Cariboo Kennel Club members and their canine companions will be hosting trials at the club’s new location near the Williams Lake Regional Airport, May 28 and 29, 2022.
“We expect to have between 100 and 120 entrants for these obedience and rally obedience trials,” said Darlene Barrow, a founding member and treasurer of the club.
The event is open to registered dogs as well as dogs that have their “performance event number” issued by the Canadian Kennel Club.
Entries will be open in early May and there will be about a two-week window for entries.
“If you have a dog ready to trial, and have either a registration number or a performance event number, be sure to get your entries in,” said Borrow, noting anyone needing assistance should contact a member of the Cariboo Kennel Club.
Recently the club relocated from the Stampede Grounds after the Williams Lake Stampede Association decided in 2021 to expand its facility to the area the Kennel Club had been using for dog training, shows and trials.
Founding member Darlene Borrow, said the city offered the club a variety of different venues, and they settled on an unused area off the airport parking lot.
“That spot, other than being a bit out of town, is well-suited to our needs and we would like to thank the city of Williams Lake for the opportunity of using this area,” she said.
A two-year term lease with the club for the area will go into effect for Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2023, with one option to renew for an additional three years. The annual fee will be $250, with an annual rent of $1 per year for each of the five years.
City council approved the lease at its regular meeting Tuesday, March 21.
Formed in 1972, with the intent of the promotion and education of purebred dogs, the club evolved over the last 50 years and expanded to include non-purebred dogs.
“In the early days of our club, pretty much the only events approved by the Canadian Kennel Club were the conformation shows, obedience trials, gun dog and retriever trials as well as various lure coursing events,” Borrow explained.
Now the Canadian Kennel Club has expanded the performance events offered as well as recognition of non-purebred dogs.
“Non-purebred dog owners can apply for a “performance event number” through the Canadian Kennel Club to compete in the various events offered and can earn titles.”
Borrow said the new events the Canadian Kennel Club has sanctioned are: rally obedience, which is a more relaxed version of obedience, scent detection, barn hunt, trick dog, agility, draft dog, herding, tracking, canine, and good neighbour, etc.
“Pretty much any discipline you want to compete in, there is an outlet for that.”
Borrow loves dogs herself and has two she competes with.
Hers are Pembroke Welsh Corgis - the same breed that Queen Elizabeth II has.
“Why wouldn’t I have them?” she said, chuckling.
Borrow’s male dog with the call name of V, is 12-and-a-half years old, and has won some accolades at confirmation shows, which is to determine how close to the breed standard a dog comes to.
“In dog shows there are seven groups - and in my case with the Pembroke Welsh Corgis it is a herding group because they are actually bred to herd cattle.”
V was the top winning herding dog in Canada and the number nine top winning dog all breeds in Canada in 2012.
She attended numerous dog shows with V in B.C. and Alberta mainly for him to attain that honour.
Her female dog, with the call name Gypsy, is only a year old and from the same breeder as V.
She started her showing career at seven-and-a-half months and has already completed her grand championship status.
Currently the club has about 12 members and has had as many as 25.
“People come and go,” Borrow said, noting the club will be planning some practise nights and a fun match this spring and anyone who is interested is encouraged to find out how they can join.
She said they have members who have excelled in whatever discipline they have chosen, Conformation, Obedience, Rally Obedience, Herding, Field Trials, Schutzhund, and one member who has at least 10 or more performance titles on her Labrador Retrievers.
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