Crufts

So when I was younger, I did what's called the Young Kennel Club in Britain.

And there's a pairs competition at Crufts, which is the big British dog agility show, basically, or just dog show in general, they do showing.

and the pairs event there's two of you and it is a relay so you change with the baton you hold on to like the stick and you have to change it in the box and that's very stressful

yes

And so I will be asking her some of those towards the end of the podcast.

But the reason why she's here is because we are here to discuss Crufts 2026.

So Yas, welcome to the podcast again.

Thank you for having me back, Victoria, and thank you for having me on DBC as well.

What an absolute whirlwind.

Loved it, and very excited to get into the nitty-gritty of Crufts 2026.

Dun, dun, dun.

[laughs]

Yeah

... entice the dog to g- 'cause I always wondered, like you see them, you know, at, like I watched like Crufts or something, and they go and they-

Mm-hmm

... race through these tunnels.

It all happens behind the scenes, doesn't it? So when did you actually think, oh, this might be working? Yeah.

It was probably maybe Crufts last year, but then also in the WAOs last year, because we didn't do Team GB tryouts last year.

So I couldn't, obviously I didn't have that to think about if I'd got better from the year before.

But then I remember in Holland, in the WAOs, how much better I was at running and handling those big courses with her.

The last, not this season now, previous season, I was definitely still trying to be competitive.

Did we

qualify for anything last year? Yeah, we qualified for Crufts and obviously we did WOS.

No,

What is your favorite non-football event to work on? [lip smacks] Or does it matter 'cause you're all doing the same, you're doing the same job, it's just a different sport?

Bizarrely, Crufts.

Crufts, isn't it? Yeah.

The dog shows.

That is a week that I look forward to every year and it's, it's mental.

But it's good.

Is that because everyone who goes to Crufts loves to get on the lash afterwards and you have a few nights out afterwards or something, or not? [chuckles]

I couldn't possibly say.

So.

It's an interesting thing with the puppy example you gave because it makes me think that w- if the, in that example, what people are actually wanting to hire is, like, the dog who's just won Crufts.

Yeah.

You know? We want the one that's done, had all the best training.

Yeah.

Someone else did all of that work.

We buy, like, the, the gun dog or the Crufts dog.

Yeah.