‘Hazel,’ a Papillon, Soars to Best Career Performance at Cynosport World Games
Donna Kelliher Photography
A 31/2-year-old Papillon named ‘Hazel’ (Witchinghour Marvelous Miss Hazel) gave her all with unflappable tenacity and nerves of steel to deliver a career best performance at the 2024 Cynosport® World Games Presented by Purina Pro Plan.
Her owner and handler, Rachel Molenaar, of Dracut, Massachusetts, was awed by their success. They won the 8-inch Purina Pro Plan Dog Agility Steeplechase® and were on the Power Pap Girls team that became the Purina Pro Plan Dog Agility Masters® 3-Dog Team Tournament Champions at the national championship in Tucson, Arizona, hosted by the United States Dog Agility Association®, (USDAA®).
“It was such an exciting, busy venue, yet Hazel ran almost as well as she does at home,” Rachel says. “She was not thrown off by all the chaos, the noise, the new things or the new people. She was just there to do her job.”
A two-time Cynosport competitor, Hazel in 2023 placed second in the 8-inch Purina Pro Plan Masters Strategic Games and third in the Purina Pro Plan Masters 3-Dog Team Tournament Championship. She won the Team Standard and Team Snooker classes and took second in Team Gamblers.
In May 2024, 3-year-old Hazel traveled to France with Rachel as members of Team USA to represent USDAA at the International Federation of Cynological Sports (IFCS) World Agility Championship.
“It was our first really big competition, and my first international event,” Rachel says. “My goal was to have good runs, and mostly we did that.”
The 71/2-pound Papillon’s diminutive size does not deter her from streaking across an agility course at breakneck speed. Hazel is Rachel’s first toy dog after having trained two Border Collies during her 15 years in competition agility.
“Hazel was pretty spunky from the start,” says Rachel, who brought her home at 8 weeks of age weighing 2 pounds.
Rachel’s experience in agility has given her insights into the virtues needed in an agility dog. “I had not had a dog for a couple of years,” she says. “I was looking for one with sound temperament and an even-keeled disposition.
“I fell in love with Hazel’s mom, ‘Zaya’ (Sapphiresky Dream Giver), as a puppy. She was smart, athletic and had a lot of sass. Hazel’s sire, ‘Tush’ (Tollegend Just Lookin For Some), was on Team USA four times and ran in finals at Cynosport multiple times. The breeding was made specifically with agility in mind.”
As she shifted to a toy breed, Rachel noticed differences in how a small dog approaches obstacles.
“Some obstacles are easier for them, and some are really hard,” Rachel says. “It is easier for Hazel to get into the contact zone for the A-frame and the dog walk because of her shorter stride. Teeters are really hard, because it takes much longer for the teeter to drop for her. She goes right to the end and rides it down, but she doesn’t always wait until it lands.
“She is feisty, impatient and wants to go.”
Winning with Enthusiasm
Hazel’s speed-demon finesse paid off in the Cynosport Steeplechase competition, an event that is scored on a dog’s time and faults. The course accentuates speed, rather than technicalities, with two sets of weave poles and a single A-frame.
“We got a bye to go straight into the Steeplechase semi-finals,” Rachel says.
“We ran clean in semi-finals, placing third with less than half a second separating the first three dogs. We had a tiny bobble in Finals, but we fixed it super fast. She missed the second weave pole, and I spun her around and started her again.
“Aside from the bobble, she had a really good run, and it felt like we had a chance. A lot depended on how the other dogs’ runs went.”
Hazel’s winning time in the Steeplechase Finals was 36.37 seconds. She had no faults.
Meanwhile, Hazel and Rachel bonded quickly with the Power Pap Girls team that came together for the first time at Cynosport. Their skills made them unstoppable in winning the Masters 3-Dog Team Tournament Championship, an event comprised of Gamblers, Snooker, Jumpers and Standard. Each dog’s scores contributed to the team’s total points.
Besides Hazel and Rachel, the team included ‘Moxie’ (Patuxent’s Justa Wild Joy), a 51/2-year-old Papillon handled by Jen Konrad of Austin, Texas, and ‘Filly’ (BreezyBlue Wild One), a 31/2-year-old Borderpap handled by Jennifer Thomas, of Wylie, Texas.
All were high-profile competitors at Cynosport. Moxie and Konrad won the 8-inch Purina Pro Plan Grand Prix® and took second in the 8-inch Strategic Games. Filly and Thomas took first in the 8-inch Strategic Games.
“In DAM (Dog Agility Masters) Team classes, the courses are more difficult, and the games have special rules. You have to be ready for anything,” Rachel says.
“The fun part was when we started strategizing about how to do the courses. I encouraged them to go for a higher point total in Snooker than they were originally planning. Moxie and Filly had perfect scores in Snooker, but Hazel and I made a mistake early in the closing. Hazel took first in Jumpers. In Standard, we all did pretty well. Filly had the highest points in the trial in Gamblers. She did amazing.
“We gave one another encouragement and support. It was a tremendous experience.”
Rachel is finding that her little dog’s love for agility is catching.
“Hazel is incredibly enthusiastic,” Rachel says. “She always comes to the line ready to go and goes as fast as she can every time. Whatever I ask her to do, she is there to try it. That’s an amazing thing to have in an agility partner.”