The 2021 Hawkesbury Show was a great success with close to 70,000 people attending across the weekend.
Sponsored by Hypro Premium and Antinol Australia, the Norwest Thunderdogs held their annual Hawkesbury Show Flyball competition on Saturday 24 April, 2021.
This year, sixteen teams competed at the competition. The cool temperature and clear skies provided perfect conditions with the dogs racing their hardest to come top of their division.
There was a constant echo of excitable barking as each dog was released to sprint across the grass surface towards the box. The event drew a big crowd who enjoyed seeing the unique mix of dog breeds taking part in the sport. You could hear the crowd cheering on the dogs who most closely resembled the breed they had at home as they questioned whether their pup would be well behaved enough to compete one day.
After a busy morning of racing, handlers were able to take a break during lunch to explore the other show exhibits including livestock, arts, crafts, trade vendors and community groups. It wouldn’t be a show without showbags and a special Thanks goes to Roberta D for creating a Flyball Showbag packed with colouring pages, pencils and lollies for kids who may be experiencing the sport for the first time. The Show is a great opportunity to find a bargain and Major Sponsor Hypro Premium was on hand with a variety of samples and products.
Across the afternoon the dogs raced their hardest with many achieving new personal best times and titles. A special mention to Norwest Thunderdog Link who earned the Onyx title (1300 points) and Learner-Dog Gidgit who made her Flyball debut with seven clean heats with no mistakes.
After a full day of racing the winning teams were awarded with Hypro Premium and colourful show ribbons. A big congratulations to Manly’s team Barking Mad who were awarded the Brown Dog Trophy for the most clean and winning runs of the day.
Thank you to the Judges, Timekeepers and everyone who pitched in with stewarding. Including the volunteers who didn’t have a dog to race but came along on the day to help out anyway. Well Done also to Emma M who also did a great job as a first time Competition Secretary for our club.
– M. O’Hare
Norwest Flyball Club 