‘Top Dogs’ splash down in Village Green regional
“It was packed. This is one of the most packed events I have ever been to. Extreme vertical was packed out easy … absolutely nuts,” Morgan Syring, administrator for DockDogs, said Sunday after the competition.
“Overall, it’s been a great success,” said Steve Krempasky Shop Farragut executive director. “The number of people who came out certainly rivaled previous years.”
The big winner of the day was Whiplash, “a previous world champ” according to her owner, which jumped 25 feet-8 inches in the final round.
“She’s used to winning,” owner Crystal McClaran of Cape Coral, Florida, said of her champion.
This is McClaran’s third year participating with multiple dogs.
Krempasky noted owners and their dogs have come from as far as Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.
A dog closer to home, Huntington, owned by Doug Sprague of Farragut, jumped 12 feet in the finals.
Despite affects from the coronavirus pandemic, “The (Smoky Mountain) DockDogs people (sponsors) have been delighted with the turnout, and sold-out registrations, so everything is going on a lot longer than it has in the past because of the number of dogs competing,” Krempasky said. “Some of the early waves had 50 dogs in them. They don’t normally do that.”
He added a wave is just one run through a competition.
“I love it,” Smoky Mountain Dock Dogs president Kaye Noble said about the Dog Daze event. “Steve has the greatest venue because there’s everything here. All the people love to come — the competitors — ... and this is the wild card, one of the last events to make it to the world championship.”
This year’s wild card event featured competitions including speed retrieves, big air and the extreme vertical, the last of which is when the owners/trainers throw a toy up into the air and the dog jumps for it.
“So, they are getting over 7 feet in jumps from these dogs here,” Krempasky said about the extreme vertical event.
Additionally, Krempasky pointed out the crowd has been good about complying with COVID-19-prevention guidelines for social distancing.
“Pooch Plunge”
However, “I don’t know if is was COVID-related or not, but only about half the dogs of previous years” participated in the non-competitive “Pooch Plunge” Friday afternoon, Aug. 14. he said. “Last year, we had 56.”
Still, Krempasky said there were a lot of new dogs in the event. “My daughter even brought her dog and enjoyed it,” he said.
Winners of the Farragut event were:
• Pro Big Air: Crystal McClaran of Cape Coral, Florida, and Whiplash, first place, $100; Debra Feller of Johns Island, South Carolina, and Raylan, second place, $50; and McClaran’s Juice Box, third place, $25.
• Semi-Pro Big Air: McClaran and Odin, first place, $100; McClaran and Chartreuse, second place, $50; and Charlotte Blake of Thompson’s Station, Tennessee, and Aztec, third place, $25.
• Contender Big Air: Theresa Menz Cooper of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Hossa Bickell Pickle, first place, $100; Kevin Johnson of Hillsborough, North Carolina, and Caper, second place, $50; and Babz Mahony of Broksville, Florida, and Grudge, third place, $25.
• Amateur Big Air: Melanie Lake of Graham, North Carolina, and Nala, first place, $100; Lake and Allura, second place, $50; and Jennifer Belle of Knoxville and Sloopy, third place, $25.
• Extreme Vertical: McClaran and Xero, first place, $100; McClaran and Juice Box, second place, $50; and Hannah Wolf of Oak Ridge and Sky and McClaran and Odin tied for third place, $25.
• Speed reprieve: Charlotte Blake and Wicked, first place, $100; Blake and Aztec, second place, $50; and Timothy Lake of Graham, North Carolina, and Earnhardt, third place, $25.
• Iron Dog: Blake and Wicked, first place, $100; McClaran and Xero, second place, $50; and McClaran and Juice Box, third place, $25.
• Pro finals: Claran and Whiplash, first place; Feller and Raylan, second place; and Claran’s Juice Box, third place.
