THE SCOOPER THE ORIGINS OF AGILITY

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1 THE SCOOPER THE ORIGINS OF AGILITY Twenty years ago, MOC took its first steps towards becoming involved in the world of Agility. The origins of Agility go back almost twenty years before that. In the United States, we tend to think of the Westminster Dog Show as the Super Bowl of dog shows. That s because we are not British. The world s largest dog show is Crufts, held annually in Great Britain in March. Crufts is also the cradle of Agility. In 1977, Crufts consisted of both Obedience and Confirmation events. The organizers wanted a way to entertain the audience during the break between the end of the Obedience championship and the beginning of the Confirmation Group judging. The result was a course that resembled a figure 8, with a pause table in the middle. The dog started on the pause table and ended there as well after having completed the Original Agility Course (continued on page 2) THE SCOOPER IS THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE MIAMI OBEDIENCE CLUB (MOC) 1

2 THE ORIGINS OF AGILITY (continued from page 1) figure 8. The obstacles consisted of a Hurdle, which resembled a panel jump, an Over & Under, which was an A frame/tunnel combination, a Tyre Hoop, a Cat Walk (why would they call a dog walk a cat walk?), a Brush Jump, Weaving Flags, which was a set of nine weave poles with a little flag on the top of each pole, a See- Saw, a Window Jump, and a Canvass Tunnel, which was a collapsed tunnel that was a precursor to a chute. Two teams of four dogs each were formed and on February 10, 1978, those teams stepped into the ring at Crufts to compete. That was the birth of Agility. The demonstration was well received by the audience and it was repeated at Crufts in By 1979, several dog training clubs in Great Britain were offering training in the new sport of Agility and in December of 1979 an Agility competition was held at an international horse show in London. In 1980, The Kennel Club (Great Britain s version of our AKC) was the first organization to recognize Agility as an official sport with a sanctioned set of rules, and the first trial to be held under the new regulations was at Crufts that year. At that trial, a system of judging and scribing was worked out. After the trial, further refinements were made to the judge s responsibilities, including establishing a judge s path to allow the judge to better determine faults. In addition, judges were allowed to create their own courses. With that, Agility was well on its way. It would take a few more years for Agility to reach the shores of America, and the first AKC sanctioned Agility match did not occur until 1994, but that s a story for another time. MOC AKC TITLE PLAQUE REMINDER The 2016 MOC Awards Banquet will be held on May 4. The deadline for getting your application in to Trina Chicvara is April 6. Don t miss out. A copy of the application form is on the last page of this newsletter. THE SCOOPER IS THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE MIAMI OBEDIENCE CLUB (MOC) 2

3 MARCH 2016 BEHIND THE SCENES: JOSHUA S JOINT Something very, very good happened over a year ago at MOC s January 2015 Agility Trial. That s when Joshua s Joint started serving the food at our agility trials. Fortunately for us, they have been coming back ever since. If you have tried any of Joshua s food, you know what The Scooper means! Chef Joshua Kelley has been a professional cook for seventeen years after graduating from culinary school. He was initially inspired by his Grandmother s cooking, especially the table of pies and desserts that she would lay out for the family at Holiday meals. Joshua later decided to pursue a career that would give him the freedom to work wherever he chose, and knew that anywhere he went there would always be a job for a good cook. After all, people everywhere need to eat. Joshua met his future wife and Joshua s Joint partner, Erica Kinane-Kelley, while they were both working at a restaurant in Tallahassee. Joshua was working back in the kitchen and Erica was working out front with the customers. At some point in time, Erica was asked to work in the kitchen. And that s when the kitchen started to heat up, especially for Joshua and Erica. Throughout their time at this restaurant in Tallahassee, Erica would be asked to step into many roles, including catering, scheduling and managing, but she always enjoyed working in the kitchen most of all. With this experience, coupled with her degree in business management from FSU, Erica was able to help Joshua open his business. Joshua and Erica started Joshua s Joint when they bought their custom-made trailer in February of Joshua loved working as a chef in restaurants, but something was missing. Joshua loves to please people. When he was working as a restaurant chef, he would do the cooking but his assistants would plate the food, so Joshua did not have the opportunity to see how the food appeared on the plate when it was served to the customer. Nor did he have the opportunity to see the enjoyment that his customers experienced when his food was served. At Joshua s Joint, Joshua is able to present his food and he is right there to see the gleam in your eye when the food is served. Joshua is no longer behind the scenes. He is up front and central in his own kitchen. (continued on page 4) THE SCOOPER IS THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE MIAMI OBEDIENCE CLUB (MOC) 3

4 MARCH 2016 BEHIND THE SCENES (continued from page 3) As it turns out, Joshua s Joint s second engagement was as the food concessionaire at the October 2014 Tailwaggers USDAA trial and then Tailwaggers New Year s Trial. The food was so good, MOC just had to invite Joshua and Erica to our January 2015 Trial. We are very thankful that they accepted our invitation. And the word has been spreading within the agility community as more and more trials are asking them to be there. The Scooper is not a professional food critic, but if we could assign stars for quality of food, menu selection, food presentation, customer service, reasonableness of price, and overall deliciousness, Joshua s Joint would receive our highest rating. Every single thing that we have ordered from Joshua s Joint has been superb. And everyone that we have talked with agrees. So how do they do it? What s the secret to Joshua Joint s outstanding food? Well, the peanut butter pie comes from Joshua s Grandmother s recipe. When The Scooper asked for the recipe for the cucumber salad and the coleslaw, Erica answered that We just eyeball it, we love to cook and have been doing it for so long, we just know what s right. Whatever the secret, The Scooper suspects that it has something to do with Joshua s passion for cooking and serving food that each and every person he serves enjoys. Plus, it doesn t hurt that Joshua and Erica are able to work so closely together. The ultimate BLT with cucumber salad The Scooper is eagerly looking forward to more food from Joshua s Joint at MOC s upcoming 2016 March Agility Trial. If you have had the opportunity to enjoy their food at past trials, we re sure that you are also looking forward to more good food. If you haven t tried Joshua s Joint yet, you owe it to yourself to make a point of giving them a try this time. You won t regret it. If you are a regular at Joshua s Joint, you are probably used to seeing Erica working the window with her little assistant PJ, Joshua and Erica s first son, who has grown up in the trailer. The birth of their second son, Rogan, in December 2015 has moved Erica to behind the scenes only for now. When you stop by to say hello, place an order or congratulate them on the new addition, be sure to let them know how much you enjoy their food. Joshua and Erica, thanks for being there for us. See you soon at the March 2016 Agility Trial. THE SCOOPER IS THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE MIAMI OBEDIENCE CLUB (MOC) 4

5 CGC TEST NIGHT - FEBRUARY 8, 2016 Monday, February 8, 2016, was one of those beautiful crisp evenings that we humans and our canines LOVE down here in South Florida. A perfect night for taking the Canine Good Citizen Test with Laurie Zisman at the helm. Present were 8 handler/ dog teams. The key concept of CGC is responsible dog ownership. Before taking the test the owners are asked to read and sign the Responsible Dog Ownership Pledge. Included in this pledge is a promise that the owner will take care of their dog s health needs, safety, exercise, training and quality of life. Items on the test involve: Accepting a friendly stranger Sit and down on command and staying in place Sitting politely for petting Coming when called Appearance and grooming Reaction to another dog Walking on a loose lead Reaction to distraction Walking through a crowd Supervised separation THE SCOOPER IS THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE MIAMI OBEDIENCE CLUB (MOC) 5

6 MARCH 2016 Coming when called a.k.a. RECALL Mylene & Teak Walking on a loose lead Ernesto with Gigi and Jane with Riley Accepting a friendly stranger Wendy with Beckham and Jane with Riley THE SCOOPER IS THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE MIAMI OBEDIENCE CLUB (MOC) 6

7 CRUMBS IN MY POCKET by Mike Smith I vividly remember my first agility trial. It was the MOC January 2012 trial in arena 1 of Tropical Park. The weather was sunny and lovely, but what was really beautiful was the sight of dog after dog doing amazing things in the ring. My own dog was a young pup back then and I had no idea what agility was all about. My wife, who had enrolled our dog in MOC s puppy class, heard about agility from her instructor, the wonderful Jill Sidran, and she told me that we should go to the trial and check it out so check it out we did. We got there in the late morning and stayed less than two hours. It didn t take very long to fall under agility s spell. We didn t really know anybody other than Jill, so we spent our time sitting in the bleachers on the west end of the arena observing the action. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. The dogs were racing fearlessly over the dog walk. They rushed through tunnels, attacked the weave poles and glided up and down the A frame. To me, it was poetry in motion. It was a dance between dog and handler. I had no idea that so many dogs could be so talented. As I sat there, one thought went through my mind over and over again: wouldn t it be a marvelous thing, a really most incredible thing, if I could ever do something like that with my own dog. I had no idea what the rules were or how the game was played. I didn t know what a fault was, or a refusal or a wrong way. I could see the large time displays so I came to the conclusion that it was all about time. When the judge held up ten fingers, I assumed that meant that a ten second penalty was to be added to the dog s time. Ditto five fingers. I didn t understand why the judge wiggled her hand whenever she held up two fingers but it didn t really matter to me. As to the fist in the air, well, I would have to find out about that. Anyway, I cheered for the fastest times regardless of how often the judge s hands went up. I was also impressed by the whole atmosphere of the trial. Everything seemed so organized. The dogs came in and went out of the ring like clockwork. People seemed relaxed and happy, and there was a purposeful and friendly vibe in the air. Shortly before we left, we went down and stood in the isle between the two rings. We chatted with a very nice lady and when she found out that we were first timers she tried to explain how agility worked. Most of what she said went right over my head but it didn t make any difference. I was hooked. The funny thing is, I had no idea whatsoever that this was the beginning of a journey that I hope is without end. THE SCOOPER IS THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE MIAMI OBEDIENCE CLUB (MOC) 7

8 HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES TO MOC MEMBERS BORN IN MARCH Robert Moser Joan Tepper Wien Yu Next MOC Monthly Meeting Wednesday, March 2, :30PM DENNY S 8503 SW 40th ST. (Bird Road) Miami I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive. - Gilda Radner The Scooper can be reached by at mocscooper@aol.com Thank you for reading The Scooper. THE SCOOPER IS THE NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE MIAMI OBEDIENCE CLUB (MOC) 8

9 Miami Obedience Club, Inc Application for MOC s AKC Title Plaque To be presented at the 2016 Annual Awards Banquet MAY 4, 2016 (Note: one form per dog. If you wish to apply on behalf of more than one dog, please copy this application and send materials in separate envelopes.) Deadline is Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at the MOC Monthly Membership Meeting Owner s Name: Owner s Address: Street: City: State: Zip Code: Owner s Phone Number: Dog s Call Name: Dog s Registered Name: Title(s) earned during calendar year 2015 with date each title was officially recorded. (Do not include CGC title) Title: Title: Title: Date: Date: Date: Is this a new plaque? Yes No (If No, please remember to return current plaque to Trina before the deadline for engraving) Owner s Signature: Date: Return application PLUS copies of AKC title certificates and existing plaque (if applicable) either person or mail to: Trina Chicvara MOC Annual Awards Banquet Chairperson SW 104 St. #418 MIAMI, FL Deadline is APRIL 6, Verification and engraving take time. No extensions can be allowed. Plaques are for AKC titles ONLY. Plaque recipients MUST be members in good standing and MUST have attended a minimum of FOUR membership meetings during the year.