The Cockapoo Games 2015
2015 year saw the Cockapoo Games move to a new venue, Newark Showground, which was spectacular and proved to be very popular with the organisers and the participants alike. Having sole use of the Showground meant we could produce a program of uninterrupted events which kept our members captivated throughout the day.
We had the use of the Newark Pavilion, which itself had a small café and bar providing snacks and drinks throughout the day.
The CCGB AGM was held on Friday evening in the Pavilion with Tastes Café and a bottle bar open for refreshments, with many members and their dogs joining in the fun and generally getting to know their cyber friends putting names to faces.
The Games itself took place on Saturday, with all the events being held in the Newark Arena which was divided smaller individual arenas. This arena was surrounded by the camping fields and the Pavilion, which housed the Secretary’s desk, TC Handmade Products stall, Julie’s dog treats, and information points on CCGB Rescue, Rehoming and Respite and Carol Fowler from the Dog Breedering Reform Group (DBRG).
A new cashless system was in place for the events, with tokens available to buy from the Secretary and use at each ring. This helped to keep the queuing time to a minimum.
The events this year were:
“Have a go” Steeplechase and Agility for beginners to try out. Supervised by our experienced trainers Jon Wright & Nathan Watson and a team of assistants. These two events saw over 150 Cockapoo’s completing over 240 rounds, with many of our participants never having done anything like this with their dogs going away with a big smile on their faces.
Agility and Steeplechase competitions for Junior, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced participants; all carried out under the watchful eye of our resident Judge Helen Ranaghan and her assistants Mandy Bates, John and Philippa Cadge. We witnessed great ability at all levels and as the competitions gained momentum the over riding factor of fun was clear to see.
For the second year the Agility Relay Competition was again popular with friends putting together teams of mixed abilities, with enough people getting together to produce 7 teams of 4 thus seeing nearly 30 Cockapoo’s taking part. This produced great fun competition and some unexpected results.
Cockapoo Racing.. A new event for 2015 and possibly the highlight of this years Games. With Cockapoos “saddled up” and raring to go. We saw 40 races with almost 160 dogs taking part, each dog being put in a harness and a jockey on board all released through our special starting gate and race a course of 65 metres over 4 Steeplechase jumps. The competition was fierce and as we reached the knock-out stage of 2 semi-finals followed by the 4 fastest dogs in a hotly contested final. A brilliant days fun which will be very popular in 2016.
Fastest recall – With Sue Farmer coordinating a team of willing helpers the fastest recall is one of our most popular events. This year this fun for all event saw over 150 runs by 120 dogs.. Our fastest run of the day was completed by Lola in a time of 2.54 seconds, with only 3 tenths of a second separating the top 6 dogs.
Balls and Bubbles – provided some playtime and a little time to relax with your dogs and puppies, allowing them to socialise with some new friends.
Dog Trust Competitions:- Jack Johnson and his team held some great fun events including Best Trick, Musical Mats, Best Biscuit Catcher, Egg and Spoon Race, Elimination Game and Scoff the Sausage. These events are great fun and provide both dog and owners with some light relief. With over 150 dogs taking part in these events kept Jack and the Dogs Trust Staff busy throughout the day.
Poo parade – after a short lunch break well held the Poo Parade as owners and their dogs filed in to the arena we counted and verified 252 Cockapoo’s in the Parade.
On Saturday evening, the main bar was open with delicious food available and a good crowd enjoyed sociable evening recapping and reliving the days events.