At The Insurance Emporium, we were glued to our screens during this year’s Crufts, watching our sponsored duo, Hayley Telling and her Shetland sheepdog, Teal, going for gold! After the events had reached their end, we caught up with Hayley to discover more about their latest achievements!
The events!
It was a really busy four days for both Hayley and Teal, as they had qualified earlier in the year for a total of four events! During the British Open on Thursday, a couple of faults left Teal coming third. However, not one to be disheartened, he managed to win Friday’s ABC event and come second in the Crufts Singles!
The big one
Last up was the Championship competition that takes place on the Sunday. After gaining entry from a previous championship win during the year, Teal performed almost perfectly! He managed to come first place in jumping and second in agility – meaning he won overall! Hayley told us that the Championship ‘is the most prestigious event, winning it was a big dream for me’.
Preparation
Their success doesn’t come out of thin air, and Hayley shared with us some of their preparations. They both must stay physically fit, which means sprint and weight training, HIIT workouts, foot work drills and yoga for Hayley, while Teal works on his balance, spring and strength. Hayley went on to say that ‘we fuel ourselves correctly too, making sure our nutrition is perfect!’ and ‘we train in agility several times a week – making sure our handling on courses is fine-tuned!’
Mind over matter
It’s not just physical preparation that’s key to a successful competition. Hayley tells us that she has to work on mental exercises, ‘mostly to keep calm as I get over excited!’ To this end she spends a lot of time each day developing her visualisation and meditation skills.
Smiles all round!
Hayley shared with us her joy after their performance. ‘I could not have hoped for Crufts to go any better! Teal was foot perfect all weekend, and I only made two small handling errors, so I’m very pleased with our performance.’ We also discovered that Crufts is their favourite event – ‘Teal loves it there so much! As soon as he got out of the car on the first day he was barking all the way to the entrance!’
We wish both Hayley and Teal the best of luck in all future events! After a week of rest, they’ll be back at the hard work to prepare for the Team GB try outs on the 5th to the 7th of April! If you own a dog yourself, whether or not they’re as well trained as Teal, you might want to consider protecting them with dog insurance. At The Insurance Emporium you could get 30% off* Dog Insurance Policies, with Public Liability Cover up to £1.5 million as standard^. Head to The Insurance Emporium to find out more!
* The 30% discount is made up of 20% Introductory Discount plus 10% Multi-pet Discount (if appropriate). The Introductory Discount is available for the first twelve premium payments on lunar and calendar monthly policies or one premium payment on annual policies.
^ Public Liability cover up to £1.5 million is available on lunar monthly Public Liability Only, Time Limited, Maximum Benefit and Lifetime policies.
All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. We make no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. We will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. We will not be liable for any loss, injury or damage arising from the display or use of this information. This policy is subject to change at any time.
