Great Falls resident Sophie Young, 15 and her 3-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Lexi, participated in the AKC Junior Agility Competition on December 12, 2014 in Orlando, Fla., where they received a “Clean Run” and “Second Place” in the 8” Jumpers Category. Sophie and Lexi were among 86 Junior handlers (18 years old and under) from all over the United States.
Agility consists of running a course with numerous obstacles including jumps, hoops, tunnels, an A-frame, a dog walk, a teeter and weave poles. Each course is different, as determined by the trial judge. It is a team sport where the handler runs alongside the dog and gives cues on how to run the course. Either party can make errors which can result in additional points or a disqualification.
Most people who do Agility are adults. With the exception of the occasional Junior Competition, Juniors compete alongside the adults throughout the year. Many Junior handlers enter the sport because a parent is active in Agility. But no one in Sophie’s family even knew what Agility was when she announced she wanted to do it.
“I first saw Agility videos on the Internet when I was about eight years old,” recalled Sophie “and I asked my parents for a dog so I could do it.” After years of relentless begging, her parents finally agreed to get a Jack Russell Terrier, Lexi.
Sophie and Lexi trained for over two years before they could even enter their first competition in the Spring of 2014. Sophie has enjoyed Agility so much, her family recently rescued a six-month-old Border Collie, Piper. Sophie and Piper have already begun classes in Agility and they may also train for Herding competitions.
Sophie’s mother, Barbara, was skeptical about the whole thing at first, but has come to respect the sport. “There are so many great skills that Sophie is learning through Agility, including leadership, teamwork, and persistence just to name a few. And the people in the Agility community are so kind and supportive. We couldn’t ask for a better activity.”
Sophie, Lexi and Piper attend classes once a week at A Click Above in Leesburg, and train at home in fifteen minute segments once or twice each day. They slowly build on previous lessons until they learn a new skill. A dog’s attention span is relatively small, so training often in short bursts is the key to a successful team. “It makes for a perfect break while doing homework,” said Sophie, “and dogs love to work, so it makes for very happy dogs.”
When she isn’t training her dogs, Sophie attends Marshall High School.
There are several organizations that sponsor Agility trials in the area, including AKC, UKI and USDAA. For more information, check out the following links: http://www.akc.org/events/agility/index.cfm; https://www.ukagilityinternational.com/; and http://www.usdaa.com/se_agility.cfm.