Thank you Motorama

Motorama are proud to be supporters of HTM Team GB and gave products today to help them on their journey to and from Denmark.

HTM Team GB are very grateful for your help.

First Major Sponsor - Canine Freestyle GB

Many thanks to Canine Freestyle GB for supporting HTM Team GB as a major sponsor. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

PNM weekend fund raiser

Well done to Team GB Member Kathleen for working hard raising £65.50 during a very busy weekend at PNM Show over the Bank Holiday.

PNM Chairman Carole Dodson presents Kathleen with a donation to the TeamGB from PNM. And then it all got quite cuddly!!!

Jenny joins in with the hugs :-) Thanks to Michelle Dodson for the super photos.

Many thanks to Paws N Music for their kind donation towards HTM Team GB.

All donations are helping towards the costs incurred for this competition and HTM Team GB have the task of raising as much as possible over just a few weeks so thank you for all who helped raise money this weekend.

Introducing The Team - Kath Hardman with Amber HTM and Freestyle and Spice Freestyle

Kath Hardman and Stillmoor Lady In Red FCI HTM WCh 2010, HTMA Ex, FS I Ex
Kath Hardman and September Spice FS A Ex

Currently, Kath has three dogs, Spice, Amber and puppy 5 months old Denby. Spice and Amber have successfully competed in both divisions (Heelwork To Music and Freestyle) at the Advanced level. She has judged, demonstrated and trained the sport of Heelwork To Music throughout the UK and travelled with Top Lodge Team Member Karen to Denmark, Belgium, Holland, The Czech Republic,Switzerland, Japan, Finland, France, Eire, Sweden, Russia, Australia, Israel and USA to promote the sport further.
Kath and her dogs are proud to be members of The Top Lodge Dancing Dog Team – a group of three Advanced Handlers who travel the country demonstrating the sport of Heelwork To Music and Freestyle and who are also HTM Team GB Members (Lesley and Karen). She is also a founder member and Show Secretary of Canine Freestyle GB, a nationwide Heelwork To Music Kennel Club Registered Club who produce two highly successful and popular Heelwork To Music Competitions each year.

Kath Hardman and her dogs have been successfully competing in Heelwork To Music since 1999, travelling throughout the British Isles and within Europe. She is a Member of the Kennel Club, the Kennel Club Heelwork To Music Working Party and the Kennel Club Judges' Working Party and she is also a Heelwork To Music Kennel Club Accredited Trainer (Judges). Kath was honoured to be invited by the Kennel Club to judge the HTM and Freestyle Competitions at Crufts in 2006 and has also accepted the invitation to judge all three days competitions at Crufts 2012.
She will be competing with both Amber and Spice at the Inaugural Heelwork To Music and Freestyle Open European Championships.
Stillmoor Lady In Red FCI HTM WCh 2010,HTM A Ex, FS I Ex, pet name Amber, is a 6 year old Red and White Border Collie and is maturing into a beautiful dog. She is the youngest dog to have ever competed in the Crufts Finals when she was under two years of age. Amber has been competing at Crufts for the last consecutive 5 years and she loves her training and the rewards that go with it, especially her tuggy and the ‘Chuck It’. Kath is very proud that Amber won the FCI HTM World Championships in Denmark 2010 and this time she will be competing in both HTM and Freestyle.

September Spice FS A Ex, a 10 yr old crossbreed who has also competed at Crufts every year since 2007. Spice is a super little dog who loves her training, food and chasing birds! Kath's proudest moment with Spice was in 2008 when she won the Crufts Freestyle competition and went on to represent England in the International Freestyle competition which she also won!

Kath is honoured to have been selected with both Amber and Spice to represent Great Britain and is also HTM Team GB Manager.

Kath wishes her fellow Team GB members the very best of luck together with everyone organising and competing at the Open European Championships.

 



Introducing The Team - Karen Sykes and Fly HTM

Karen Sykes and
Iatka Spring Spangle HTM A Ex

I have 3 dogs, 2 Working Sheepdogs and 1 rescue crossbreed. Kes is 13 years old and has been in the top 10 Freestyle dogs in the UK for many years, she has competed at Crufts every year since the Finals began. Kes is still keen to dance & continues to compete although a little less often these days. She has qualified for the Crufts semi finals again this year which is a wonderful achievement for a dog of her age. I am sure that she will tell me when she is ready to retire but it seems that the time is not yet - I am so proud of her! Erin is a 2 year old rescue crossbreed. We don’t know what breeds are mixed into her but she is a great comic with an amazing personality. Initial illness & behaviour problems made for a slow start in the sport but she is now working her way through the classes and doing very well. The dog that I am taking to the Open European Championships in Denmark is Fly who is a 10 year old Working Sheepdog. Fly is a very fast and intense dog who anticipates everything which makes training a real challenge and lots of fun. Sadly Fly has had problems with skin allergies for years which have been very difficult and expensive to manage but I still wouldn’t swap her for the world. Around the home you could not wish for a more loving and well behaved dog, she is a real joy to live with. Fly has competed at Crufts every year since the very first competition in her speciality of Heelwork to Music. Our proudest moment together was winning the Crufts Heelwork to Music competition in 2008. I first competed in 2001 when Kes and I won the Starters Freestyle class. I also had my first judging appointment in that year too. I have continued to compete, judge and teach but never did I imagine back then where this sport would take me. Thanks to HTM I have travelled the world with my friend Kath Hardman, holding seminars and judging which has resulted in our making many great friends through this fabulous sport.

What I love about Heelwork to Music and Freestyle is that it is the only dog sport where you can do exactly what you want to within the rules and let your imagination run free. You can show-case the individuality of your dog and never have to perform a move that the dog doesn’t like. Dogs, dancing and music are a magical combination which gives so much joy to many!

I cannot finish my profile without mentioning my constant companion, Allan. He has been by my side since 1983 encouraging me in everything I have done, looking after our dogs and helping me to achieve things that I never thought I was capable of. To represent your country is a huge honour and I shall do my very best with Fly but whatever the result, I can be sure of taking the best dog home to my wonderfully supportive family and friends!

Introducing The Team - Lesley Neville and Angus HTM and Freestyle

Lesley Neville and
Choxxstart Dream Angus FSA Ex, HTM A Ex.

Angus and I are very proud to have been chosen as one of the Team GB for the Open European Championships this year.

People often say “be careful how you name your dog – you may not get what you wished for!” But with Angus I can honestly say that he is a “Dream” dog!



Angus is the second Beardie that I have owned (numbers three and four are at home too so as you can see I am quite besotted by the breed) and originally he was to be mainly my Working Trials Dog, with Dancing as his part time hobby. He quickly gained his CDEX and UDEX in Trialling but the Heelwork To Music was taking over as the main sport in my life and fortunately Angus was very capable of dancing his way right up to the top of this sport.

My own life had been in teaching Art at a local Comprehensive School where the pupils were aware of the strange sport that their teacher indulged in at weekends, but an opportunity to take early retirement from teaching Art arose in 2006.

Angus and I had the honour of demonstrating HTM at Crufts 2005 as one of the “Top Lodge Dancing Dogs” team, dancing to “Om Pa Pa” in the Special Events Ring, and over the next year rose through the classes up to the Advanced Level in Freestyle, qualifying for Crufts in 2006.
Unfortunately our debut in the Crufts ring did not go to plan as Angus had an upset tummy, but he made up for it in 2007 when we won the Freestyle Competition at Crufts, and then went on to win the International Competition as well! I was invited to Judge the Crufts Competitions the following year, 2008, but am happy to say that by 2009 Angus was Advanced in both Freestyle and HTM and competed in both divisions at Crufts that year.

2010 and 2011 again saw Angus and me competing at Crufts in the Freestyle division, and at the moment we have qualified for the Crufts Semi Finals for 2012.

As I said, a Dream Dog.


Of course he can be naughty too. (Beardies do have their own sense of humour and the trick is to go with it rather than against it) but we are determined to do our very best to represent this lovely country this year in Denmark, and support what I think is a very strong team.

Good Luck Everybody!

Team GB Announced



Lesley with Angus, Kath with Spice and Amber and Karen with Fly

The Danish Kennel Club has accepted the Great Britain Team entry for the 2011 European Open Championships. The teams were selected carefully and are comprised of the following members:

HTM Team: Karen Sykes – Iatka Spring Spangle HTM A Ex
Kath Hardman – Stillmoor Lady In Red HTM A Es, FS I Ex
Lesley Neville – Choxxstart Dream Angus FS A Ex, HTM A Ex

Freestyle Team: Kath Hardman – September Spice FS A Ex
Kath Hardman – Stillmoor Lady In Red HTM A Es, FS I Ex
Lesley Neville – Choxxstart Dream Angus FS A Ex, HTM A Ex

The Judges

The three judges have now been named for the Open European Championship

Head Judge Emmy Marie Simonsen from Denmark

Anja Magnussen Schüller from Norway

Jackie Clarke from England

READ MORE HERE!!!

Important Information

For all important information click HERE

The Open European Official Blog

Keep up to date with all announcements HERE

Rules and Regulations

Learn about the Rules and Regulations HERE

Application Form for the Open European Championship

Complete your Application Form - follow this link HERE

The Open European Championship

Thank you to Denmark who have provided another great competition for all Heelwork To Music enthusiasts in Europe.

Open European HTM & Freestyle Championships on 22 - 23 October 2011 in Sorø, Denmark.

France Cancelled

France cancelled the World Championship for HTM in 2011 due to lack of funds and space.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FRANCE 2011

Follow this link to keep updated as news is released.

The World Championships

To follow information as its released Click Here World Championship 2011 France

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2011 PARIS

Today we received news that there will be an HTM Championship at the World Show to be held in Paris, France 7th - 10th July 2011.

Applications for HTM Team GB 2011 should be made as soon as possible.

Anyone with a pedigreee dog on the Breed Register, working in Intermediate or Advanced, that has a current Pet Passport or is willing to Pet Passport their dog starting by THIS SATURDAY (11th December), and would like to be considered for the team please contact Debbie Deuchar at the Kennel Club for an application form urgently.

Please email Debbie Deuchar debbie.deuchar@thekennelclub.org.uk

More from the Ferry

The Team met a very interesting lady on the ferry - Inge Mitchell from Denmark who gave some of the team a very good lesson on how Great Britain helped Denmark during the war.
Inge lives in London now but was on her way to Denmark to visit relatives.

It was great to have someone else take the photos!!!

And David got in the picture too! Thanks for passing these photos on Inge - they are appreciated.

The "exercise" area for the dogs!! No wonder it took some persuasion for them to "go" on deck - especially later in the journey with nothing but the North Sea on either side!!

The Final Competition Day

SUNDAY - the day of the Individual HTM and Freestyle World Championship Finals Carol Dodson and Clifton had drawn to be first into the ring where they performed a superb routine to Escala Compilation..

Clifton showing his beautiful Paw Work. They competed well scoring a cumulative total from Friday and Sunday of 54.73 and finished the individual competition in 5th Place.

Kath Hardman and Amber had drawn to run 10th. They performed yet another superb routne to the music No More Tears (Enough is Enough) but would their performance be enough to keep their first place reached in the Team event on Friday? Amber was well focussed on Kath and Kath knew they needed to perform as well or better than Friday to keep the lead. Happily they did just that and finished with a total score of 57.40, winning the First Ever Individual World HTM Championship Title.

Following straight on from the HTM Competition was the Individual Competion where Michelle Dodson was the representative of the Great Britain Team.Tamar looked so happy performing - he seemed to be smiling in parts - maybe he knew this was to be his last competition as Tamar was to be retired directly on his return home. They finished in 7th position with a grand total score of 53.00. Well Done Tamar - and of course Michelle!

The three judges with champagne at the ready, congratulated all the finalists as they were welcomed into the HTM Arena.

Individual HTM World Championship

1st Kath Hardman with Stillmoor Lady In Red W Ch HTM 2010, HTM A Ex, FS I Ex 57.40
2nd Anja Christiansen with Faehunden's Queeny Las 57.10

3rd Vanda Gregorova with All That Brandy Gentle Mate 56.20

A very happy partnership with trophy, rosette and certificates.

Individual World Freestyle Championship

1st Thierry Thomas with Ubac - 57.47
2nd Vanda Gregorova with All That Brandy Gentle Mate - 57.00
3rd Alena Smolikova with Dapper Dame Black Chervers - 56.80

The presentation in the Main Arena - one dog press reported that there were 19,354 dogs entered at this world Dog Show and the only time the National Anthem of Great Britain was played was when Kath Hardman and Amber received their winners' bouquet in the Main Ring.

The proud GB Team Members receiving their bouquets in the Main Ring

The HTM Team World Championships - won by Denmark 81.14

2nd Place Great Britain 78.47 - 3rd Place The Czech Republic 73.03

The two Individual World Champions gather again for one more photo call!Celebrations over, the vet was the team's next port of call. The dogs had to be checked for fitness to travel home, given tick/flea treatment and wormed - then their passports signed and stamped - in all the right places!!! A small marquee had been erected close by to the HTM Hall just for this purpose. There would be a lot of dogs travelling home the next day.

The vet and assistant completing the necessary paperwork to get their pets home. Luckily the Team had been told that they could provide both their own wormers and Flea/tick treatment - so this saved more money - but they still had to pay for a consultation for each dog.

The final morning in Denmark - Jack the very Lucky Team Mascot sits in pride of place with the Team's Trophy.

The Freestyle Team Day

Friday was the Competition Day for all the Freestyle Teams.

Running first in the Team GB Freestyle was Penny Draper and Secret (Delark Gavotte) a Belgian Shepherd.

After a tentative start both Penny and Secret performed some great moves to "The Man In The Iron Mask"

And they finished on 15.50 points.

The second team member for Team GB was Jenny Deakin with Tom (Shepwood Morning Sunrise) a Border Collie.

A fast paced routine to "A Pencil Full Of Lead" they covered the entire ring with a confident routine.

And it's a "High Five" from Tom as they finished with 25.53 placing them 11th - just missing the Individual Competition on Sunday.

And the final member of Team GB Freestyle was Michelle Dodson with Tamar(Kamarda Doctor Foster)

This was a lovely routine which matched both Michelle's and Tamar's style of work.

They completed the round in superb fashion scoring 26.57 and secured themselves a place in the Individual FS Championship Competition to be held Sunday.

Team GB Freestyle - Michelle & Tamar, Jenny & Tom, Carole & Clifton (reserve) and Penny & Secret. The team finished the day in 5th place with a total score of 67.60.

1st Position went to The Czech Republic with 81.64, 2nd to Denmark with 77.60 , 3rd to Russia with 75.40