Novice Olympia winners 2005

Marc Saunders & The Dark Dasher of Clybonn (Dash)

Dash is a rescue dog whose previous owners were prosecuted for cruelty he is pictured here with Marc at Olympia

What can I say, a brilliant partnership who have dominated Starters in 2004, and Novice in 2005, they then went on to win the first "Novice Final" at Olympia this year & Dash is still only 3 years old.

Their achievements so far include:

Genesis Classic Starters Final 2004 Winner
Agility Club Starter of the year 2004 Winner
Agility Club Starters Challenge 2005 Winner
Novice Supa Dog Final 2005 Winner
Kennel Club Novice Cup 2005 Runner up
Pedigree Pairs Finalist 2005
Kennel Club Novice Olympia Stakes 2005

Marc who is 22 first got involved in agility as a 6 year old lad running his mum's first agility dog Sweep, an American Cocker Spaniel, he then retired from competing at the age of 8!  In November 2003 Marc rehomed Dash from Anita Brown who had rescued him from The RSPCA in Manchester and she offered him 1st refusal, and of course how could he possibly refuse him. The new partnership was born, and I am sure Marc will compete for a little longer this time round! 

Dash initially had problems learning new things and the equipment would sometimes cause him to panic, and during his early training he found it difficult to work on Marcs right side. With patience and understanding from Marc his problems with the equipment were overcome and by July 2004 they competed at their first show at C.A.T.S.  Dash also has a major problem, in that he is obsessed with food and Marc is not sure he will ever get over this one, due to him being starved by his previous owners, thankfully they were prosecuted. 

Marc says he is inspired by all top handlers in the sport, especially if you can learn anything from the way they run courses. He also find's time to do long distance running and enjoys music. Dash on the other hand is very lazy to live with for most of the day and seems to preserve his energy until early evening when he turns into a pest, demanding his walk and his dinner. (sounds good to me!)


THE OLYMPIA STORY

Marc wanted to qualify Dash for the 1st Novice Final to be held at Olympia, but time was running out. They had won into Senior at Shrewsbury meaning Dash leaving Novice behind forever, so Marc only had the Hinckley and Thames qualifiers left. 

This proved to be a very nerve racking experience for him, but Hinkley it was!     Marc & Dash qualified, and he remembers the course well, due to it being the hardest one he had competed in. They finished 2nd, so their place for the next step to Olympia was booked. The dream was getting closer, through to the next heat at Stoneleigh where they sailed through, they had made it to Olympia!

Marc's experience of the day in his words:
The atmosphere there was fantastic buzz, would really recommend it to anyone, but is a very long day but well worth the wait. The semi totally reeked my nerves because you know you got get a clear to have any chance of getting into the final, sure everyone else felt the same, plus the course was on the challenging side.
The Final was a great feeling was a total adrenalin rush it was amazing, and the crowd was well up for it too. The course also was a great help as I had total faith in it, that I could get clear.

Marc would like to thank Dave Ray and rest of the team and Olympia judge John Gilbert, for a great day.

Marc lives in Surrey and trains at Mid Downs & Scrambles, his goals for next year are to try to get to Advanced, and try to get back to Olympia and other Finals through the year, they will also be competing at Crufts.

I wish Marc & Dash the very best of luck for 2006, but somehow I don't think they will need it, between them they have all the talent they need.

Thanks Marc for sharing your story with us, and I am sure you will have some more achievements  to add to this already impressive list next year.

Karen Fuller (Jan '06)