Maggieand Liz |
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| Details | |
| Breed | Border Collie x Poodle |
|---|---|
| Age | 6 |
| Sport | Agility |
| Years Doing Sport | 6 years (Liz has 12 years of experience in agility) |
| Favourite Memory with your Canine Athlete | I have lots of great memories with her so it is difficult to pick a single favourite, but perhaps winning the KC Stakes/Olympia in 2024 because I had not appreciated just how many members of the public wanted to meet her afterwards, to stroke her and have their photo taken with her. We were there many hours afterwards as people came up to us, wanting to see her and talk about her. She was absolutely brilliant with everyone she met. Her calmness and gentle energy put everyone at ease, and even the shyest little kids felt able to come out of their shell to stroke her and have their photo taken with her. It was so wonderful to see and a side of her I had not seen before as we don't normally meet so many strangers. I was so proud of her that day and I will never forget any part of it. |
| Sporting Achievements |
Career Highlights
International Representation
WAO & Team England
Additional Titles & Achievements
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| Social Media Link | @winwin_dogs |
| About Us | |
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I started dog agility as something for my first dog, Inky, to do one night a week, much the same as you might take a child to piano lessons or ballet. I had a senior position at a University in Yorkshire at the time and my main hobby was riding my horses. I was also doing gundog training at the time. However, as our agility progressed I could see how much Inky absolutely loved it which made me want to do it even more. To cut a long story short, I ended up training several times a week, going to competitions, changing my car to a van, buying a caravan, getting a puppy (Winnie) so that I could eventually have another dog to run, and helping out in my local agility classes alongside running gundog training sessions and classes of my own. As time passed, I eventually stopped horse riding altogether, gave up my job with the aim to move to a more suitable property and become a full time agility trainer. I also got my third puppy, Maggie, in 2019. At that time, I had progressed with several different properties in different places in the UK but the sales ultimately fell through for reasons outside of my control, and then Covid struck which put a halt to my property plans for a good while, but eventually as travel to view properties was opened up, I finally found and bought a place in Wiltshire with enough outdoor space to train my dogs at home if I wanted. My previous house in Yorkshire had only had a tiny garden so it was not possible to train at home when I lived there so I used to take bits of equipment to the park if I wanted to practise between classes. I finally moved to Wiltshire in November 2020 which was still during lockdown, but as soon as it was allowed, I started to run agility classes at a local indoor equestrian centre and I haven't looked back since, doing classes, training days and camps to earn a living. So something that just started out as a hobby for my first dog to enjoy ended up becoming my obsession, profession and full time occupation. I love how agility is accessible to all, and how you can create your own opportunities if you are willing to spend time learning and training your dogs. I never once imagined I would be on Agility Team GB when I first started, but as I progressed through the levels and accessed a wide range of training, including Susan Garrett's online programs which were industry leading at the time, opportunities came my way through that program such as offering Inky to Team Australia to run at the IFCS World Agility Championships in Valencia in Spain in 2017. She was selected and so I had my first experience of international competition through attending as an owner. I took my other dog with me to Spain too and we spent a month on the road as it took nearly a week to drive there (and a week to drive back), stopping off to stay with friends along the way, then a week for handlers and loan dogs to train together in Spain to get to know one another and then another week for the competition itself which took place over 5 days with check in, vetting, team training and the opening ceremony taking place in the preceding days. For me this was a life changing experience and started my ambition to get to a world level championship under my own steam one day. It was not at all a smooth journey and it involved a lot of hard work, overcoming injury, coping with rejections and repeatedly picking myself up to try again and again. We finally made the GB squad in 2019 with a view to attending the tryouts, and had won our way through to be eligible for three different EO win on spots for EO 2020 (which was due to be held in the UK so as a host nation we had extra spots so I felt my chances were relatively good) when Covid struck. The last tryouts were after Crufts but as soon as Crufts was over, the government put the UK into lockdown, and everything was cancelled, including EO. It was so incredibly gutting after working so hard to get myself to tryouts. Just like that, the international dream was snatched away by a virus. We stayed pretty much in constant lockdown until 2021, when competitions began again with social distancing in place, open only to certain areas with lower infection rates. Inky had to retire by then as she was getting on and unfortunately, Winnie, my main competing dog had picked up a toe injury, so she did not compete much in 2021. This meant I was able to focus on winning Maggie up the grades and, bizarrely, qualify her for Crufts Singles as there were so few heats in 2021 that it was possible for her to get enough points from a single run in December to qualify for Crufts 2022. At the time, team GB management was completely overhauled with a new manager stepping in and the qualification process completely changed, so nothing was carried over from the previous regime which meant we were all back to ground zero in terms of team selection. It was difficult to come to terms with this at first after all the hard work to get on squad in 2019, but it made sense as long lasting Covid restrictions meant that many dogs who had been in their prime were now older and retiring, plus young promising dogs had no means to qualify for tryouts during the restrictions. A complex system of invitations to a pre-selection qualifier based on performance in a range of events in the previous years, plus an open showcase for the young dogs, was put in place and we got our PSQ invitation. To cut a long story short, Winnie made team in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and Maggie was reserve in 2023 and 2024, making team in 2025 with Winnie as reserve. Winnie retired from agility at the KC Stakes/Olympia in 2025 so Maggie, who is now 6 years old, is my main competing dog, plus I also have my 20 month old dog Ivy who is at the very beginning of her competitive career. Maggie is incredibly special to me. I named her after my late mum and I always knew that I would name my next dog after her as she loved Inky and Winnie so much and loved to hear them do well at shows. Even though it sounds crazy, it feels like she has some of my mum's spirit in her. Since 2022 both Winnie and Maggie have won several competitions where Antinol was the prize, and I loved it when they won it as they always did so well on it. So I am really excited to be able to work in partnership with Antinol this year as I know Maggie will really benefit from it, keeping her joints strong and healthy for the upcoming season. |
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Maggie
Border Collie x Poodle
