
DATE: Friday, April 11, 1997                TAG: 9704090142

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:  130 lines

DOG'S AGILITY IS TESTED AT CITY PARK THE PARK IS NOW OFFICIALLY OPEN - FOR KIDS, PEOPLE AND DOGS OF ALL AGES.

PORTSMOUTH CITY PARK is out of hibernation, after officially opening its 1997 season last Saturday on a cool, overcast morning.

Children swarmed the playground, the Pokey Smokey was temporarily derailed, and dogs of all shapes and sizes went head-to-head in an obstacle course designed to test their paw prowess.

Known as the sport of dog agility, the contest drew owners and pooches from far and wide for the two days of fun hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Achievers Agility Club.

``This is our second one at City Park, which I really like,'' club member Barry Bryant said after his 12-year-old daughter Kendall led their Australian shepherd through a course.

``The grounds are nice. They provided a canopy for the event, good restrooms, food.''

Sherry Bryant, Barry's wife, is the club's secretary.``There are no barriers in dog agility,'' Sherry Bryant said. ``Race, age, sex - if you've got a dog, you can do it.''

On the obstacle courses, there were teeter-totters, tunnels and fences to jump. Pure-breed dogs such as Labrador retrievers and Border collies competed, as did ``All-American dogs'' - the politically correct way to describe a mutt.

There was also competition between breeds such as the Swedish Vallhund and the Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, which, in addition to having names that are fun to say out loud, are extremely rare.

Before each run, ``handlers'' - the human guiding the dog through the course - practiced the zig-zagging course.

As dozens of handlers simultaneously practiced the fluid hand gestures and calls they would use to lure their dogs, it seemed as though a modern dance troupe had been unleashed upon the park.

Appearances aside, it's helpful.

``That's a necessity,'' explained Jacqueline Austin, 67. Austin, who lives near Culpeper, has been training dogs since 1952. She discovered dog agility six years ago and has had success with smooth fox terriers such as Cakes, 8, and Fast Eddie, a 6-year-old national champion.

Both made the trip to Portsmouth, where they shared a tent between runs on the course.

``It's a thinking person's game,'' Austin said.

Obstacles must be run in sequence, no mess-ups are allowed, and the event is timed. But it isn't grueling, according to Austin.

The dogs won't run a course if they're forced, she said. They do it because they want to and because there is a camaraderie between dog and handler.

The competition is approved by the U.S. Dog Agility Association, the largest of five similar organizations in the country. A judge was brought in from Minnesota to help with the scoring.

At a table near a collection of tents and dog cages, Elizabeth Coburn of the Portsmouth Humane Society spread the word about strays and the city's shelter. Coburn, a Churchland resident, had help from Willie, a Scottish Westie currently residing in the Portsmouth Animal Shelter.

``A lot of people in Portsmouth don't even know the shelter is there,'' Coburn said as ambassador Willie lured onlookers to an information table stacked with literature and bumper stickers. ``We have a lot of great cats and dogs, and kittens and puppies.''

The day did not go completely to the dogs.

Carolyn Askew drove from Bertie County, N.C., to play badminton in the park with her son Andre and niece Christy. She makes regular trips to Portsmouth, having discovered the park three years ago while driving through the city.

``I saw the sign and checked it out,'' Askew said. ``It seemed like a nice family place. We just wanted to play badminton, walk around the park and enjoy the day.''

Across the road, that dissects the park, and past a shovel leaning against a coal-filled wood shed, the day was over for Ole No. 91, better known as the Pokey Smokey.

The pint-sized coal-driven train, a perennial draw at the park for nearly five decades, was running fine; however, rainy winter weather had damaged a small section of track. A repair crew was called in, but this spring's Pokey Smokey debut was bumped back to Sunday morning.

With steam, precipitation and smoke spewing from the smokestack, engineer William Robertson brought the engine back to a covered section of track. Two engineer trainees, Scott Butcher, 38, and Erika Burke, 27, rode with him as he described the works.

Robertson, 57, has run the train for the past two years. After 26 years in the Navy, he's back in school at Tidewater Community College.

Clad in an engineer's cap, Robertson cleared spent coal from the boiler, then bathed the wheels with hot steam from a hose connected to the engine.

Butcher and Burke are also ex-Navy. Butcher, a train aficionado, has an 8-year-old daughter he can't wait to bring for a ride. Burke is the first woman to run the train. They'll have uniforms this weekend and join the rotation of engineers who move passengers around the track weekdays and holidays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., for a buck.

Jeff Harwood of Deep Creek was at the park with his wife and daughters. He followed Allison, 6, and Cassidy, almost 2, to the tracks while Bonnie, 3, helped his wife Kay with ``the dog stuff.''

Harwood, a bearded 42-year-old, remembered his childhood, when he could hear the train's whistle all the way from Drum Creek in Chesapeake.

``I can't believe I rode this 30 years ago,'' he said.

In fact, he once saved the train from robbers.

``I was probably 9 or 10,'' he said. ``We came up here one day on my birthday and staged a train robbery. We had bandanas over the faces of the bad guys, and they ran out of the bushes and robbed the train.''

Harwood, then the clean-faced birthday boy, got to play sheriff. With a cold look in his eye, he pumped hot lead into the bandits who writhed on the green park grass and let screams loose from beneath their disguises.

No. 91's precious cargo was saved.

``That was one of our bright ideas,'' a grinning Harwood said as Cassidy squirmed in his arms.

They went back to the dog trials, passing Anne Wilson and her daughters as they lunched by the water.

Wilson, 58, also came to the park from North Carolina.

``We wanted to do something fun,'' she said.

``Something that didn't cost a lot of money,'' 17-year-old Christi said as sister Jaymi, 8, laughed.

So Anne Wilson brought them north, to the park she visited with her aunt and uncle years back, as Wilson recalled, ``just to have lunch and play awhile.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos including color cover by BETH BERGMAN

The Chesapeake Bay Achievers Agility Club hosted their second-annual

dog agility obstacle course at City Park last Saturday.

Kristine Smith, 7, along with Betty Bond and Kristine's grandmother,

Janet Monday, right, watch the dog competition Saturday afternoon.

The second annual dog-agility contest was hosted by the Chesapeake

Bay Achievers Agility Club. Pure-breed dogs and ``All-American

dogs'' competed in the two-day event.

At left: A border collie belonging to Rev. Danny Gilbert of

Chesapeake, retrieves a frisbee at the dog trials. Right: Kendall

Bryant, 12, of Chesapeake, gives her dog Bandy a hug after they

completed the course.