Judges

Elpida about herself:

Hello, I’m Elpida!

I’m an agility judge, athlete, and coach.
I’m one of the first people who started agility in Greece back in 2012, with my first dog, Lisa, a yellow Labrador.

I’ve been a member of the Greek National Team since 2018, competing with my Border Collies, Diesel and Astra. I’ve participated in 7 AWCs and 6 EOs, and I’m also a 3-time Greek Agility Champion, twice with Diesel and once with Astra.

I’ve never had the chance to compete at Gold Rush, but I know so much about this competition and have always wanted to experience it. So, when I received the invitation to judge, I was thrilled!

I can’t wait to work again with this amazing team, which completely blew my mind when I judged the German Border Collie Championship. I’m really looking forward to designing some golden courses and judging all those amazing teams.

But first, I need to find an appropriate outfit. 😁

Daniel about himself:

I have been doing agility since 1999. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of running countless courses, spending countless hours training, competing at all levels, and sharing some truly special moments with two Border Collies and three Shelties.

As a competitor, I’ve had the opportunity to stand at the start line at several World and European Championships, and I’ve also been lucky enough to win a few titles along the way.

Those experiences have shown me what makes our sport so unique:

When, for a few seconds, everything comes together, when dog and handler become one, and everything just feels right. When all the things you have trained for over months and years finally come together when it matters most

But there is also the other side of the sport: one tiny moment of inattention, one small mistake, one wrong decision — and just as quickly, you can lose what you have worked so hard and so long for.

Since June 2024, I’ve had the opportunity to switch perspectives and experience our sport from a completely different side — as a judge.

My goal is to design challenging, fair and fast courses that push teams to their limits while still being fun to run.

And now I get to judge the Agility Gold Rush Competition — and I’m absolutely thrilled about it!

It is a great honour to be standing in the ring as a judge at such a special event. I’m looking forward to fast dogs, brave decisions, spectacular runs, plenty of emotions — and, of course, the party! 😉

So, see you at the start line. 😉