AKC Agility Trials bring trainers and canines from around the Northwest
CASEY MCCARTHY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 8 months AGO
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Jack leaps through a jump as follows his owner, Susie McGuire, at the agility trials over the weekend at the Grant County Fairgrounds.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Shasta, a four-year-old rescue found on a reservation as a puppy, leaps over the barrier as he follows his owner, Pam, at the AKC Agility Trials on Saturday afternoon in Moses Lake.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Pico makes his final leap in his run on Saturday afternoon at the Grant County Fairgrounds before running and jumping into the arms of his owner and trainer, Daniela Flores of Spokane.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Trainer and canine run side-by-side at the AKC Agility Trials hosted by the Ephrata-Moses Lake Kennel Club at the Grant County Fairgrounds over the weekend.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Shasta, a 4-year-old rescue, races across the platform in the final stretch of an agility trial run on Saturday afternoon.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Daniela Flores holds her dog Pico after completing the run on an AKC Agility Trial course in Moses Lake on Saturday.
Susie McGuire follows behind her dog Jack as he leaps over the bar during his run at the agility trials hosted by the Ephrata-Moses Lake Kennel Club.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
MOSES LAKE — Trainers and their canines made their way from around the Northwest, and even Canada, to the American Kennel Club Licensed Agility Trials held at the Kenny Ardell Building at the Grant County Fairgrounds over the weekend.
The AKC-licensed event was put on by the Ephrata-Moses Lake Kennel Club, and was open to all breeds. Christian Eckhoff was the judge for the event, coming in from Woodinville. The top four finishers in each height division received a ribbon. Approximately 100 participants came out for the weekend, with 350 runs taking place each day.
Qualifying scores and canines going for Agility Excellence, or Champion, awards were also recognized. Judi Voris was the chairwoman for the event, and has been with the Ephrata-Moses Lake Kennel Club for the past eight years.
Voris said trainers like coming to the arena in Moses Lake and have been making it an annual pit stop for years.
“It’s indoors, there’s lots of room,” Voris said. “People train for this all the time, so there’s venues almost every weekend. They just like coming to Moses Lake because of the nice accommodations.”
Skill levels ranged from trainers with multiple dogs competing to new participants bringing their pet out for the first time. One first-time participant, Voris said, has been training with her dog for a year.
“It takes you a while because you’ve got to get your dog, and you have to be able to do everything out here with everything going on around you,” Voris said. “And there’s different levels.”
Seasoned canines and trainers make their way through various courses with a discipline that’s apparent, while Voris said newcomers can be, at times, “chaotic.”
Bert Moran and her dog, Hank, are examples of the veterans. Hank came into the weekend already an eight-time Master Agility Champion out of Montana.
Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital Director Debra Sellon brought her dog Zip to participate after her staff helped one of Moses Lake’s own canines, Chief, make his way back home as well.
“You have to spend so much time training, and bonding with your dog,” Sellon said. “Knowing how important that is in my life, that bond, I totally understand, and think it’s 10 times that, for somebody like Chief and Nick who depend on each other for their lives.”
Judi Voris talked about the expansion she has seen in the event since it was opened up to all breeds, including mixed breeds, a few years ago.
“We’ve seen a lot of rescue dogs, which is kind of nice,” Voris said. “It’s a fun thing to do with your dog. The dogs love it, and it gets people out doing stuff with their dogs.”
Voris said having a trained dog at home isn’t such a bad thing either.
