17/09/2026
I know, I know⌠itâs Thursday.
We raced Saturday and Sunday.
But as the old Muttineers saying goes:
Better to sail into harbour late with a hold full of rum than arrive early with an empty barrel.
So here, finally, is our weekend write-up!
Last weekend we sailed back to Cheshire Showground for what we think was our final BFA competition of the year, hosted by Katy and the brilliant Carry on's Flyball Team crew.
And what a weekend it was.
We had truckers tooting their horns, fairground rides making all sorts of noises, lights flashing, music blaring and, at a couple of points, what sounded suspiciously like a full western shootout happening somewhere nearby.
In other wordsâŚ
Absolutely ideal conditions for a group of dogs who occasionally find a plastic bag moving in the wind suspicious.
But honestly?
They were incredible.
For some of our dogs, sudden noises and movement have been genuine challenges in the past, so watching them work through all of that and still focus on racing made us incredibly proud.
SATURDAY â RAISE THE BLACK FLAGS
Arlo. Maggie. Coco. Izzie.
And what a show they put on.
The Black Flags came into the weekend with a team PB of 18.70 seconds.
They sailed home withâŚ18.54 seconds.
Another new team record!
The crossovers were looking lovely too. There are still little fractions hiding there if we tighten them further, but these four are really starting to work together as a proper racing team.
And the box turns?
Beautiful.
Coco deserves a special mention here.
She joined us from another team and safe box technique was something we knew needed work. We have spent a lot of time rebuilding that with her, taking things slowly and getting those movements to the standard we want from a Muttineers dog.
And look at her now.
Confident.
Quick.
Safe.
And looking better every time she races.
We are ridiculously proud of her.
Arlo had another fantastic day too.
He stayed focused for almost the whole competition. Towards the end he glanced across at the opposite lane once or twice, but the important thing was what happened nextâŚ
He recovered.
He stayed with his job.
He did NOT chase.
For a dog who once found other dogs running towards him so difficult, that is a massive achievement.
What a proud moment for our boy.
Then Maggie gave us a tiny bit of unnecessary excitement during practice.
She reached the lights⌠and spat the ball.
Captain Dafzâs heart sank slightly.
We thought we had cracked that!
Then the real racing started.
And Maggie apparently decided practice didnât count.
She carried that ball all the way home.
Every time.
Good girl, Maggie.
And finallyâŚ
Izzie.
This time we remembered the tuggy.
Progress.
Catching her was therefore considerably easier, although she did manage to slip through my hands once.
Not to chase though.
Oh no.
Izzie has apparently appointed herself the official Muttineers Fault Correction Officer.
If ANY dog makes a mistake, Izzie believes it is her personal responsibility to immediately re-run the lane and put matters right.
Perhaps we need to submit a new rule proposal.
Despite all of that madness, the Black Flags came away with:
1ST PLACE!
A new PB of 18.54 seconds.
And another list of little things to take back to training.
What a team.
ALSO ON SATURDAY â ONE LONELY SKALLIWAG
Our Foundation plans changed rather dramatically in the days leading up to the competition.
One dog was recovering after an unfortunate meeting with a cow.
One handler came down with flu.
Another had important things happening at home.
And suddenlyâŚ
poor old Rizzo looked around and realised the entire Skalliwags crew had vanished.
So Rizzo raced Foundation⌠all by himself.
Did he complain?
Of course not.
He ran his little legs off.
Clean racing all day.
Some lovely box turns appearing.
And good old Rizzo sailed home with a very well-deservedâŚ
2ND PLACE!
One dog.
One Skalliwag.
One very proud team.
Well done, Rizzo.
RING TIME â NELLIE AND SADIE
You may remember Nellie from our last competition.
Easily distracted would probably be a polite description.
Dogs are interesting.
People are interesting.
Grass is interesting.
Skylar is particularly interesting.
Flyball occasionally appears somewhere further down Nellieâs list of priorities.
So with truck horns, fairground rides, sudden bangs and all sorts happening around the showground, I genuinely had no idea how she would cope.
NellieâŚ
you surprised us.
Full runs.
Lovely chute work.
Clean running.
No wings.
And we even started practising on the start lights, getting closer to working out where her proper start position might eventually be.
Compared with our last competition, the difference was HUGE.
This is exactly why Ring Time is so valuable.
No pressure.
No expectation.
Just experience.
And Nellie gained plenty of it.
Then there was Sadie.
Sadie is one of the newest members of our crew.
She is a lovely young dog, but naturally quite shy and nervous, so our plan was simple:
Introduce her gently.
Let her experience the environment.
Let her decide how much she could cope with.
She was perfectly happy walking around the showground on lead.
She came into the ring with Nellie.
She did some jumping.
She worked nicely on the chute.
But taking the lead off?
Not quite yet.
And that was fine.
Then came Mat Time at the end of the day.
And Sadieâs mum, Maggie from the black flags, came into the ring with her.
SuddenlyâŚ
different dog.
She flew over the jumps.
She gave us some beautiful chute turns.
She even put together a couple of clean runs.
And she LOVED it.
With the pressure gone, fewer distractions around her and Mum alongside her, Sadie finally showed us the little flyball dog hiding underneath those nerves.
Give this pup some time.
Give her confidence.
Give her good experiences.
And weâll show you the happy, brave little dog thatâs waiting to come out.
WHY THESE SESSIONS MATTER
Foundation.
Ring Time.
Mat Time.
We genuinely cannot say enough about how important these opportunities are.
They give young dogs, nervous dogs, inexperienced dogs and new handlers something they simply cannot get by jumping straight into racing, time.
Time to learn.
Time to make mistakes.
Time to gain confidence.
Time to realise the ring is somewhere safe and fun.
So we want to give a huge and sincere thank you to Katie and the Carry-Ons team for supporting Foundation, Ring Time and Mat Time so strongly at their competitions.
It matters. A lot.
You are giving developing dogs and handlers opportunities that may otherwise never exist.
And we absolutely appreciate it.
SUNDAY â THE MENAI MUTTINEERS
Then came Sunday.
Another day of tooting, banging and fairground madness.
This time it was:
Olaf.
Cheddar.
Chip.
Ember.
And once again, these dogs did us proud.
Olaf was back on the start lights and produced some fantastic starts.
We donât currently get nearly as much opportunity to practise starts as we would like, so seeing him stay consistent meant we could gradually begin pushing things that little bit closer to zero.
And hopefullyâŚ
very soonâŚ
we may have found ourselves a much easier way of practising proper start lights back at the training field.
Keep an eye on this page.
There may be something interesting brewing in the Muttineers workshop.
And it might be particularly useful for some other smaller clubs too.
Then there was Cheddar.
What else is there left to say about Cheddar Chops?
He ran every single leg clean.
He knows his job.
He loves his job.
And he has developed into an absolutely cracking Labrador.
A Super Labrador.
With Super Slobber to match.
Your mam should be incredibly proud of you, Cheddar.
Then my Chippy.
Apparently sausages are the secret to elite athletic performance.
Chip ran 100% clean and safe all day.
And once againâŚ
every single box turn was spot on.
I know I sound surprised every time I write that.
I think part of me still is.
After spending so long rebuilding his box technique from the beginning, I don't think Iâll ever get bored of watching him run down that lane, hit the box properly and come home safely.
There he is.
Doing flyball exactly how I always wanted him to.
And we were starting to get some VERY nice nose-to-nose passes between Cheddar and Chip too.
Thereâs definitely more time hiding there.
FinallyâŚ
Ember.
Wonderful little Ember.
Ember goes down the lane like sheâs been fired from a cannon.
Then occasionally comes home with the urgency and elegance of a swan gently crossing a lake.
But even that return speed started improving throughout the day.
What made me particularly proud, though, was everything happening around her.
I knew Ember before she joined the Menai Muttineers.
I know what she used to be like.
So with horns, flashing lights, moving fairground rides, bangs, sudden noises and all the chaos around Cheshire ShowgroundâŚ
Iâll admit it. I was a little worried about how she would cope.
Ember absolutely proved me wrong.
Every run.
No faults.
Focused.
Happy.
Doing her job.
There was one VERY early crossover onto ChipâŚ
But that one belongs firmly in Captain Dafzâs fault column.
I sent her too soon.
Even that gave us something useful, though.
Neither dog cared.
Which means we now know we can start gently tightening that crossover without worrying about upsetting either of them.
Every mistake teaches us something.
THEN CAME THE RESULTSâŚ
There was a little confusion during presentations when the Menai Muttineers were initially announced in 4th.
Something didnât quite seem right.
Thankfully, the results were rechecked.
And it turned out the crew had actually finishedâŚ
JOINT 1ST ON WINS!
And 2ND OVERALL, with the second-fastest time in our division.
And another shiny new team PB:
22.19 SECONDS!
Our last competition PB was 22.81.
Before that, we were at 23.30.
Bit by bitâŚ
this team is getting faster.
And the really exciting part?
We know exactly where there is still time to find.
WHAT A WEEKEND
So after two days of horns, fairground rides, suspicious gunfight noises, tennis balls and some seriously good dogsâŚ
The Black Flags came home with:
1ST PLACE â 18.54 NEW PB
Rizzo the One-Dog Skalliwag:
2ND PLACE
And the Menai Muttineers:
2ND PLACE â 22.19 NEW PB
Then there were Nellie and Sadie, who came home without a racing result⌠but arguably with something even more valuable.
Confidence.
Experience.
And proof of what theyâre capable of becoming.
What a way to finish what we think is our final BFA competition of the year.
A huge, massive, colossal thank you to Katy and everyone at Carry-Ons, the judges, ring parties, officials and everybody who helped make the weekend happen.
The atmosphere was friendly, supportive and exactly what we love about this sport.
And finallyâŚ
to the Menai Muttineers crew.
Thank you.
Our handlers.
Our box loaders.
Our ball collectors.
Our helpers.
Our supporters.
And even our junior box-loader-in-training, Oli!
Watch this space with that one.
A Captain might steer the shipâŚ
but it takes the whole crew to bring her safely home.
And I wouldnât swap this crew for all the treasure in the Seven Seas.
What a weekend.
What a team.
And what an exciting place weâre in heading towards next season.
Carry-Ons⌠I think itâs safe to say youâll be seeing these pirates again next year.
