FIONA TINWELL

I came back from Egypt in 1993 and was determined to have a dog to work in agility having seen it on tv when in England. I had had a collie as a child but my husband had owned a beardie before, so we ended up with not one but 2 beautiful beardies. I began training up at Warlingham in 1994 and then subsequently went on to compete and train at various other clubs. My first beardies won me out of Elementary. My next won me out of Starters and reached Grade4. My next dog who is now approaching 14, is a 3/4 collie 1/4 beardie and worked at Grade 6. Then I got a collie x lurcher who stayed in Grade 3 but got to 2 finals and got a lot of 2nd places. My last and current dog is a rescue Working Beardie from Wales. He is 4 and has won into Grade 4. This week he has reached the ABC finals at Dinas and achieved a 3rd in G4 Agility. I teach Agility at Keston Agility Club and at Northdowns Agility Club near Guildford. I love to see both dog and handler growing in skills and confidence. Seeing the bond grow between dog and handler is very rewarding. Ultimately it is all about having fun with your best friends.