Banbury poodle with all the right moves

A standard poodle from Banbury is creating her own piece of history by becoming the first dog of her breed to gain entry to the Crufts ABC Agility finals for over a decade.
Chris Stamp from Banbury with his agility poodle, Scrappy. NNL-181016-125111009Chris Stamp from Banbury with his agility poodle, Scrappy. NNL-181016-125111009
Chris Stamp from Banbury with his agility poodle, Scrappy. NNL-181016-125111009

Scrappy, four, has been participating in ABC agility competitions for the last two years.

The Anything But Collies, competitions are made up of two rounds: a timed jumping round and an agility round featuring a seesaw, tunnel and a weave section through poles.

Owner Chris Stamp has been a poodle owner and agility competitor for the past 20 years, a breed he chose due to their non-allergenic hair, but has never had the success with the breed to the level of Scrappy’s achievements.

A very happy ScrappyA very happy Scrappy
A very happy Scrappy

Chris said: “She’s a pet and she does agility as a bonus. When we bought her we went to the breeder and she was the smallest of the litter.”

Despite her small stature Scrappy showed all the physical characteristics needed for a good agility dog and the pair have been amassing points at qualifying events across the country, sometimes competing against 100 other dogs.

Last week Scrappy made history by competing in the Crufts ABC semi final, the last hurdle to get over to gain entry to the finals of the prestigious dog show.

Chris said: “She’s the first ever standard poodle to compete at Discover Dogs in the ABC semi final.

Scrappy takes offScrappy takes off
Scrappy takes off

“We came 10th so we are off to Crufts 2019. I’m over the moon. It’s been about 15 years since a standard poodle has been to Crufts in the ABC finals.”

Chris hopes to build on Scrappy’s success with his other dog. He said: “I have a little poodle as well, he’s only two but I’m hoping for big things for him too.”

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