Aidan Curtis
THE organising committee behind the Blue Lakes Obedience Dog Club’s Easter Trials is being hailed for its hard work in making the event a major success.
The Easter Trials, held over April 8 and April 9, saw the largest number of entries in the event’s history, with over 900 canine competitors entered.
Late withdrawals dropped the number of entries to 870, but organising committee chair Diane O’Leary said it was still fantastic to see so many people getting involved.
“I was absolutely thrilled with the number of entries and the fact they were so well supported,” Ms O’Leary said.
She said it was not just entry numbers that made the Trials so successful, with organising committee members and volunteers making the weekend run “like clockwork”.
“I really don’t feel as though I’ve done that much because it was such a team effort and all the team worked beautifully,” she said.
“There were so many of us running around making sure everything was working, and everything was.
“All the work, all the effort, it absolutely paid off.”
Ms O’Leary said there was also great feedback from officials who travelled from Adelaide to judge the different events.
“We had competitors and judges coming up to us saying they had a really good time and were really pleased with the whole two days,” she said.
“It’s absolutely an amazing team effort and the Blue Lake Obedience Dog Club can pat themselves on the back.
“A great big thank you to them all because the whole success of it was due to them, to their participation and to their willingness to give it a go.”
It was not just a success from an organisational point of view, following a podium finish for Ms O’Leary’s own dog.
“Even my dog, we got second in the novice jumping and we only went in it for fun, and that was such a buzz,” she said.
Ms O’Leary said she could not thank the organising committee and all the volunteers enough and they had all earned a good break.
She said their eyes will turn to organising the club’s next event in October after they have taken some time to rest.
