'Woof' choice for Kate as Crufts judge

LOCAL woman Kate McCartney faces a 'woof' choice this weekend when she will become the first person from Northern Ireland to judge at Crufts.

Kate, who is a member of Lisburn & District Dog Training Club, has been training dogs for over 25 years and is delighted to have been chosen to be the judge for the Obedience World Cup event, which will see 12 teams from across the world compete for the top prize at the NEC in Birmingham.

Crufts, which is the world's largest dog show, has been plagued with controversy in recent years following claims over the breeding of pedigree animals. This year, however, the show will be once again screened on television, with Kate's performance set to be seen on digital channel More4 and the competition is said to be celebrating 'healthy, happy dogs'.

"I'm absolutely delighted," Kate said. "I will be judging the Obedience World Cup, which this year has 12 teams, the most there has ever been, with teams from the US, Canada and Germany as well as the home nations taking part. Each country send the top dogs in the country and it involves a test of heel work and retrieval."

As well as being involved in training dogs, in the past Kate has qualified for the Obedience championships and has also represented NI on a number of occasions.

This weekend's Obedience World Cup will take place on Sunday and is the highlight of the obedience calendar. The event is relatively new in the Crufts programme but is proving to be one of the most popular with spectators and competitors alike, and the atmosphere around the ring is expected to be electric as national pride is at stake.

"I'm absolutely delighted," Kate continued. "I'm just really excited. This is a great honour for the club; no-one from Northern Ireland has ever been selected for this before. Obviously this heightens the nerves a little; if I'm bad no-one else might be asked," she laughed. "This really is such a big honour for me."