The Fair opened with the traditional first show event, the Dog Show.  In addition to the Showmanship and Obedience categories, this year’s show added the new-to-4-H event of Rally, in which participants lead their dogs through a course laid out by the judges to demonstrate a variety of handling skills.  This year’s judge was Mary Thompson, from just outside of Blackfoot, who provided a lot of insight to the young dog trainers during the course of the morning’s event.

The Obedience rounds were held first.  During these rounds, the kids work their dogs through such elements as “Heel on leash,” “Figure 8,” “Sit for Exam,” “Sit stay while handler walks around the ring,” and “Recall on leash” portion to test the dogs’ ability to follow commands and their comfort with the handlers.  “The hardest part is to have the dog sit while they walk around the ring,” Thompson said.  “We were all happy when the AKC added it.  Then we all tried it,” she laughed.  One of the elements involves the “long sit on leash” test, where the animal must remain in an ordered sit for the duration of a minute without standing or leaving.  “I know this minute can seem like the longest time,” Thompson said.  “It can seem like hours when it’s your dog.”    

The Phase II, Pre-Novice round was held first.  “As often happens in these cases, we sometimes end up with a tie,” Thompson said.  In that event, a tie breaker goes to the handler with a higher score on the first round of heeling.  As a result, Riggin Munns took first place, and Megan Moss took second.

Phase I, Class B was a bigger class, with Bayli Nesbit, Eva Coleman, April Haven, Cecilee Hill, Audrey Moss, and Dax Nimer competing.  In the event, Audrey Moss was awarded first place, Bayli Nesbit took second, and April Haven came in third.

Phase I, Class A was also a two person class, in which Kayla Wilson took first place, and Lyndee Nimer took second.

Throughout the event, Thompson encouraged the handlers, and spoke with them a bit about their dogs.  “It sometimes takes two years to really bond with your dog and get to know them as well as you need to.”

“Well,” said Bayli Nesbit, “we’re definitely going to have to get to know each other, because we’re going to be out there together a lot.”

In the All-Around judging for the Obedience Class, the Grand Champion was Audrey Moss, and the Reserve was Riggin Munns.

The Showmanship Senior Class had one participant, Bayli Nesbit, who took first, and a blue ribbon premium.  

In the Intermediate Class, Cecilee Hill, April Haven, Audrey Moss, Lyndee Nimer, and Kayla Wilson all competed.  The dogs (“Line up big to small—poodles go first,” said Oneida County Dog 4-H leader Emily Christiansen from the sidelines) are inspected by the judge, and then sent around the ring in order for the judge to see the dogs in motion.  In this class, Lyndee Nimer took first, Audrey Moss took second, and April Haven took third.

In the Junior Showmanship Class, Riggin Munns was awarded first, followed by Eva Coleman in second, Dax Nimer in third, and Megan Moss in fourth.

The Showmanship Grand Champion for this year is Lyndee Nimer, and Riggin Munns was named the Reserve Champion.

The new event, Rally, involves the handlers following a course with a series of instructions for various actions. “Now your dog can’t read,” Thompson said.  “So you’re going to have to remember this for them.”  The participants all began by walking the course to gain familiarity with its layout.  The event is scored through a combination of time to complete the course, as well as skill and style points for the actions (such as “stay,” “turn a circle left” and so on).  “You want to go fast,” Thompson said, “but it’s more important to go at a good pace for you and your dog.  Rally is fun, but it’s tough.  Remember that you can talk to your dog however you want.  Use your hands, clap, encourage them as they go.”

To the assembled parents, Thompson explained that “This is one of the events that we say at the AKC lets the handlers be airplane pilots.  They have to be fast, but also precise and confident in what they’re doing.”

After the scores were totaled, Lyndee Nimer was named the Rally Grand Champion, Kayla Wilson was named the Reserve, and April Haven placed third.

“I love working with the kids,” Thompson, herself a dog breeder, trainer, and AKC competitor said.  “They’re our future.  If we don’t get kids interested, we won’t have dog shows or sports any more.”  Asked how the Malad event had gone, Thompson replied, “Excellent.  I’m really impressed with these kids.  The rally is only two years old in 4-H, and these kids all did an amazing job with it!”  Thompson found the level of competition high.  “I’m splitting hairs for a lot of the rounds.  I wouldn’t want to compete against these kids!”

Thompson also praised 4-H.  “It encourages them to not just compete, but to love the event.  Some other counties this size only have one person in each division, but there’s real competition here.”