(light music) - [trace] 25 years of the idc, and no better place to celebrate it than right here at purina farms. there he goes, sensational sounders (crowd cheering) once again does it. the green flag falls at the texas motor speedway.

dogs from the central us compete in the purina pro plan. 15 miles of uninterrupted beaches, huntington beach california, host once again to the purina pro plan incredible dog challenge. (people cheering) over the 31-foot mark, 31 feet six inches. and look at that. - wow. - 29-7-9 actually. another clean run. this is amazing! 30.04, so they are now on the top. (dramatic music) and welcome in everyone to purina farms outside of st. louis, for the national championship finals. trace worthington, alongside shellene cockrell, and shawn smith, who dives right into the details before large dog agility with our head judge, smitty. - i'm here with kama, our judge in the agility competition. it's the national championships, we wanna make a difficult course, and you did just that. talk about the challenges on this course real quick. - absolutely. i have a few different challenges for the handlers ranging from tunnel discriminations right off-the-bat at number three, to even at the finish,

it looks like a straight-shot to that last jump, but there's an off-course potential to their left, so they can't let down all the way to the very end. - now, we have some fast dogs. what is it up to the handler to do, to make this thing work? - the handlers need to be aware of what their dog is looking at, what line they've set, and keeping that connection because like i said, even though these lines are fast, they're not freebies. the handler has to make sure the dog sees that line. - [shawn] all right, well, let's get to the action. we'll throw it back to you guys. - [trace] all right, thanks, shawn and kama. great detail, and as we get set now, for large dog agility and one of the best in the business enters the purina arena. it is kim terrill, and her dog, rise, the three-year-old border collie male from albuquerque, new mexico, and shellene, a lot of accolades for this team, or at least for kim, winner of large dog agility and weaves at both regionals and nationals over the years, but with other dogs. - [shellene] that's right. kim is a very experienced trainer and handler, and that's odd to see that type of mistake right there, but as kama was saying, there's a lot of lines, a lot of traps,

discriminations, this is a very difficult handler course. so, luckily, they all get a chance at a second run to correct on those mistakes, and every mistake means added penalty seconds onto the length of their run. - [trace] as the best of two, as you mentioned, shellene, that counts so kim terrill, who's normally very clean, will be looking for that run too, to improve, but right now, trying to get a solid time in run number one. they will come in with 15 faults added onto their 36.93. so, 51.93. - [shellene] rise pulled out of the weave pulls early because he was following kim, and kim was trying to make the line to the next obstacle to avoid a trap, so it's very much a technical course. - [trace] shellene, now that we've heard, a few of the challenges and strategies from judge kama rueschenberg, and you analyzing the first run on kim terrill and rise. let's check out the course with even more detail. - [shellene] yeah, she talked about the straight lines. you could see that, and then the curve around the tunnel, and then there's another straight line and a curve,

so it's really about the handlers trying to support the dog through the straight lines and being there at the beginning and at the end to redirect, because in every direction change, there is a trap. there's a discrimination between obstacles, so this is a very, very fast-running course, but it's a strategic course that the handlers have to maneuver and direct very specifically. - [trace] all right, suzanne knox and ricky bobby, the five-year-old male border collie will try to get through this course efficiently. speaking of that, she claims that ricky bobby is an efficient jumper, and that has fast ground speed. that's where they excel, shellene. - [shellene] absolutely. you heard a mistake right there. these dogs are so, so fast, and because of that, that's why it's easy to make mistakes, and especially with how this course is laid out, they have to touch those contact zones coming on and off the dog walk, the a-frame, and the teeter-totter there, and if not, those fault seconds are applied, but the fast ground speed, these dogs love running fast.

but that can cause the mistakes. - [trace] exactly. right now, they'll have 30 seconds added on no matter what, so first run time, 60.54, another team that will be looking for run two to improve. - [shellene] we have a fast dog. those running contacts really matter. right there, we saw ricky bobby jump off of the dog walk too early, and also, jumping off of the teeter too early. they have to wait until that teeter touches the ground, and that is specifically for safety reasons. - [trace] next up in large dog agility, it is baptist knaven and pepin. a very cool breed here, shellene. - [shellene] absolutely, german shepherd, malinois mix taking the best of both breeds. the intelligence and independence of the german shepherd, with the protection instincts of the belgian malinois, and lots of athletic ability, except a few mistakes right out of the gate here in that tough spot to navigate. (crowd applauds)

jumping off the teeter there, that'll cost those fault seconds added on to several mistakes. this is a fast dog, a big dog, the height of the jumps has been set to the highest bar at 24 inches, to accommodate to the size of the dog, which evens out the competition. some confusion, obviously, in this first run with hos fast it is, and the control that the handlers have to have with the dogs. obviously, baptist is going to be looking at this to correct on those mistakes going into round number two. - [trace] 85.33 is the time. - [shellene] again, that teeter-totter needs to go all the way down to the ground before the dog jumps off, so pepin jumping off way early. just too excited to get to that next obstacle. - [trace] all the dogs are excited out here, including ego and sydney ryan, they're ready to go. now again, our lead time is 51.93 in this first round set by kim terrill and rise. we'll see what ego and sydney ryan can do. the seven-year-old male border collie. - [shellene] wow, talk about fast.

you already heard that beep right there. i think ego missed the contact coming off of the dog walk. those running contacts, again, at this speed, at this level of competition, so easy to make that mistake with a fast dog. - [trace] look how fast. i mean, the turns are just blazing through this agility course. - [shellene] so fast though, taking down that bar that happens when the dogs flatten out over the jump just because they have so much speed. - [trace] well, the raw time, look at that. 30.76. that is a fast run, but you add the fault seconds, 45.76. - [shellene] that's right, coming off the dog walk, but everything else just in between the obstacles and the ground, the dogs really love to get that ground speed. everything executed really well here, except for a few minor mistakes that hopefully, sydney will be able to correct next go around. - [trace] well, that's impressive adding those 15 seconds, and they're still in the top spot after run number one. kim terrill and rise in second, ricky bobby in third.

run two coming up of large dog agility here at purina farms for the purina pro plan, incredible dog challenge, national championship finals. (intense music) (vo) our pets. incredible dog challenge, nationathey just know.finals. when to push us. give us more when we need it most. they make the golden years... more golden. (young woman) come on guys, let's go! (vo) routines... more exciting. new beginnings less scary. they make the world more beautiful. our pets give us their best every day. in every way. and because of our pets purina is doing more of the things that matter. for the ones who matter most. nutrition is at the heart of what we do.

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the incredible dog challenge, national championship finals is brought to you by purina pro plan, nutrition that performs. well, it continues to be a beautiful day here, a vibrant crowd on hand from the national championship finals of the purina pro plan incredible dog challenge. i'm trace worthington alongside shellene cockrell. listen to these guys, having some fun back here. shellene, this is the biggest and longest-running athletic dog competition in history.

that, alone, is incredible. - oh, it absolutely is, and the word, incredible, really describes so many things about this event not only was purina the first to bring the world of athletic dog competitions to a tv audience, but they also created a competition which became a dog sport of its own. diving dogs started right here at purina farms off of a dock into a lake. that first jump was 19 feet. today, sounders who will be jumping, he is our world record holder with a jump of 36 feet. sounders, of course, will be joined by a bunch of other big jumpers, so it'll be exciting to see if a new record can be set. which, of course, would be incredible. - [trace] it's not gonna be easy, i'll tell you what. national championship, on the line as always, shellene, here in saint louis, but it's not always about competition. it's about the bond between the pet and the handler, and of course, the people and pets are better together. let's get back to the field for the second round of large dog agility. with sydney ryan and ego, shellene, with that 45.76.

that is the time to beat, kim terrill in second, ricky bobby, third. pepin in fourth. so, we'll kick it off with kim terrill and rise again for their second attempt in large dog agility. their first round time, 51.93, and if there's any team that can clean up a run and go fault-free, it's them. - [kim] tunnel, tunnel, try, try, try, shoot. shoot, shoot, run. (crowd applauds) - [shellene] fixed their first two mistakes, and had another one happen right here. the experience and the talent in kim as the handler is what can correct upon this, but then when you've got a fast dog, you just don't know what could happen out there. a couple of bars down on this run, but less than the first go around. - [trace] 45.76 is the time to beat. even with 10 seconds added on, 41.47, so kim terrill now in the top spot. - [shellene] super-fast going over this jump,

but obviously, it's a slice, because the dog is turning mid-air to try and make the next obstacle, so that's where the back legs just didn't clear the bar. - [trace] all right, suzanne knox and ricky bobby. first run, 60.54. - [suzanne] okay, run, run. get it, run, run. weave, weave, weave! weave, weave, weave, weave, weave. - [trace] good start here, shellene. - [shellene] yes, fantastic. no clean runs yet. just goes to show the difficulty of the course that kama created here, to really stretch these handlers with the speed of the dogs, but then having to have them come back and listen to what they're saying to get to the right obstacles. so, a bar down on this run, and that's it. - [trace] putting a tough course together for the best dogs, as you mentioned, shellene, that's what it's all about, the national championship finals 35.29, so ricky bobby, suzanne knox,

on the top of the leaderboard. - [shellene] fantastic. the least amount of faults out of all of our runs so far today. you can see that slicing, and oh, just barely edged and knocked down that bar trying to get the speed around that jump. - [trace] here we go with baptist knaven and pepin. once again, trying to improve their time from the first round. they had an 85.33. - [baptist] weave, go. weave, weave, weave, weave. - [shellene] you could hear him calling out those commands. hand signs, body positioning, all of that matters out here, on the field, in fact, you think the dogs know where they're going and even though they're not on a leash, the handler's commands basically, are the same as that type of control in the training. with where they're telling them to go, what they're saying, where their body's at. it all matters, 'cause the dogs don't know the course by heart. they are purely following

what their handler's telling them, which is so amazing. (crowd applauds) - [trace] all right, so they come through the finish for their second run, with 40 seconds added on, 80.48, so keeps them in fourth place. - [shellene] the reason why pepin pulled out of the weaves is because he is focused on baptist and following him to the next obstacle, that was a trap right there. - [trace] all right, next up, there is sydney ryan and ego. now sitting in second place. they're a first-time incredible dog challenge competitor at our central regionals in dallas fort worth, and sydney always dreamed of making it to this level in the sport of agility ever since she was a young child. - growing up, i was always interested, 'cause i'd watched a lot of the big competitions on tv or hear about them. coming to the incredible dog challenge is definitely an honor and it's always been kind of a goal of mine to do some of the bigger, outside of the local trials. i've seen this competition online, and on tv,

over the years and so to be part of it is definitely exciting. when we were in dallas for our first ever incredible dog challenge, i was very excited about that as well. i was just along for the ride, whatever, just getting there was cool, regardless of what the outcome was, and then when he was able to get his invite here, i was like, "well, that's even more exciting, and another highlight of our year." - [announcer] trying to get a spot to the national championship finals, it looks like a clean run, nothing from the judges, it is! - [sydney] diet for i think any dog doing any sport is really important, just like with people. they always say what you put in is what you get out, and it's very true for them as well. agility's a very high-impact sport and having even a couple extra pounds can make the difference between doing a course safely, or there being the risk of injury. if we were to win here this weekend, it would be great, it would be very cool. again, really, i think, just being able to get out on the field and show off our relationship is really our biggest take-away, although, i may have a spot

for a trophy if it came home. - [trace] gotta love the attitude there. just out here to have fun, maybe upgrade their regional championship victory, shellene, to a national championship. final competitors here in large dog agility, sydney ryan and ego, can they get it done? - [sydney] switch, switch. come, come, come, play up. wait, good job, come, tunnel, tunnel, tunnel. - [shellene] ego has quite a social media following and adding that tile here would be big. - [trace] so far, so good, no clean runs logged in large dog agility, and right now, - clean! - coming through the finish, a clean run, yes! - [shellene] fantastic, wow! - [trace] ego and sydney ryan, incredible, 30.39 from regional champions, now to national champions. - [shellene] that is how you get it done. lightning fast, and no mistakes, is going to put them on the top of the podium, making sure,

even though with those running contacts, that yellow zone is touched off of those three obstacles, everything executed to perfection with this team - [trace] wow, what an amazing result and outcome. rise in third, ricky bobby in second, but an incredible journey in a short period of time for sydney ryan and ego. - talk about rookie success. you came into dallas, first time ever competing with us, you got the win. you come to your first national championships title, you get the win again. talk about that journey. that's incredible. - we love to travel, and so for both of these being a little bit farther from our home in portland, oregon, i figured he'd come in pretty comfortable, and it was really just up to me to keep it together, because he knows what he's doing, and as long as i know where i'm going, he'll just follow along and do everything right. - [shawn] clean, fast run, and you know you get an invite to next year's national championships as well, to try to defend the title, are you psyched about that? - yeah, i mean, we had a lovely road trip out here, only a mere 32 hours in the car,

so we'd be happy to make it again. - great job, congratulations. - thank you. - guys, we'll send it back to you. - [trace] we are just getting rolling. the jack russells take over the purina arena. you're gonna enjoy this, stick around. (intense music) (vo) incredible happens here you're gonna enjoy thisbut it startsd. here. pro plan sport advanced nutrition for strength and stamina.

beautiful day at purina farms, which sits on over 350 acres of land, welcoming over 200,000 guests annually, their pets and companions, for amenities including the visitor's center, and one-of-a-kind purina event center.

they strive to be the most pet-centric place on the planet offering special events, and amenities, specifically tailored to you and your pets. in partnership with local animal welfare organizations, the purina farm's incredible team helped facilitate over 200 pet adoptions in 2023. you can help us beat last year's record by visiting the pets currently available for adoption in the pet's center at purina farms. if you've not visited, put it on the bucket list. it's an amazing property as the national championship finals continue with the, as always, entertaining jack russell hurdle racing, coming up. i love the reaction of the crowd when they see the first race, shellene, and it is truble, and isabel, casey, blossom, macho man, and vinny in this first heat. it is heat number one and the top two dogs from each heat will advance to the next round. - [shellene] they are off. out and around on the sides,

but some are still focused, and that is our six-year-old trubel in blue, making it through the tunnel first. they do have to make it through the tunnel, to the other side, not the first one in, 'cause sometimes, they go in all at once. but a clear lead, staying on track and focused the whole way, trubel, followed by vinny in green, will advance. - [trace] heat number two, rooster, consasaga gold, bolt, abigail, huntress, and maxx. the top two will advance to our final round. here we go. - [shellene] raring to go, blue collar again on rooster this time, out in front with a clean win followed by bolt in the yellow collar. jack russells are just a happy, energetic breed that really rely on a high-level of exercise and stimulation because they have a strong desire to work. they want to go after that lure, and we have muzzles on them for safety factors, because we don't want them fighting over that lure after they catch it going through the tunnel. - [trace] that they do, and they love it.

arlo, abigail, crocket, loki, gibbs and kodachrome. this is the final heat before settling who goes to the final rounds. - [shellene] way out in front, wow. we have crocket in the yellow collar making it over the hurdles and bee-lining it straight into the tunnel, followed by arlo in blue. staying focused and not getting off-track, going after that lure, because it looks like foxes tail, and that's what they were bred to do. they were actually bred solely by one man, jack russell, back in the mid-1800s who was an avid fox hunter, hence jack russel hurdle racing. - [trace] all right, hunting for gold here at the national championship finals, it'll be trubel, vinny, rooster, bolt, crocket, and arlo, it all comes down to this final heat. who will take home the national championship? on course. - [shellene] right here, ohh, three coming right up, but we have rooster in the yellow collar, five-year-old male who made it through first.

followed by crocket in orange, and trubel in blue. - wow - all of the dogs staying on course though, none of them went out around the edges, but a fast heat and a new national champion. - [trace] rooster, the five-year-old male jack russell who was second place here at purina farms, now upgraded to the top spot. what a great race, and coming up next, the incredible weave pole challenge gets under way. you're watching the purina pro plan incredible dog challenge national championship finals from purina farms, we'll be right back. (intense music) (vo) incredible happens here we'lbut it startsck. here. pro plan sport advanced nutrition for strength and stamina.

welcome back, everyone. don't forget to download the my purina app, which brings your pet, and purina's passion together to support, and reward, you for being a great pet owner. earn points on your pet's favorite products. get personalized recommendations from pet experts and customize your app experience, by building your pet's profile.

with my purina, there's more for your pet to love than ever. download the app by searching for my purina in google play and the apple store. the field is primed for the weave pole challenge. envy and rusty boone, meeka and jamie heberlein in heat number one. - [announcer] competitors ready? - [trace] meeka on the top of the screen, envy on the bottom of the screen, here we go, shellene. - [shellene] envy, our central, regional winner here. larger dog in and out of the tunnel first. this is all about focus and determination. they have to make it through all those weaves clean, and that's what just happened for envy. - [trace] so, envy with a time of 15.09, what a fast run, and these first runs are timed before they go head-to-head in the brackets later on, shellene. - [shellene] that's right. large dog style, right there, with envy doing a one step through, meeka also doing the one-step on top. they have to get through the run clean.

meeka had mistakes, if you make mistakes, you have to go back and correct, that's why she did not quality, because you have to finish clean. - [trace] heat number two, spree and lori asbury, and bootsie with handler, todd sisneros. - [shellene] todd has the little miniature schnauzer up on the top of your screen, two-year-old. here, you're looking at our seven-year-old australian cattle dog, spree. - [trace] spree on the bottom of the screen, bootsie on top. already a small mistake by bootsie. - [shellene] having to go back and correct, gotta get through clean, but spree staying focused and on track, going through the weaves in small-dog style with both legs hopping through at once, and hopping across that finish line. - [trace] super-clean run and quick, and cowboy bootsie, casually trotting through the finish, having a great time regardless, but 15.46 by spree puts them in a great position. - [shellene] bootsie, the runt of the litter,

but coming out here and doing incredible things competing, but in this one, it's gonna be spree staying on-track with a fast time. - [trace] pepin and baptist knaven, we've seen both of these in our agility competition earlier, ricky bobby and suzanne knox. suzanne knox on top of the screen with ricky bobby. pepin on the bottom of the screen, the big dog. - [shellene] both larger dogs, both fast dogs. you said we saw them in agility, usually, agility dogs are who compete in weave because they know the obstacles. there's just a much longer track. - [trace] oh, look at this! pepin with a little pep in the step! wow, 14.65, and based on their agility run earlier, this is really impressive. - [shellene] oh, absolutely. they were both super-fast when we saw them compete in agility, both fast here, pressing each other. again, right now, these are timed runs, so the fastest times are what will advance.

these two definitely quick, definitely getting through the course clean, and fun to watch. - [trace] all right, so nimble is the dog, cynthia horner, the handler, up against kim terrill, and her dog, rise. heat number four. - [shellene] nimble, the little five-year-old, all american on the bottom, three-year-old border collie, rise on the top. head-to-head in the first set of weaves. - whoa! - wow, a quick exit from rise from the tunnel, but our nimble little nimble, making a move. wow. - [trace] look at that, nimble, with a last-minute turbo boost charge and a 14.38 to defeat kim terrill, one of the betters of the sport. - [shellene] well, one thing we've learned over the years is that size does not matter. we've had little dogs come out champion multiple times. these two obviously different in size, but great in their execution getting through the course.