A MOTHER and son team from Cumbria are set to perform and compete at this year's Crufts event.
Faye Nemeth and her eight-year-old son Joseph will attend the world's biggest dog show in Birmingham in early March, alongside border collie Jess and spaniel Willow.
Faye has been a dog trainer for 10 years and she runs local business Phase Purple Agility Training Cumbria.
She offers dog training focusing on agility, makes and sell hoopers, agility and canine fitness equipment, and runs agility shows.
Faye will perform a hoopers demo on the Saturday at Crufts at 11am, while her son Joseph will be competing in the young kennel club agility competition, having qualified with 1st place positions throughout the year.
In an interview with the News & Star, Faye said: "We got our first border collie around 18 years ago, and that's when I first started agility training. Him being a border collie he needed something to stimulate his brain."
Hoopers is different from agility training in that there are hoops, barrels and tunnels for the dog to negotiate, as it's more low-impact, and also includes distance handling, so it requires a different skillset than just agility.
Faye added: "Various contacts from Crufts got in touch with me. I run quite a few shows and quite a few hoopers events, they know that I know what I'm doing when it comes to running an event.
"The demo is in the main ring at Crufts, at prime time, and will be broadcast on TV.
"It's exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time. I'll be doing it with Jess and Willow, they won't be too nervous, they're very focused on what they need to do."
Faye will be joined by Joseph, who is competing at Crufts for the second time in his life despite being just eight years old.
He earned his spot at the world-renowned event after winning a qualifier, although you can also accumulate enough points to compete.
Faye said: "He's been doing agility since he could walk. As soon as he finished last year he said: 'How can I qualify again?!'"
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