Thursday 13th November - a relaxing day!

The Team met a breakfast for their first day in Stuttgart all together!  First call was to be at the Open European Venue where a Press Conference had been called and as one of the first teams on site Team GBR had been invited to attend.
It was the start of a strange day - the theme was "Where are We?"
They all travelled to the venue with instructions as to where to go - unfortunately the instructions didn't fit in with any of the maps or roads they found so they arrived just a little late - but so did the Press!!!   A maze of a Conference Centre - a complex similar to the NEC but much more open and inviting.  Take a look here.

 Being invited to the Press Conference had its advantages as the team could unload their dog cages and dress their area where they would be stationed for the next few days.

The huge ring as seen from the Quiet Dog Zone.

The Ring where the competition would be held was beautiful with a glass back drop with cascading fountain. The audience would be on three sides of the 25m x 20m arena - one long side being tiered seating and the judges positioned very closely to each other in front of the seating.  The warm up area and quiet Dog Zone was on the next floor up with a balcony to look over to watch the competition.  Perfect.  With either a lift or stairs to move between warm up and competition - everything had been extremely well thought out with the Health and Safety of the dogs paramount in their arrangements.

View from the top of the Tiered Seating

And a view from the judges' tables.

Christina and Eze

Christina and Eze

 After the Press Conference, the Team arrived back at the hotel for an afternoon of steady walks or relaxation.  Lucy and Rob set off and found a beautiful walk with a lake.

However, Nicci, Kath, Helen, Lesley and Penny went a slightly longer walk - and not intentionally!!   

What a lovely walk - but even though they had a plan as to where they would go - all the paths on the way back looked very similar - leading to 4 hours later a rescue mission being made by David and Rob with Lucy at Base Camp (the hotel).  

Thank goodness there were enough clues to give the two rescuers a chance of finding them - just before darkness fell!

That evening, the Team made their way to Cafe Del Sol for a great meal out - a bit noisy but good food and a truly relaxing and fun night.

 OK - who was the main photographer???  As Allan had stayed at home looking after Karen's dogs, David stepped up to the mark along with everyone else!!

What huge platefuls of food - and some managed a pudding too!!!!  But after all the walking that had been done that day, it was well deserved!

First Team Training Session

First Team Training Session - with great ideas shared on music, choreography and costume!!

Happy Spice leads the way - so fast the camera only just caught her!

Lucy getting some physical instruction from Karen in hand/arm placement for her dance routine with Teasel.

Time for a drink and so much cake to choose from - Lavender Liqueur cake and Blueberry Muffin cake made by Lucy  (Yum yum!!!) plus chocolate cake, chocolate biscuits, nibbles and snacks from the other team members.   Yes looking forward to the next training session!!

So let's talk technique and have a brain storming session!!

A great day full of superb ideas and progress towards the great team event!!

Please note that the Kennel Club is not supporting this team in anyway by selection or in any other way.  However the Kennel Club of Great Britain has given permission to Louth and District Dog Club to enter a team for Great Britain.

Great Results at Westglen for all Team Members

Westglen HTM Show

This was the first show of the season and all of the members of the Team were competing, and achieved some great results! The Heelwork to Music classes were held in the morning. Advanced HTM had a huge entry and so was split into two parts. Part one was won by Lucy Creek and Border collie, Skiffle (Harriot Skiffle King) closely followed by Kath Hardman and Border Collie, Amber (Stillmoor Lady in Red)  in Second place. Part two was won by Kath Hardman and Border Collie, Denby (Stillmoor Extra Special) with Helen Dennis and Maia (Goddess Spring of Jucando) her WSD in Third place and Karen Sykes and WSD, Fly (Iatka Spring Spangle) in Sixth place.

Line up of HTM Part Two

In the afternoon came the Advanced Freestyle class. First was Nicci Hindson and her WSD, Nala (Ravestar Scarlet Dancer) followed by Kath Hardman and crossbreed, Spice (September Spice) in Second place. Third was Lucy Creek and her Beagle, Teasel (Dialynne Making Waves) and Fourth was Lucy Creek with Border collie Skiffle (Harriot Skiffle King.) Fifth was Christina Oxtoby and Border collie, Eze (Legacy’s Eze Ezekiel.) 

Line up of Advanced Freestyle

So all in all, a great start to the season for The Team

Please note that the Kennel Club is not supporting this team in anyway by selection or in any other way.  However the Kennel Club of Great Britain has given permission to Louth and District Dog Club to enter a team for Great Britain.

Louth and District Dog Club Announce The Team

Open European Heelwork to Music Championships

14^th to 16^th November 2014

Stuttgart, Germany.

Louth and District are pleased to announce the selected members of the Team  from GB going to Germany this year.  There were more high quality applicants than places this year so apologies to those who did not make it.  The decisions were not easy.

Heelwork Team  (In alphabetical order)

Handler	Dog’s KC name	Breed	Pet name
Lucy Creek	Harriot Skiffle King	Border Collie	Skiffle
Kath Hardman	Stillmoor Lady in Red	Border Collie	Amber
Kath Hardman	Stillmoor Extra Special	Border Collie	Denby
Karen Sykes	Iatka Spring Spangle	WSD	Fly
1st Reserve Nicci Hindson	Ravestar Scarlet Dancer	WSD	Nala
2nd Reserve Helen Dennis	Goddess Spring of Jucando	WSD	Maia

Freestyle Team  (In alphabetical order)

Handler	Dog’s KC name	Breed	Pet name
Lucy Creek	Dialynne Making Waves	Beagle	Teasel
Kath Hardman	September Spice	Crossbreed	Spice
Nicci Hindson	Ravestar Scarlet Dancer	WSD	Nala
Christina Oxtoby	Legacy’s Eze Ezekiel	Border Collie	Eze
1st Reserve Lucy Creek	Harriot Skiffle King	Border Collie	Skiffle
2nd Reserve Lesley Neville	Brambledale Blue Dewy	Bearded Collie	Dewy

Good Luck to them all.

Any offers of sponsorship or permission to raise funds at a show will be greatly appreciated.  They certainly helped a lot last year in Holland.

Carol Mortimer

Please note that the Kennel Club is not supporting this team in anyway by selection or in any other way.  However the Kennel Club of Great Britain has given permission to Louth and District Dog Club to enter a team for Great Britain.