Mid-Downs Dog Agility Club
Mid-Downs Dog Agility Club – A history from a very sketchy memory by Barrie Harvey.
In 1985 two members of the East Grinstead Dog Obedience Club decided that they wanted to have a go at the new fun dog sport called agility. Those two people were Jock Ritson and Margaret Moore. They gathered together a small group of people who were similarly enthusiastic and set about finding a venue. Jock agreed to make all the equipment and to fund the cost of the materials and provide his labour free.
This sounds all very easy now, but back in those days there was no template or specifications for equipment it was a case of “make it and see what happens afterwards”. None of this first group of people had competed at a show either so there was not much information to go on. Undeterred, Jock made the equipment and the club began. He made enquiries as to jump heights etc and made the equipment according to the information available at the time.
At the end of 1985 the club was formed and its first name was the “Flight Path Club” as we trained somewhere near to the Mormon Temple at Newchapel and the venue, an indoor horse arena, was right underneath the flight path of planes going into Gatwick. The equipment was stored at the venue and just like today our first job was to manhandle the equipment into the arena to set up a course. Tea, coffee, soft drinks, biscuits and chocolate were on sale by Liz Ritson and we each paid a training fee each week to pay for the venue. The lighting was provided by a pre-payment meter and we had to make sure we finished in the arena, before the money ran out.
In early 1986 a committee was formed and some of that original committee are still members, Alison Grimes, Gill Wise, Tony Edwards, Jock and Liz Ritson, Shelia Prop and me. We met in a variety of places usually Jock and Liz’s house but occasionally also at Alison’s home and went about the business of running and developing the club. New members were arriving all the time and initially we welcomed all with open arms, but gradually we began to get overwhelmed and decided to have a “vetting” system and then eventually a waiting list.
The club continued to grow and went from strength to strength, with classes for all standards of dogs and handlers. One of the highlights of the year was the year end club night usually just before Christmas, when the only pre-requisite was that if you wanted to enter...you had to be in fancy dress! There are photographs to prove it.
As the club grew, Jock decided that we really should be Kennel Club registered so we could put on our own show. There was some opposition to this as there had never been an agility only registered club before. Undeterred the committee pressed on with the application to the Kennel Club and as this involved money each committee members contributed I think it was £10, so we could apply.We also had to have a set of rules and a members list. We used the KC recommended set of rules and compiled a full list of all our members; we also made discreet enquiries to find out if the East Grinstead club were likely to object to our application. After much correspondence with the KC and lobbying of the General Committee members, 18 months later we were granted KC registration for the club – this was a major breakthrough and Mid Downs Dog Agility Club was the first club in the UK to be registered as an Agility only club. So the way was now clear for us to hold our own show...all we needed was a venue, date, classes etc.
Here again we had a stroke of luck. Tony Veal told me that a date was coming available at Ardingly on a Sunday in early March...he also said that if we could get that date he would give the club a Spillers Shapes Open Knockout Tournament heat. Now in 1988/89, the knockout was a massive event with entries well in excess of 500 dogs and they took up to 5 hours to complete...this heat would virtually guarantee the success of the show. Initially Ardingly rejected our application but with the help of Spillers we secured the date.
Our first show was Sunday 12th March 1989 at The Abergavenny Building, Ardingly...we had 4 judges, Sheila Prop was the Secretary and I was the Show Manager. There were 6 classes...the Knockout, Open Agility, Novice Jumping, Starters Agility, Mini Agility and Mini Jumping. We made a profit from our first show and the club decided to reimburse Jock for the cost of the materials he incurred when he made our first sets of equipment. He would not take anything for his time, because that was the sort of man he was.
And so the Mid Downs Dog Agility Club became of age, in just 4 short years it had gone from an idea to a fully fledged registered club running training courses and a show. Since that time the club has grown enormously, sadly some of the early movers and shakers are no longer with us, but we are fortunate to have a very active club membership who have kept up the early spirit and we are one of the very few clubs who have remained intact with members remaining friends for many years.
We have had members qualify for every major final every year since 1989, we have some the top agility handlers in the UK and have the best trainers...our membership has grown well and we operate at a profit every year. The current committee works extremely hard to get the best for the club and looks after the members’ interests as well as the future of agility. We run 2 shows per year, training courses every night of the week for all sizes of dogs and fortunately cater for dogs and handlers of all abilities from raw beginner to super star status...this is a remarkable achievement - so be proud of your club...they are proud of you.
In 1995 there was a 10 year celebration which was held at Premier in the barn when all current and past members attended, and we are only 2 years away from our 25th anniversary so perhaps another party is in order...doesn’t time fly.
Barrie Harvey - 18th December 2007.
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on 01 June 2009 at 07:28:42 p.m.
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