Carriage and Road Dogs
Horse, Hound and Human
Horses and dogs have been a large part of my life, and in my teens I fell in love with the Dalmatian breed. Although I owned other breeds, it was not until many years later, as a keen carriage driver, I fulfilled my ambition to own one.
After reading a chapter in Patches Silverstone’s book “Dalmatians Today” about Road Trials in America, I decided these trials of obedience and endurance for working Dalmatians just had to come to the UK. After visiting Washington Dalmatian Club in 2002 to shadow the organisers I began to make plans.
In 2003, with a wonderful group of fellow enthusiasts, the inaugural Carriage Dog Trial was staged. Since that time I have been involved organising, competing and judging in nearly all of the national and regional trials that have taken place. It was an honour to help run the inaugural Swedish trial and judge at the first Scottish (2006), and Irish trials (2010), as well as the Fenix National championships.
My dogs were involved in many carriage dog demonstrations. For a display at Paws in the Park I trained my first carriage dog Woody to bark and “see off” a highway man. I have qualified all four of my Dalmatians as road and carriage dogs and in 2006 was proud to be in the first group of people to qualify at gold level. I have won the championship in both carriage and road discipline, but more important to me is the fact my animals have consistently been awarded, and short listed for, the best conditioned awards. These coveted awards show not only that the dog or horse has been correctly conditioned for the competition, but also received the highest standards of care on the day. In 2008 I enrolled on the Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme working towards accreditation, and I was encouraged to develop a specialist module for Carriage Dogs. At Crufts in 2013 I was thrilled to be awarded my advanced accreditation as the first ever “Carriage Dog Specialist”.
There is nothing more thrilling than watching Dalmatians and their owners as they enjoy this experience together and I offer individual and group training for carriage and road dogs- of any breed.
Qualified International Dog Training Instructor
Road and Carriage Dogs Advanced
QIDTI is a Collective mark
