Crufts 2025
By winning in 2024 we have secured our place at Crufts 2025 where we will try to defend our title.
Due to the qualification rules we do not need to name our team until November 2024 so you'll need to watch this space to see who we take!
Due to the qualification rules we do not need to name our team until November 2024 so you'll need to watch this space to see who we take!
Crufts 2024 - CRUFTS CHAMPIONS
In April 2023 we headed to the first Crufts Qualifier in Anglesey where we took 1st place to qualify for Crufts 2024.
The team was Quinton & Chess, Liz & Epyc, Christina & Autumn, Carl & Optic, Steph & Comet, Emma & Zander and Rachel & Colin with Matt as boxloader. Almost a year later and we were off to Crufts in March 2024! Unfortunately Autumn was ruled out from an injury which meant a little hander re shuffle. After a last minute change from another team withdrawing we also had a change of opponent in the first race. Thursday arrived and our final 16 draw saw us racing against The Flying Scots and with a couple of safe runs we took a 2:0 win to bag our place in the Quarter Finals. In the Thursday mini competition we then went on to race Elements where we again took a 2:0 win. The final for the daw saw us racing against Focus. This went down to a third leg decider and with an unlucky 0.01 early false start we lost 1:2 placing us overall 2nd for the Thursday mini competition. This was a fabulous days racing allowing us to run all 6 dogs and try out some different combinations. We arrived on Saturday with a very tough Quarter Final Draw against the speedy Aces. We had lady luck on our side for this race and we managed to take a 2:1 victory which secured us a place in the Semi Finals on Sunday. We went on to race Elements for the second round of the Saturday mini competition which we again won 2:0. This time we went into the final against our good friends Tails We Win. With some good racing we eventually lose 1:2 in the deciding leg to again place overall 2nd in the Saturday event. |
Sunday morning came along and we were off to Crufts again for a day we didn't think would happen! This was the club's first time making it through to the final day of the competition and saw us heading into a Semi Final draw against our now familiar opponents of Elements which was being held as part of the main Best In Show Final at Crufts for prime time TV coverage.
In a very close 2nd leg split by just 0.06 of a second we took a 2:0 win which secured us a spot in the final! After a very short break whilst the flyball tradition of Sweet Caroline was played we were ready to race for the big event - the Crufts Final and who else would be racing other than Roadrunners, the reining World, European, Belgium & Crufts Champions who are also the current World Record holders. Taking on these mighty giants was not going to be an easy task! In what can only be described as a dream, we were able to take a 2:0 victory over the incredible Belgium team which meant we were crowned Crufts 2024 Flyball Champions! |
Crufts 2023
In June 2022 we headed off to a qualifier and despite the issues we had in the run up we were lucky enough to qualify - Quinton & Autumn, Rachel & Colin, Liz & Epyc, Matt & Comet, Christina & Optic, Silke & Moji, Steph & Chess along side Nick, Emma & Rebecca.
Fast forward to Crufts 2023 and we were down a few dogs, seeing Autumn out with pups and Moji out following leg surgery. This also meant a few handler shuffles aswell! We headed to the carpet with Nick on the box, Rebecca on the line, Silke on balls and Liz on camera duties. The line up was Christina & Epyc, Rachel & Colin, Steph & Comet, Matt & Optic and Emma & Chess. We had an incredibly difficult draw going up against Saltires who were the Gold Cup winners posting 14 sec times. We certainly weren't at our best in that race but on a third leg decider we were lucky enough to go through to Saturdays Quarter Finals. In the run off on Thursday our next race in was against the mighty Focus, BFA record holders and outdoor Champions posting 14s!! We ran clean and took a 2-0 victory. This saw us into Thursdays final against the incredible Road Runners who were the European Champions and record holders posting incredible times at 14.2 seconds. In a three leg show down we lost on the final leg by just 0.10 taking overall 2nd place. On Saturday we were drawn against Tails We Win who were the British record holders and UKFL champions. Unfortunately this time we were not as fortunate and with a second leg fumble we were knocked out. |
This line up saw dogs who have not even completed a full season and with Colin as the oldest dog in the team at just 3 years old we had no expectations. Once everyone settled down every dog did incredibly well, we even saw Optic and Comet posting new PB's!
Over the two days we had so many comments and messages coming through about how good we looked out there and we were very humbled to be out there on the big stage against some exceptional teams and dogs. |
Crufts 2020
In 2019 the Crufts qualifiers were all cancelled and Crufts 2020 became an invitation only event. We were very privileged to have been selected by the Kennel Club to compete in Crufts 2020. We took a team of babies and new to Crufts handlers and not one of them disappointed. Although we had some fantastic dog times we just weren't as slick as our opposition which resulted in 5th place. However it was an amazing experience for everyone and we were very happy with how the dogs performed for their first time on the green carpet and we are looking forward to going back!!
Amanda & Revel, Terry & Flynn, Kevin & Ariel, Christina & Autumn, Steph & Spring, Tom & Oakley |
Crufts 2017
June 2016 saw the team make the 5 hour journey to Scotland to attend the Crufts Qualifier, where they came 2nd and qualified for Crufts. Not bad considering the team had only existed for a month!
October also saw three of our dogs Pyper, Summer and Tullulah attend a YKC qualifier in Newark where the team finished 1st and were also on their way to Crufts. This was to be a brand new experience for most of the dogs and handlers and was a steep learning curve. Although the team didn't progress too far they did come away in 5th place and with lots of valuable experience ready to take forward for future years. In YKC our dogs along with the rest of the team and captained by Christina had a superb days racing and finished as runners up. |
Crufts 2016
Crufts 2015
July 2014 and the team (Demon Dogs) head to a qualifier at Just Dogs Live. Christina and Summer had never run with these dogs before and had been invited to join the established team for Crufts. They had a good training session and went and smashed it at the qualifier where they posted a 15 second time and won the event.
The whole team had an amazing experience throughout and had some incredible racing. We saw a tie on a deciding leg with Four Paws (previous years winners) and a new Crufts record time being set on multiple occasions with Demons coming away as record holders. Despite the occasional hick up they prevailed and came home as Crufts Champions. It was a once in a lifetime experience and something that will never be forgotten! |