Emma Bryden, aged 31 from Kilmarnock, Scotland, and her Bearded Collie, Shahla, are set to compete at the world’s largest dog agility competition, The Kennel Club’s International Agility Festival, for the very first time this August.
Emma got into dog agility four years ago to help one of her rescue dogs gain confidence and have a fun bonding activity to do together, and it’s helped her to overcome difficult times too. “I suffer with depression, social anxiety and am in the process of being diagnosed with autism – the confidence I get from working with my dogs and the common ground it’s given me to make some amazing friends is like nothing else,” Emma commented.
“There has been so many times when agility has been the only highlight of my life and spending time in a friendly and fun environment has made all the difference to keep going.
“Agility has 100% helped me with my mental health, but if it wasn’t for my dogs and the training we do, I would be a lot less fit physically and would be stuck indoors a lot more of the time.”
Emma, who is now a part-time agility trainer, currently owns three dogs and has seen agility help all of them in a variety of ways. Emma adds: “I think agility really helps dogs with confidence issues. One of my rescue dogs was terrified of existence and when we first started agility, our trainer could hardly be within six feet without her getting anxious, scared and very reactive towards other dogs. Over time she came out of her shell and her confidence grew to a point where she wasn’t worried by having other dogs in the class and had the skills and enjoyment to do agility without feeling threatened.”
The Kennel Club International Agility Festival, supported by Skinner’s, will see thousands of dogs and owners, from the UK and abroad, return to Rutland Showground from 10 – 13 August to compete across four days in the Midlands.
Dogs of any size, shape and breed were invited to enter the range of agility classes earlier in the year, and now handlers and their dogs – including Emma and Shahla – will put their best paw forward at the renowned agility show, run by The Kennel Club. The festival will see competitions across four dog size categories, 18 rings and 200 classes and give competitors and their dogs from all over the world, both novice and professional, a chance to compete.
Catherine Guiver, Head of Events at The Kennel Club said: “The International Agility Festival is a real highlight in the events calendar that brings together those new to agility and those who have been competing for years! There is always a buzzing atmosphere both in and out of the competition rings as the agility community reunites to cheer each other on.”
More information about The Kennel Club International Agility Festival can be found at: thekennelclub.org.uk/iaf or via The Kennel Club’s dedicated Facebook page: facebook.com/groups/agility.news.thekennelclubuk/. For spectators interested in attending, no advance booking is required, though a small £5 parking fee will need to be paid on arrival, and visiting dogs will need to be signed in on the day.
A specially-made video for owners interested in getting started in agility with their dog can be found at thekennelclub.org.uk/newtoagility
