Milton Keynes man and his dog win Kennel Club Agility final

A man from Milton Keynes and his dog won the Discover Dog Small/Mixi Pairs Challenge Final, hosted by The Kennel Club, and sponsored by Agria at The London International Horse Show.

Alan Bray, 66, and his dog Ag Ch Devongem Firestarter at Upanovatigers (Ticita) paired up with Stacey Irwin-Burns, 31, from Brighton and her dog A Midnight Breeze at Upanovatigers (Shay) to secure their winning spot in the competition.

Alan proudly said: “I have won this event a few times with the same dog but have had five different handler pairs! It is wonderful to win again.”

The Small/Mixi Pairs Challenge consists of several heats of jumping competitions. The competition is open to small dogs partnering with either a medium, intermediate, or large dog, from heats scheduled as a special combined class for dogs of all agility grades.Handlers and dogs qualified to take part in the final held at The London International Horse Show at ExCeL London by gaining points at qualifying heats held at agility competitions throughout the year.Stacey said: “I am very proud to win this event! It is Shay’s first big event and thank you to Alan for letting me run with him!”

The top three winners were as follows:

1st – Stacey Irwin-Burns and Alan Bray with A Midnight Breeze at Upanovatigers and Ag Ch Devongem Firestarter at Upanovatigers

2nd – Nicola Baker and Kate Simm with Sirensong Remember The Time and Sirensong Vagabond Heart

3rd – Naomi Layton and Dan Layton with Benny Two Toes Runforfun and Maisie Bee CrazyCatherine Guiver, Head of Events at The Kennel Club, said: “Congratulations to Stacey, Alan, Shay and Ticita for their incredible performance in the arena. The Small/Mixi Pairs Challenge Final is always an exciting competition to watch, and they should be very proud of their great achievement.”

More information and a full list of results are available at thekennelclub.org.uk/agilitydiscoverdogs

For owners interested in getting started in agility with their dog, The Kennel Club has created a guide which can be found online at thekennelclub.org.uk/newtoagility