Shows of training or breeding
2007-06-09 14:22:55
A Jack Russell Terrier competing in a dog agility event. Shows are intended to highlight the excellence of training or breeding of the animals involved. There are a variety of horse riding sports in this category, including show jumping and dressage, both of which feature at the Olympic Games. Dogs, being easily domesticated, are one of the most popular animals to have in shows. Sheepdog trials have been popular in many countries and are used to show how well a dog can herd sheep. Other dog sports of this category include dog agility events, whereby the dogs must tackle obstacle courses, and obedience trials, where they must execute a predefined set of tasks. Crufts, a conformation show for dogs, has grown to be a massive event since it started in 1886. While dogs are the most common show animal, cat shows are also common. Both of these animals have a wide variety of breeds and compete in categories, comparing each individual to the breed "ideal". Some unusual animals also take part in shows, such as the competitors in rabbit show jumping, most popular in Scandinavia. Films and television series about animals in sport can be realistic or very fictional, involving animals in an activity that they cannot really perform. Seabiscuit (film) is a fairly accurate portrayal of the famous American horse of the same name, while MVP: Most Valuable Primate, a film about a hockey-playing chimpanzee, is somewhat less realistic. The 1980 animated film Animalympics is a spoof of the Olympic Games and features anthropomorphicised animals. In the combination live action and animation film Bedknobs and Broomsticks, animated animals play a game of football. From 1976 to 1999, the BBC broadcast One Man and His Dog, a television series about sheepdog trials. They also commissioned three series of Pets Win Prizes, a game show with contestants' pets having to perform in various tasks. Man vs. Beast is an American television show that pitches humans against animals in a variety of unusual challenges, including competitive eating between world champion Takeru Kobayashi and a Brown Bear.