Alison Grimes - United Kingdom

I was good friends with my post-lady as we both had Border Collies, and in 1985 she told me about some people she knew who wanted to start doing agility.  We all met up, one man started building  the equipment and each week we taught our dogs to do whatever piece he had made that week!  That was the beginning of Mid Downs Agility Club, now one of the largest Clubs in the South East of England. The only person who had done agility before had a very slow, steady crossbred dog, so she taught us to “go, go, go” which my mad little collie loved, barking, biting, flying off contacts but loving every minute!  I was hooked!  My little Gypsy was 6 years old and only 17” high but had to jump 2’6” (762mm), and when she went clear, she won – going into Senior at the age of 10.  After being Chairman and Secretary of Mid Downs through the years, I decided to set up my own club, Ashdown Dog Agility School, which my husband Bryan and I ran for 17 years before moving from Sussex to Dorset.  Both my children competed from a very young age, and Tamzin has gone on to sit on the board of the Young Kennel Club and teach in Norway!  We now have five dogs (three of them rescues) – my Papillon is now 14½ and declined to join us for the photo – at his age he can do just as he pleases (although Bryan will say he always has done…).  I feel very honoured to be asked to judge at the Festival, and am so looking forward to setting some courses for both handlers and dogs to enjoy.

Maria Luisa Molina - Spain

In 2003, together with a group of friends, I founded the Club Agility Cornellà (a city close to Barcelona) and started competing with my dog Tracy in the Catalan Agility Union (UCECA) and the Spanish Kennel club. I have attended several European Opens: Luxemburg (2006), Italy (2007), Germany (2008), Holland (2009) and the Czech Republic (2010). Also I’ve been attending the British Open since 2009.In 2009, I have passed the exams for Agility judge for the Catalan Agility Federation (FCAG). Currently, I’m the vice-president of FCAG board, the director of the Sport Committee, judge and I compete with my three dogs: Tracy (mixed 12 years old), Black-Moon (Border collie 7 years old) and Night’s Sky (Border collie 4 years old).For me it is a great honour to be invited to judge the Jersey European Agility Festival 2012.

Nicolas Renaud - France

It was 17 years ago when I discovered agility. In those days I was a young handler with a Groenendael and I was in a club near Paris. After 2 years of competitions I then trained my own dog, a Tervueren with which I competed with for 5 years, but then I had to stop because my dog got ill and was unable to continue. Around these times I was very involved with organising the finals, and large competitions such as finals and championnships, and got very involved with this. While I was without a dog to compete with, I began getting very involved in judging, just to stay in the agility world. I am still without a dog, sadly, but I will be having another Belgium Shepherd as soon as the time is right, then I will start competing again, right from the beginning and you will see me back on the courses as a beginner again! Today, after judging several national finals in France, I am so happy to come to Jersey to take part in judging in the Jersey European Agility Festival 2012, and I hope everyone has an excellent weekend, and shares the enjoyment with their dogs. I am sure we will have a great weekend. I am a very sociable person and am looking forward to meeting new people, and practicing my English again!

Roger Bailey - Jersey

I was born in 1946 in Kettering in England and raised in a little village called Geddington. I came over to Jersey on a camping holiday in 1966 and returned to the island in 1968. I met my future wife Yvonne in 1973 whilst working at the same company. We were married in 1979 and live in rural St. Lawrence with our four dogs. I got involved with agility in 1996 as a result of rescuing an extremely energetic and boisterous dog, who had been badly treated, leaving him with behavioural issues needing lots of love, discipline and something to channel his somewhat over enthusiastic energies. He retired early 2010 aged 15. All of this triggered the need to put something back into the sport and so I started to become more involved in the running of agility and successfully completed a Judging and Course Building Seminar in 2004, became a Kennel Club Accredited Judge in 2005, an Approved Kennel Club Instructor in 2006 and an Official Agility Measurer in 2009. Throughout this time I have had Judging appointments at various venues both in Jersey and the UK.