Team USA's Butter & Courtney Moore Win at IFCS World Agility Championships

Borderpap Wins Five Medals at IFCS World Agility Championship  

Team USA members Courtney Moore and “Butter,” a 5-year-old fast, fun female Borderpap whizzed through run after run at the International Federation of Cynological Sports (IFCS) World Agility Championship (WAC) in May 2024 in France to win three Gold medals, plus a Silver and a Bronze. 

Newcomers to the WAC, Courtney and Butter (Ryan’s Everything’s Better With Butter MX MXJ XF DCAT) established their connection early and hung on to it throughout the five-day championship. The duo competed in the 250 mm class, similar to the 8-inch class back home, representing Team USA for the United States Dog Agility Association Inc. (USDAA®).  

“The event was very electric with lots of noise and sounds and lots of people and dogs,” says Courtney, of Leander, Texas, a 30-year agility competitor. “The dogs feel it as much as we do. Trying to be able to get into feeling normal and connected with your dog was probably the hardest thing.”  

WAC competitors ran Standard Courses as well as Jumpers, Team Relay and the games of Gamblers and Snooker, both involving high-level skills to earn the most points in the allowed time. In Gamblers, the handler sends a dog a long distance over a line they can’t cross, and Snooker entails maneuvering through different obstacles.  

“We had a super good run in Biathlon that felt great, followed by Snooker, which set the tone of the whole weekend for Butter and me,” Courtney says. “I felt very connected to her and knew if we could keep this together through the weekend, it would be fine. 

“I really enjoyed our Team Standard run,” she adds. “It was a super hard course. A lot of dogs unfortunately failed on it, but Butter didn’t take a step out of place.” 

Among 40 dogs competing in the 250 mm class, Butter took a Gold medal as the IFCS WAC All-Around Champion. Her Gold medals in Individual Gamblers and Individual Snooker contributed to her all-around high score. Butter was the Silver Biathlon Champion, and she won a Bronze medal in Individual Jumping.  

Altogether more than 200 dogs from 12 countries competed at the event. Team USA totaled four Gold, five Silver and three Bronze medals. The U.S. Small Dog Team won a Silver medal, and several medals were awarded to individuals.  

“One of my favorite runs of the week was watching Courtney and Butter’s Gamblers run,” says Rachel Evers, director of competitor services for USDAA and manager of Team USA. “It proved to be a very tough course, and timing and strategy were paramount. Courtney set a great plan for Butter that expertly factored in her speed and maximized their point totals within the allotted time.” 

Courtney’s first Borderpap, Butter is adorable with her wing-shaped ears and loving expression. She is three-quarters Papillon and one-quarter Border Collie, which combine to give her powerful athletic drive and keen intelligence to master the precision skills needed to excel. 

“Butter has a unique personality,” Courtney says. “In everyday life – like at the airport or a restaurant – people, even those who don’t like dogs, stop and say ‘Hi’ to her. It’s the way she gets their attention or the way she looks at them. She treats everyone like they’re her best friend.” 

A dog agility trainer at Happy Dog Sports in Leander, near Austin, Texas, Courtney got hooked on the sport as a 12-year-old junior handler. Prior to working full time as an agility instructor, she was a surgical technician and office manager for 15 years at a veterinary clinic in San Antonio, Texas. Courtney also is an agility judge and teaches agility seminars. 

In describing what motivates her All-American Dog superstar, Courtney says, “Butter is in it for the kisses and snacks. She loves agility, but most of all, she loves to do it together. She’s so much fun. 

“I jokingly say we are either on fire or are a dumpster fire. Butter is incredibly fast, so if something goes wrong, it can kind of blow up. As she matures, that dumpster fire is happening less and less.” 

“As I got to know their pre-run routine throughout the WAC event, the one aspect that stood out was the relaxation and focused energy both Butter and Courtney had going to the startline,” Evers says. “Courtney really did a superb job making sure Butter was in the correct mental state, as well as top shape physically.” 

Courtney feeds Butter Purina Pro Plan Calm & Balanced Chicken & Rice Dog Food, which is specially formulated with omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil to promote calm behavior when fed daily for 12 weeks. Calm & Balanced also has brain-supporting nutrients to help promote cognitive health. 

Preparing for the WAC involved practicing the skills in piecemeal fashion. 

“We’ve done a lot of international courses though when we practice we don’t always get to run full courses, so we run more sequences and hope that when we get to a course, we can put it all together,” Courtney says. 

Although Butter hasn’t earned a lot of agility titles, Courtney explains this is because “we mainly compete to get to large events.” 

Among their large-event accomplishments, at the Cynosport® Dog Agility World Games Presented by Purina Pro Plan in November 2023, USDAA’s annual championship, Butter was the Strategic Games Champion and the Biathlon Champion in the 8-inch class.  

In January, Courtney learned they were chosen from over 70 applicants for Team USA. 

Their success kept building run by run at the WAC.  

“As Courtney and Butter advanced throughout the competition, they took a fairly commanding lead,” Evers says. “For many teams, it can be difficult to handle and maintain performance under that pressure. It was clear after watching them all week that a key to their continued success was that calm, focused preparation before each run.” 

Fans in the U.S. could watch Team USA and Courtney and Butter’s runs live, thanks to 4 Legged Flix, a U.S. livestreaming service. The seven-hour time difference meant some loyal viewers got up in the middle of the night to catch the excitement.  

“I was excited for my students and family back home to be along for this ride,” Courtney says. “I am fortunate that they support me to do these big adventures by allowing me to take off an inordinate amount of time and financially helping me to compete on the international stage.” 

“Overall, this was a great trip for USDAA’s Team USA,” Evers says. “Courtney and Butter were a huge part of this year’s overall success, earning three Gold, one Silver and one Bronze medal for their excellent performance.” 

Congratulations, Team USA and Courtney and Butter on a job well done!