Lucy McKey, three, recently took up weaving for recreational purposes. Like any beginning weaver, her concentration occasionally lags and she skips a pole, but otherwise she?s been getting better with practice.

Lucy is part Jack Russell and part West Highland Terrier, and her type of weaving isn?t done with yarn. The weave poles are one of the most challenging aspects of a dog agility course that also includes jumps, tunnels and an A-frame, among other obstacles.

As a dog, Lucy is known to be pretty light on her paws, but until recently her owners could not find out just how light because mixed-breed dogs were barred from all Bermuda dog club events.

Thanks to a new dog organisation called the International Dog Event Association (IDEA), Lucy can now compete locally, and even internationally, if her owner wishes.

IDEA was started two years ago by dog trainer Vincent Madeiros and it now has around 30 members. Mr. Madeiros runs his own dog training school called Good Dog 101. In addition to obedience classes Good Dog 101 also teaches dog agility. reporter Jessie Moniz, (an avowed cat owner), went to a Good Dog 101 dog and horse relay competition on Saturday, to find out what local dog agility is all about.

During this kind of race dogs and horses pair up. The horses take jumps on one side of the field, while their dog partners take similar smaller jumps, plus weave poles and other obstacles on the other side of the field.

Points are taken off for each obstacle not dealt with properly, such as a knocked pole. In the end, the scores of the horse and dog partners are combined to find the winner.

Dog agility trials started at horse shows in England to provide entertainment between horse events, but today, most dog agility events do not feature horses.

?This is a fun event,? said Mr. Madeiros. ?We did it last year and this year we decided to do it again and give people an opportunity to see dogs doing something. It also breaks up the monotony of the horse show.?

Mr. Madeiros said that IDEA was formed to allow ?all dogs competitive rights?, but it is not meant to act as competition for other local dog clubs such as the Bermuda Kennel Club.

IDEA is affiliated with overseas organisations such as the United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA) that does offers agility for all dogs. The United Kennel Club (UKC) also allows mixed-breed dogs to participate in some activities.

?Sometimes the dog world can be a little snobby, certainly in terms of competition,? said Tana Tucker owner of a German shepherd named Amgs (short for ?Am a German Shepherd?) and a whippet named Wanabe (short for Wanabe a German Shepherd). ?We encourage other people to join as much as possible.?

Mr. Madeiros said that with the affiliate organisations IDEA is lined up with, such as the USDAA, members have the opportunity to compete overseas.

Overseas dog owners can also compete in Bermuda through IDEA. IDEA was just recently licenced for obedience by the United Kennel Club (UKC), and licenced for agility by the USDAA.

They are currently working on getting licences for confirmation or showing dogs that would be breed specific.

The seven dogs in the horse and dog relay show were all graduates of Mr. Madeiros? training classes.

?We started in January and it took a couple of months for her to get the hang of it,? said Lucy?s owner, Virginia McKey who runs kayaking tours out of St. George?s.

?She learns quickly, especially when food is involved. She lives to please. It is very good exercise for her as she?s a little on the chubby side.?

This particular race began with a pairing up. ?Will Brindle please come and meet your horse, Sir Galahad,? a voice said over the loud speaker.

Brindle, a brown brindle-coated, mixed-breed dog with premature grey under the chin went off with his owner, Neil Patterson, to meet Sir Galahad.

It was apparently not a good pairing, because at the last minute Brindle was switched to a horsed called Tobias.

After introductions were out of the way, Mrs. Tucker was left holding five or six leashes while other owners went out to the course for a brief inspection.

Seeing their owners out there, the dogs became excited. Brindle stuck his head through the fence as if to say: ?Are we on, yet?? The three whippets in the pack, Wanabe, Whispa and Fizz whined eagerly.

You may have seen the big dog shows on television, where canine contestants are primped, shampooed and blowdried for hours before hand. This was not one of those shows.

Although, all of the dogs were well cared for, one of the dogs sported some white paint on his bushy tail, from where he helped to paint the living room a few hours before (a trick not recognised by any of the major dog clubs).

In the real agility trials, dogs ?run naked? without a collar or leash, but in this unofficial show the dogs wore collars. One could see why they needed collars when, while going over a pole, Amgs dashed off after his equine partner, Central Carolina.

A word from his owner called him back quickly, showing the benefits of obedience training. Later, during the weave poles he froze suddenly and stared longingly at the horse in the distance. This lost him valuable points and ultimately the competition.

Tana Tucker?s 19-year-old daughter Laura, said with affection: ?To some extent Amgs is a natural, but she?s not as good as some others.?

Miss Tucker said she first saw agility training on television.

?I chose to do it because I like dogs and I like training them,? she said. ?I first saw dog agility on television. I started training Amgs when she was younger.?

Mr. Madeiros said you can start agility training as young as four months old. ?The basic training, foundation skills, learning how to move your dog on lead and equipment familiarisation would start even younger,? he said. ?We teach the dog to have fun and enjoy the company of the owner.?

Dog agility training is sometimes recommended for overly hyperactive dogs, particularly working breeds. The exercise and the mental challenge tires them out and, theoretically, they aren?t so much of a nuisance at home afterward. It is also a good way to work off some extra pounds, both for the dog and the owner.

Another competitor, Rose Dyer owner of two Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers said: ?They are the only two of their breed on the island, so far as we know,? she said. ?Their names are Kelly and Lucy. Kelly is the fat one. We have been doing agility for about two years. It helps a little with their weight issues. it helps with mine too. It is good exercise.?

Mrs. McKey said Lucy keeps her on her toes. ?Lucy is fast,? said Mrs. McKey. ?I have to be on the ball. I have to move fast myself or I will fall over when she is going through the obstacle course.?

During the race, Lucy?s performance was almost flawless except she skipped a weave pole. Afterward she didn?t want to leave the course and her owner had to call her several time. As she was led away her puppy dog eyes seemed to say, ?come on, one more time?.

The Tucker?s other dog, Wanabe took the course with easy nonchalance. Whippets are one of the fastest breeds in the world, but Wanabe took her time around the course, as if to say, ?it?s all so easy, why waste energy??. Instead of a run-up, Wanabe walked delicately up to the 16-inch high bar, and simply hopped over.

Meanwhile Mrs. Tucker raced from obstacle to obstacle, shouting commands like ?Tunnel! Poles! Jump!? At the end of it all Mrs. Tucker was the one panting. After the competition, Frank Williams, owner of another whippet called Fizz, demonstrated why whippets may find the competition a ?walk in the park?.

?That was nothing,? he said, ?now let me show you what I can really do.?

His dog Fizz, a cream coloured whippet with a dark coat smudge spent most of his time cradled in his owners arms. (This is not a toy breed). ?I?m going to take Fizz over the horse jumps,? said Mr. Williams. There were choruses of ?oh, no you?re not? from the crowd.

Bravely, Mr. Williams walked Fizz up to the horse jump. She shied away, but it turned out that the sun must have been in her eyes, because from the other side of the jump, she simply hopped over it, and then bounced back to the other side, more rabbit than dog. After this trick, she lept back into her place in Mr. William?s arms.

Proudly, Mr. Williams carried her back into the crowd. To a lady standing with her five month old daughter, Mr. Williams bragged: ?My baby is cuter than yours. And mine is house broken.?

Wanabe?s owner, Tana Tucker said that although whippets look fragile, they are from it, and can run like the wind. ?I have been doing this for about three years,? said Mr. Williams still holding his burdensome whippet. ?It is just fun with your dog. They are part of the family. Occasionally I get a wet tongue in the ear for my troubles.?

The winner of the competition turned out to be Brindle and Tobias. The win is a bit of a triumph as Brindle took each jump with intense concentration.

And halfway through his horse partner Tobias? turn around the jumps, the rider simply slid off. It turned out his saddle wasn?t cinched properly.

?Let?s give him another chance,? said the announcer after much snickering from the crowd. ?And this time if he doesn?t fix his saddle properly we?ll make him ride bareback.?

Brindle and Tobias went on to win with a time of 66.87 seconds, just beating out Lucy and her partner Sir Galahad.

?My wife made me,? Mr. Patterson said with a laugh when asked why he participates in dog agility training. ?A friend of ours was involved. I thought I?d try it. Brindle liked it. It keeps her mind stimulated. It gets her out and socialising with the other dogs.?

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For more information e-mail Gooddog101northrock.bm. or telephone Mr. Madeiros at 799-7014.