page title to 'Results' does not mean the end of the competition!  We will still count scores right up to and including 31st December - so a few shows left to get that elusive win!

Also, sincere apologies to Tina Simpson, as I have been reminded that UKA results below current KC classification do not count towards league positions:  This unfortunately means that her UKA points from Cornwall have been deducted dropping her down from 3rd position.  Sorry Tina, but as I have already applied this ruling to another competitor in August, I probably hadn't ought to break my own rules!

OK...  So now I'm told progressing at KC shows doesn't progress you at UKA!!!  So, I have decided to award points on the same scale as at a KC Ltd show if you are still forced to compete at UKA below KC level.  I have amended points and positions for Tina Simpson and Lisa Jordan already:  If anyone else is affected by this can you please let me know and I will amend points accordingly!

8 Oct            More results and battles for 3rd place in Starters and Novice:  Tina Simpson and 'Onyx' (Hawksflight Dream Believer) cleaned up at the Cornwall UKA show to take them into 3rd in the Starters League, and we now have a tie for 3rd in Novice - between Joanne Apostolou and 'Zellik' (Sabrefield Xciting Story) and Pat Spillman with 'Kia' (Delark Vodkatini).

BSDWC         The deadline for vaccinations has now passed for the 2006 BSD WC in Hungary:  If your dog will have a passport valid for return to the UK on 8th May 2006, and you would like to represent the UK at the BSD WC next year, can you please let me know ASAP by email - even if you have already qualified... ian@vapresto.com 

25 Sept        And another...!  Margaret Saunders and 'Abbie' (Minka Lanark Abbie) won Starters Jumping at Suffolk Five Rivers and will be joining the Novice league next year as a result!  I will try and update the leagues ASAP, but am working abroad which will make it more difficult than usual I'm afraid!

We are getting close to finding out who will win the trophies now, and a few people have still not confirmed their places from earlier in the year, when we had a problem with the database:  If you have claimed any points from PLACES (not clear rounds) prior to the end of May 2005, can you please confirm those places ASAP - thank you...

20 Sept        Yet another dog out of Starters!  This time our very own Amanda with Cloud (Minka Indena Cumulus) in Starters Agility at Cornwall.  By coincidence, the judge was the same person that judged Amanda's very first agility competition - Alan Hale!  Having had every top ten place this year except 1st prior to Cornwall, Cloud excelled herself by also gaining 3rd, 4th and 6th places in her other runs over the weekend!

I will update all the leagues in the next couple of days - there are rather a lot of new results and it will take some time!

13 Sept        Another update of the league tables:  No change at the top in any of the leagues, but a few more points gained!

31 Aug         Another dog out of Starters:  Actually a few weeks ago, but we were reminded that Tina Simpson and her Groenendael 'Ebony' (Hawksflight Dream Believer) won Starters Agility at Carn Brae.

We are aware that a number of club members have won places but do not have access to the Internet:  If you know any of these people can you please ask them to send me details of their points by post, or (even better) submit their points for them!  Thank you...

DOGS IN NEED 2005 FINALS pictures now on line - Click Here to view

25 Aug         First DIN Results in:  The lead changes again in Novice, with Skye getting back in front of his brother after a couple of wins at Dashin Dogs.  However, considering that Inka very nearly died after being bitten by an Adder, Diane is grateful for just having him around still (thanks to someone who helpfully led them to the nearest vet, who luckily happened to have some anti-venom to hand)!  Inka obviously made a swift and full recovery, as a week later he was the only Groenendael to get into the Novice final at Dogs In Need, and finished in a fantastic 7th place - behind guess what?  Yes, 6 Collies/WSDs!  Also in the final were Joanne Apostolou with Zellik and Gill Raddings with Check (almost certainly the youngest dog in any of the finals at just 20 months!!)

9 Aug           BSD World Champs 2006 are GO!  I have this evening received confirmation from the secretary of the FMBB that the UK will be able to participate in the 2006 BSD World Agility Championships at Székesfehérvár in Hungary (4th-7th May).  

As there appears to be quite a lot of interest in taking part, it is inevitable that there will need to be some form of selection process for the 8 places in the squad:  This will be held as close as possible to the deadline for submission of entries, in order to make sure we have the best available dogs at the time - probably some time in March 2006.  

Click here to view the qualifying criteria, detailed on the new BSD WC 2006 page

VERY IMPORTANT:  This means that those wishing to be considered for the squad will need to have their dogs vaccinated against rabies by 7th October, to allow one month before the blood test, then 6 months before re-entry into the UK.

8 Aug           New leader in Novice:  Diane Griffin took Inka (Heidron Inka's Chasing Luck) into Senior with TWO Novice Jumping wins at Scunthorpe last weekend, and into the lead in the Novice League over Inka's litter brother, BSD World Champion Skye!

Important Rules update for UKA competitors: At UKA shows results from classes entered below KC eligible standard at the time will not be counted towards the Vapresto BSD League:  eg. if 'out of Starters' at KC shows before closing date for entries at UKA, Beginners/Nuresery results from UKA will not count.

2 Aug          Current BSD World Champion goes Senior!  It's been a great year for Andy Brown and Skye so far - Individual and Team World Champions, and now Senior after a Novice Jumping win at Derbyshire AC show.  Also Linda Evans & Razzle are half-way there after a win in Novice Agility at the same show.

We were in Belgium the same weekend, where Amanda and Cloud came fourth in Grade 1 Agility - beating several Grade 3 handlers (equivalent to our Senior/Advanced) in the process, as ALL new dogs start in Grade 1 in Belgium (and most FCI Rules based countries).  I hope to have a brief report on our experience in Belgium shortly.

21 July        Caravan and Van for Sale:  Not really league news, but the Vapresto Caravan is up for sale at a bargain price - for this weekend only (it will be Part-exchanged on Thursday 28th if not sold before).  Click here for full details.

CARAVAN NOW SOLD - Van still available

1 July          Exciting news for Vapresto and the BSD Agility League:  We are delighted to announce that Vapresto now has sponsorship from Burns Pet Nutrition.  All our dogs have been exclusively fed Burns food for some time now and in recognition of this, and our active involvement in all aspects of agility (show organisation, the BSD league, Judging, training, and organising the BSD WC effort), Burns have very kindly offered their support to Vapresto and this website.

We have been extremely pleased with our dogs' condition, health, and performance since switching to Burns food and are very happy to endorse the product through the Vapresto website:  If you are interested in finding out more, click on any of the Burns links throughout the website, and / or email us or speak to us at the shows.

30 June       Two more out of Starters last weekend!!!  Colleen Mowbray and Rembrandt (Lebeau Firestarter) won Starters Jumping at Watford on Saturday and Mandy Elcock and Storm (Delark Fireflash): Wonder if I can get my dog's name changed to something pyrotechnic - might win something myself then!  Congratulations to you both!

We also have litter brothers 1st and 2nd in Novice after Lansdown show last weekend - and at just over two years old too!

27 June       Congratulations to the BSDs going to Olympia:  Three league members are on their way to Olympia after being placed in the top 10 at the ABC final at Newton Heath last weekend:  They are the current BSD World Champions, Andy Brown and Skye (2nd), Anne Challis and Timber (7th), and Julie Saunders and Storm (8th).  Well done to you all, and we hope to be there to watch you at Olympia in December.

22 June       POINTS FORM WORKING FULLY NOW:  All leagues have been updated based on information we have up to and including 22nd June.  The points form now works correctly, so PLEASE use this method of points submissions from now on if possible.  If you have a friend in the league without Internet, we would also be extremely grateful if you could submit their points for them - thank you!

9 June         Kennel Club Congratulate BSD WC Team:  Click here to see the press release issued by The Kennel Club, congratulating the team on our success in Germany.  We have had numerous messages from other BSD enthusiasts, including a front page message on the BSDA website, and something in the BSD breed notes of both 'Our Dogs' and 'Dog World' (out tomorrow - Friday 10th June)

BSD World Championships Photos online:  I have finally got around to posting my photos from the WC on the Vapresto site.  Go to the BSD WC 2005 page and then click on the links for each day's competition.  By clicking on a photo you see a much larger image, then click 'Back' on your browser, to return to the thumbnails. 

8 June         Lots of changes in the league:  Starters leader (by just one point) is now Angie Christie and Bindi (Kehala Touch of Romance) after winning out of Starters at Castlereagh last weekend.  Joanne Apostolou and Zellik (Sabrefield Xciting Story) have just crept ahead of the BSD World Champions after some excellent results at Supadogs - including being the only BSD in the Novice final.  We have joint leaders of the Senior league - Brenda Hollis with Bailey (Baudwin Cappamore) and Julie Saunders with Storm (Minka Island Storm).

6 June         Future World Championships in jeopardy for Great Britain:  Following the KC announcement that only FCI affiliated teams will be able to enter future agility WCs, we may not be able to defend our title in Hungary next year.  Vapresto are on the case and trying to establish what our options are, and will keep everyone updated on progress as and when we have any news.

29 May        GB Team & Individual World Champions!!!!  Our team of Andy Brown & Skye, Brenda Hollis & Bailey, Gill Raddings & Kyte (aka 'Wellard') and Mike Bacon & Jack won the BSD Agility World Championships today in Aue, Germany.  Then to follow that, Andy Brown and Skye (the youngest dog in the entire competition) won the Individual title with two cracking clear rounds.

See the BSD WC 2005 page for more details

24 May         Is this the first BSD/Malinois with an Agility Warrant?  Joanne Apostolou achieved her KC Agility Warrant for Zellik (Sabrefield X'citing Story) recently

23 May        More Problems with the League!  Just when I thought I had it sorted, it appears that the formula that converts places into points has a malfunction...  Can I ask you all to email me with details of any PLACES you are claiming points for from the start of this year.  I do not need details of any 'Clear Rounds' as that part is definitely working OK.  Sorry to ask, but I can confirm that this will finally enable me to produce an accurate set of league tables (but possibly not until we return from Germany, as we leave in about 7 hours time from writing this!)

22 May         Last Year's winner out of Starters:  We hear that Karen Perry and Delark Sun King (Tango) finally won out of Starters at BATS last weekend - well done, and good luck in Intermediate!

We would have reported this earlier, but it appears that some people have been completing the on-line points form incorrectly:  You need to select the placing that you were awarded - NOT the amount of points that you are claiming!

18 May         Groenendael Puppies looking for Agility homes:  Heidi Totesaut still has two bitch puppies available from her recent litter and if anyone is interested please contact heidi_totesaut@yahoo.co.uk.  This is a repeat mating of that which produced the dogs currently lying 1st AND 3rd in the Novice League, and Dad is leading the Senior League, so they should have plenty of potential!

11 May        Vapresto BSD Agility Leagues on line at last:  Please go to the Vapresto Agility Club (VAC) page for the appropriate links.

The problem with the database is not yet resolved, but I have entered all the results up to yesterday manually just to get it started.  We apologise for the fact that results will not be updated as frequently as in 2004 until we finally get the database issue sorted.

Leaders so far are:
Starters - Our own bred 'Vapresto Arainy Jay' handled by Sue Schofield, and now won out of Starters.
Novice - 'Heidron Chasing Stormy Skye' (one of the youngest dogs in the league) handled by Andy Brown
Senior - 'Delark Lucky Chase' (Skye's Dad) handled by Dianne Griffin.  Sadly, we hear that Chase probably won't get any more points this year as he has had to have his leg reset after a fracture some years ago appears not to have healed correctly.  We wish Chase a speedy recovery, and hope that another of his sons (Inka) gives Dianne lots more success to make up for it (he's already 3rd in Novice!)

19 April       Spring At Shuttleworth show a huge success!  We are delighted to report that the show was a great success in achieving our aim of raising sufficient funds to send a team of 8 dogs and handlers to the BSD Agility World Championships in Aue (Eastern Germany) at the end of May.  Despite the entire show being organised by a handful of people, without a single physical meeting, we have had great feedback and it seems that everyone had a great time!

A huge vote of thanks must go to all the kind people who helped set up the rings on the Friday, our judges and everyone who helped during the show itself (many of you all day on both days), the trade stands and sponsors, our suppliers (the majority of whom discounted their invoice to help with our fund-raising efforts), Shuttleworth for their support (and for being on standby the whole weekend), and Souldern Agility Society for guaranteeing the show.  We quite literally could not have done it without you all.

We will do our utmost to reward your kind help with a respectable result at the World Championships!!!

Vapresto would also like to say thank you for the great attendance of our 2004 league awards presentation:  All but one (resident some distance north of the Scottish border) was present to receive their awards and it made us very proud to be involved with the league.  We also noted many BSDs doing well at the show and have decided again to award league points down to 30th in all classes (as we have the records in our possession) regardless of whether a rosette was given.  We will also give 2 points for each 'best unplaced BSD' rosette awarded.

Finally (for today) I must apologise yet again for the lack of league results on the website!  Take your pick from the following excuses - too busy with the show, working in Monaco since Easter (and back there again now), software problems with the new Internet Service Provider, or spending too much time surfing AgilityNet!  All of which are partially true, but equally unforgivable...  I promise to rectify the situation somehow within the next week.

4 April          League news update:  We are still experiencing problems producing the league tables, as a result of changing Internet Service Providers, but hope to have something on the site very soon: 

Meanwhile, we have a clear leader in Starters after Sue Schofield and our own bred Vapresto Rainy Jay (pictured at Easter Celebration) won Starters Jumping at Downland last weekend!  Prior to calculating the results precisely, Joanne Apostolou's Sabrefield Xciting Story appears to be leading Novice, and Diane Griffin's Delark Lucky Chase look to be well ahead in Seniors.

17 Mar         Spring At Shuttleworth entries closed!  It will be some time before we have exact numbers, but it looks as though we will achieve our target to pay for a full squad of 8 dogs and handlers to compete in the BSD WC in Germany in May.  A big thank you to everyone who has entered, and especially those that have offered to help, as the show will be substantially bigger than our first show at Bath last year, and we will need every bit of help we can get!

Crufts:         League Member wins Best of Breed:  Yvonne & Paul Horner's Sabrefield Born Two the Kop won Best malinois, at the tender age of just 23 months, and was seen on BBC1 in the Pastoral Group line-up as a result!

Bailey wins the ABC at Crufts!  Brenda Hollis and Bailey (Baudwin Cappamore) had a cracking run to win the first heat of the Pedigree ABC All Stars competition at Crufts this morning, and then followed it up with a 4th in the afternoon to give them overall victory!  ABC competition is getting tougher each year, with an increasing number of very fast Kelpies and Aussie Shepherds (as well as lurchers and the crosses of course), so it's great to see a BSD can still hold its own - well done Brenda & Bailey!

Not really agility, but it was good to see the first ever male Tervueren Obedience Champion working at Crufts on the Saturday - Michelle Newman and Chevvy (Ob Ch Minka Inspiration Chivvy).  His distance control work was literally faultless, as was his retrieve, and it was a real pleasure to see a BSD in amongst a sea of black & white collies (bit like agility then really!) 

9 Mar           Points Form now working!!!  It may change, as it's only a temporary fix, but at least it seems to work OK.

Crufts:  If any of you are at Crufts on Friday afternoon, why not drop by the BSD area of Discover Dogs and say hello if you have the time (we're in Hall 3, just along from the agility in the Special Events Ring).  We have agility dogs in both Tervueren (mine) and Malinois areas (Yvonne Horner) and would love to see you!

5 Mar           UKA Points now eligible for the Vapresto BSD Agility League:  On the subject of points, we have decided to start allocating points for results at UKA shows now that they are attracting significant numbers of quality handlers and dogs.  These will be allocated as follows:
  -  Beginner/Novice/Senior/Champion classes - 20 points for 1st, down to 1 point for 20th
  -  Steeplechase/Casual/Nursery - 10 points for 1st, down to 1 point for 10th

26 Feb        Steve Hughes and Kyp get their CDex:  After winning out of Starters Agility and coming 4th in the Starters League last year, Steve and Kyp have also excelled in working trials and gained their CDex title last week!  As they also do competitive obedience at quite a high level, this makes them a truly multi-talented combination!  I think the only other dog in the BSD League with similar 'qualifications' is Anne Challis's Copper - CDex, UDex, and Senior Agility dog

Pictured:  Steve and Kyp (Bonvivant C'est Moi Sabrefield) at Dashin' Dogs last year...

23 Feb        Spring At Shuttleworth show news:  

A few entrants have asked if it will be possible to camp overnight on Sunday after the show.  We have asked Shuttleworth and they have kindly agreed. This will cost an additional £15 per unit for the extra night, and will be strictly conditional upon departure before midday on Monday 18th April.  As we have not catered for this on the entry form, we will collect this money at the show.

Also, any Pay on the Day classes will be run according to the new regulations that will come into effect on 1st January 2006 - i.e. Small, Medium, and Large height categories, with corresponding jump heights (thanks to Ray Amps for offering to supply the required equipment).

19 Feb         2004 League Award Winners:  The trophies for the 2004 Vapresto League winners will be presented at the Spring At Shuttleworth show on 16th-17th April, and awards are as follows:

18 Feb         BSD World Championship 2005 squad announced:  See BSD WC 2005 page for full details

                   Vapresto Agility Club now has 28 members - with a total of 45 dogs entered into the Vapresto BSD Agility League for 2005 so far:  We will get the club and league pages up to date early in March - please bear with us!

1 Feb           Spring At Shuttleworth schedule now available online:  Click here to download copies of the schedule, entry form, and camping form, or go to AgilityNet, Agility Eye, or you can enter via. ISS.  Those of you that have requested for schedules to be posted should receive them by the end of this week (5th), once we have had them printed!

15 Jan          2-year old Tervueren bitch needs a new home:  I'm afraid I know very little about this bitch except that she was returned to her breeder and is described as 'small and wizzy' and may be suited to agility?  If anyone is interested, please email ian@vapresto.com and I will pass it on to the breeder.

14 Jan          New Internet host for the New Year!  Vapresto has changed Internet Service Providers and this has resulted in some disruption to the site over New Year.  In the long run it will enable us to make the site more interactive - especially for Vapresto Agility Club members, but there will undoubtedly be a few problems while I get up to speed with the new features!  In particular, the points submission form is not working yet, so can we ask you to simply email results for the time being?  Thank you.

Spring At Suffolk may become Spring At Shuttleworth!  Unfortunately, the Suffolk Agricultural Society have decided that they cannot accomodate us within the main showground at Ipswich, despite their original offer of the area used for the rings at DIN.  We have decided that the alternative offer of the main exercise area for the entire show is not acceptable (not secure, no tarmac access roads, and not so well drained), and are quite close to doing a deal with Shuttleworth (home of the Letchworth show) instead.  We will post full details here, and email Agilitynet, Agility Eye, Agility Voice, and Agility Aid/ISS as soon as we can confirm the final arrangements.

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