Hi, My name is Rosemary Pitfield, I am a former international level dressage coach and trainer who has now gone to the dogs. I have been training and competing in agility for more than 10 years. I have had the pleasure of competing with three great shelties, Bear, Maggie and Kate.

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I started agility when I had to quit riding and training as a result of significant arthritis in my knees, back and neck. I can tell you, agility is an awesome sport and a great way to play with your fur kids. Whether you are competitive or just want to have fun, there is something for everyone.

 

I have only had three dogs in agility, Bear, Maggie and Kate. All three have competed at the Ontario Championships and qualified for the Canadian Championships. All three have achieved their Agility Trial Champion of Canada title. 

When I started agility, Bear, my oversized sheltie (21.5 inches) was 7 years old. Neither of us knew what we were doing, but we had great fun together learning and trying. When Bear was 14 years old, we competed at our first National Championships in Sussex, New Brunswick. We came 20th out of 34 dogs. I was so proud of him. Sadly, we lost Bear a year and a half later to Cancer. 

Maggie was my young phenom. She had 18 Qualifying rounds and her Agility Dog title after only 4 trials. Unfortunately, in April 2011, at the age of 23 months, she shut down after her fourth trial and started running out of the ring. She loved training at home, but the stress of a trial was too much for her. Fortunately, I found in 2015, Canadian World Team member and gold medalist Jessica Martin, who helped us gain the confidence to compete once again. Maggie and I went on to qualify for the Ontario Championships in 2016 and compete at the Canadian Championships in Montreal. Maggie placed 4th overall at the age of 7. She also got her Agility Trial Champion of Canada title in the fall of 2016. While she qualified every year after that, I didn’t want to add the stress of flying her out West. We only competed when the Canadian Championships were held in Ontario or Quebec. She went on to place 4th in 2018 Montreal and 6th in Ontario in 2019. She placed 2nd twice at the Ontario Championships. Due to Covid Maggie would never get another chance to compete at Nationals. Maggie retired from competing in 2021 after falling off the dog walk. In August of 2023, 2 days before the Canadian Championships, Maggie left us at the age of 14.

Enter Kate or Katie as she’s affectionately called at home. I picked up Kate on December 27, 2020, in Chicago. We flew home together excited about what the future would hold. Two months later COVID hit and many of our plans were derailed. Puppy obedience just isn’t the same virtually LOL. Learning from my experience with Maggie, I didn’t want to over-face Katie and trialled her very lightly in late 2021 and 2022. By 2023 I thought we were ready. Kate was so excited by agility and was handling the stress well for a COVID Dog. Unable to attend the Ontario Championships to qualify for Nationals, I requested permission to do the Pre-Qualifiers. The Pre-Qualifiers are held on the Thursday before the National Championships. You are required to run all six courses (2 Standards, 2 Gambles and 2 Jumpers) in one day, or in our case within three and a half hours. At the Regional Championships, you run all six over two or three days. 

Katie qualified! She was entered in the 2023 National Championships. I was very proud of Katie, who was a young 3-year-old dog. She placed 5th in individual Standard and 9th in individual Gamble. She was 16th overall out of 24 dogs. 

In 2024, Katie not only qualified for Nationals but placed 10th at the Ontario Championships. Placing 1st in Gamble 1, 5 in Standard 1 and 8 in Jumper 2. 

After a couple of dicey gambles in the National Championships that shook Kate’s confidence, she went on to have some fabulous runs in Standard and Jumper, including a clear round. She placed 6th individually in Standard and 12th overall out of 36 dogs. Including beating 6 world team members.

 

One week later Kate received her Agility Trial Champion of Canada (ATCH) recording the fastest time of 41 seconds and 51 points in Snooker. Stay tuned, Kate is on fire!