The 2021 National Agility Championship was the first dog sports event to air on one of the ESPN networks as part of the new AKC TV deal, with the livestream carried on the ESPN app and airing Wednesday, March 31 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2 (the 2020 AKC National Championship aired on ABC in January). As such, the 2021 National Agility Championship preferred finals winners aired with commentary from American Kennel Club personalities Carolyn Manno and Terry Simons on Sunday evening.
Over a thousand dogs of a hundred different breeds took to the dirt of the arenas at Tulsa’s Expo Square Pavilion March 26-28 at the 2021 National Agility Championship.
Major sponsors of the event included Nationwide pet insurance and 1-800 Pet Meds, and commentary on the event came from Carolyn Manno and Terry Simons.
The preferred class in dog agility is kind of like golf’s Senior PGA Tour; the jump heights are lowered than the dog would ordinarily qualify to compete at, making it possible for senior dogs, dogs recovering from injuries, or special needs dogs who wouldn’t otherwise be able to take part to be part of the fun. And like all agility events, any breed or mix can enter and win with a clean run.
Who won at the 2021 National Agility Championship preferred finals?
While all the handlers play an extremely important role in the sport, for clearer reading we will just be including the dogs’ names.
4-inch
The 4-inch class of the 2021 National Agility Championship preferred finals was an all-Papillon affair, starting off with Harry from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who ran in 50.82 seconds. Fortune from Westbury, New York, ran a 43.71, while Jem from Westerville, Ohio, also was clocked at 50.82, while Albuquerque’s Nitro sped through at 42.64.
Since none of the four runs were clean, however, there was no national champion crowned in the 4-inch preferred class, but Nitro was awarded first place.
8-inch
The only dog to not acquire faults in the 8-inch preferred class was Dreamer the Shetland Sheepdog from Centerburg, Ohio, who ran the course in 39.98 seconds.
Also competing here were the Poodles Bliss (36.78), Rauri Belle (49.33) and Paris (52.18) and the All-American Dog (mixed breed) Miley (41.76 seconds)
12-inch
The 12-inch 2021 National Agility Championship preferred finals class was closely contested and more breed diverse, won by Jive, an 11-year-old Border Collie (around 70 in dog years) from Zumbrota, Minnesota, who completed the course in 36.78 seconds.
Also running cleanly were a 9-year-old Flower Mound, Texas, Border Collie named Deja Vu (36.91), Fiction the Miniature American Shepherd (41.44) and Blizzard the Border Collie (42.31), running her final event at 12 years old.
Wylie the Border Collie ran in 37.26 with faults to close out the division.
16-inch
The 2021 National Agility Championship 16-inch class was packed with entrants, with the winner being Graphite the Border Collie at 37.53 seconds, a West Virginia dog who won at the 2017 AKC Agility Invitational.
All the clean runs were made by Border Collies; in second was Score at 39.34, Usher at 38.31 and Loki at 42.63.
Competing with faults were the Golden Retrievers Joy (43.28) and Mr T (time unknown), the Border Collies Kima (44.86), Fine (46.28), and USA (54.35), and Salsa the Labrador, an 11-year-old from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who completely demolished a jump in running 41.34 seconds.
20-inch
Strider, a Greyhoundish/Whippetish All-American Dog from Hesperia, California, won the preferred 20-inch class with a time of 43.08 seconds.
Also competing with faults were Trip, a 10-year-old Lab from Grinnell, Iowa at 47.48 seconds, Ava the Afghan Hound at 46.79 seconds (Ava’s handler ran barefoot), and Dasher, a Belgian Tervuren from Los Angeles who didn’t complete the course due to repeated faults.
Congratulations to all the 2021 National Agility Championship preferred finals winners! The regular finals will air on ESPN2 on Wednesday, March 31 at 8 p.m. ET.