Discover Dogs 2023

General Regulations
All events must be judged under the appropriate Kennel Club regulations H & H (1) in force at the time of the event. Competitors entering any competition will be deemed to have agreed to abide by these regulations.

All heats must take place at Kennel Club licensed shows and the class name in the schedule should replicate exactly the name of the competition as stated in these regulations.

All Kennel Club supported competitions should be judged using standard marking.

If the entry for the heat exceeds the Kennel Club limit for a judge in a day, then the class will be equally split and another judge appointed for the second part. Qualifiers and points from that heat will be taken in equal proportion from each part.

Dogs entered in any heats must be eligible for the competition entered. Judges have the right to check the dog’s Kennel Club Agility Record Book to ensure the dog is running in the correct height category. Where points are accumulated throughout the year these will be allocated to the specific handler and dog partnership (no substitution of dog or handler may be made). If there is an equality of points after all the heat results have been calculated, the dog and handler partnership which has achieved the highest place at a heat will take preference in the final allocation of places.

An entry fee will be charged for each dog at Crufts and Discover Dogs.

Eligibility
This competition is a special agility competition open to all dogs excluding Border Collies, Working Sheepdogs and any of their crosses. In the event of any dispute regarding the parentage of a dog competing in the ABC Agility competition, any concerns should be recorded in the Incident Book and reported to the Kennel Club.

Those dogs eligible to compete in competition for intermediate dogs are those measuring over 43cm and measuring 50cm or under at the withers.

Dogs should be eligible to compete at Grade 1 - 5 at the time of qualifying for the semi-final. Any subsequent wins gained by the dog will not alter its eligibility to compete in the semi-final or final.

Competition Rules

The competition will be held under Kennel Club rules and regulations for Agility and any handler entering the competition will be deemed to have agreed to abide by these rules and regulations. Standard rules will apply and all equipment used shall be of a standard size for that height category.

The semi-final will consist of one round of agility competition and one round of jumping competition; the top 8 dogs qualifying for Crufts will be those with the least combined faults in the fastest combined time calculated over the two rounds of the semi-final.  If there is equality of faults and time, the agility round will take precedence.

The final will consist of one round of agility.  The winner of the Crufts Large Novice ABC Agility Stakes will be the dog and handler with the least faults in the fastest time.

Qualifying

There will be 10 qualifying shows throughout the year.  The first 10 placed dogs in each heat will have the following points awarded:

1st place = 10 points, 2nd place = 9 points etc. down to 10th place = 1 point. Qualifying points will be awarded down to 10th even if the show does not award class places down to 10th. 

If a qualified handler or dog is unable/unfit to attend the final, reserves will be taken from dog/s with the highest number of points from the heats which have/has not qualified.

The top fifteen dogs, with the most points, will be invited to a semi-final at Discover Dogs 2023. There will be a charge of £10 per dog. A maximum of three representatives of any one breed will be invited to the semi-final. This decision will be at the organisers’ discretion.  The Semi-Final will be held at at the London International Horse Show at the Excel, London in December 2023. Car parking will not be provided by the Kennel Club.

The first eight highest placed dogs at the semi-final will be invited to compete in the finals to be held at Crufts Dog Show, NEC Birmingham in March 2024.