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16 thursday sept 26 2002 c kathleen griffin been there done that when irish feet are flying not all irish dancers are irish and its not as easy as it looks i am irish though dance wasnt really part of my childhood my two younger sisters were the ones who took lessons and competed for years they followed in the footsteps of my many first and second cousins from shannon que who for decades dis played their considerable talent at the communitys annual irish show on st patricks day my memories of irish dancing con sist mainly of those shows and of my mother in her sewing room working through the wee hours embroidering and stitching sequins on the incredibly detailed costumes my sisters and all competitors required now the costumes are machine- made and readily available albeit sec ond hand through dance studios and the internet the colourful detail is mostly applique even the required ringlets in the past often necessitating dancers to sleep in curlers for days before competitions are provided for by luxurious wigs but the music is the same the steps as complicated and the love of the dance lives on wildly successful shows like riverdance and lord of the dance see parents page 17 economist sun stouffville tribune sports popularity of agility trials rows in leaps and bounds by mike hayakawa staff writer for some owners entering their dogs in agility trials is an alternative to tradition al obedience competi tions for other handlers agility trials build their dogs confidence for still others agility trials are just pure fun whatever the reason the sport of agility seems to be going to the dogs invented in england in 1978 to entertain spectators at the famous crufts dog show agility is comparable to equestrian show jumping we have some dogs that are little and they can fly a handler arid dog work in uni son to navigate a 100footplus course with about 20 obstacles in sequence without faults and in the fastest time possible the obstacles include jumps a frames weave poles teeters dog walks chutes and tunnels while the sport doesnt dis criminate against breeds shapes or sizes of dogs most experienced agility handlers say border collies are ideal because of their quick ness agility and intelligence but any dog can do it said markham resident grant boudreault who competes in agility events with spirit a three- yearold border collie and teach es dog obedience on the side weve had jack russells and miniature schnauzers in agility competitions we have some dogs that are little and they can spirit a threeyearold border collie competed with owner grant boudreault at the agility association of canada national agility trials in palgrave ont last month spirit finished fourth in jumpers in the 22- inch class fly it might be something for them to try if the dog likes it for markham resident shona maclachlan and her 51 2-year- old chesapeake bay retriever boomer agility competitions were the ideal alternative when obedience competitions became mundane taking the summer of 2000 to acclimatize boomer to agility tri als ms maclachlan entered him in his first competition at last years royal agricultural winter fair in toronto boomer won the novice title in the event organized by the canadian kennel club this year boomer has taken part in several competitions including the nationals run by the agility association of canada on the labour day weekend in palgrave ont at the nationals which attract ed 288 dogs from across canada each doghandler team took part in three events standard jumpers and gamblers during two days of competition points were awarded in each event and total points determined the win ners in each height 10 inches 16 inches 22 inches and 26 inches and class regular veterans seven years of age and up and specials boomer who weighs close to 90 pounds and stands 27 inches tall finished 19th out of 42 dogs in his division its like a game as to who is faster boomer is large in size but he loves it its his play ground ms maclachlan said as in other sports handlers say successful tandems are those that practise agility trials are fast moving and it requires teamwork at a fast see any page 17 1 nike golf bags dual lightweight stand bag 9999 reg z1 arnold palmer amies own 11 pc 24999 mrhf mlh reg 49999 strata tour ultimate z golf balls 3999- reg 4999 dozen ping isi titanium driver 34999 reg 599oo ping jbag with stand golf shoes save 60 17999 1 3999 reg z9999 rh lh mens ladies from 1499 mensjidies r shifts choose from tike reebok n0rman from callaway a i aa descente ywyll save up to so bagboyz4 i stand bag 9999 regl99j99 jjk saddle dldns ritual 8999 two year waterproof reg 14999 find tgm cz3 kg7 wbmw it dimarco jfgolf clearance centre dimarcogoefcom 9u5479 5221 hwy 7 east wwwi m