Community celebrates return of WCRL Rally trials to Northern California.
From 2009 to 2017, Wendy Hilton, owner of the dog training and consulting business Just Rewards LLC, took the initiative and formed a team to bring World Cynosport® Rally Limited (WCRL) events to her clients and fellow competitors who had grown to love the sport. Wendy hosted over 30 weekends of trials, became a Level 3 judge and even went on to host the 2014 United States Dog Agility Association® World Cynosport® Rally event that was held in California that year.
After twelve years of dedicating her life to the sport, Wendy decided it was time to step back from hosting rally events and teaching rally classes in April 2017. However, Wendy’s absence in the sport was sorely felt throughout the Northern California canine community, and in 2024 she decided to jump back in.
“For several months last year, I was debating with myself whether to start WCRL trials in the Bay Area again,” Wendy said. “I had heard from so many people over the last few years how much they enjoyed the trials and missed them. In August, I put some feelers out to see if there was interest, and the response was overwhelming. There was clearly a lot of interest and support in bringing WCRL rally back to the area, so off we went.”
Wendy spent three weeks last year gathering a committee team, finding a trial location, hosting informational webinars and becoming recertified as a judge. She was also able to get a previous judge, Nancy Jones, back on board. In November 2024, Just Rewards hosted its first WCRL rally trials in more than seven years at Downtown Dogs in Palo Alto, California. In attendance were 19 teams who competed in Intro, Level 1, Level 2 and Flash rally 1 over the weekend.
“It ran really well,” said Wendy. “I had some of the same committee members coming back to help, so it was a relatively smooth entry back into hosting the trial. We also held run-throughs at the facility the week before the trial to work through the logistics ahead of time.”
In addition to hosting and judging rally events, Wendy competed with her Working Cocker Spaniel, Twizzle, for the first time, earning RLI, RL1 and FL1 titles at the November trial.
“At our trials, we love to celebrate the good, the fun and the quirky, and lighten the disappointment when things don’t go as planned,” said Wendy. “We offered special awards throughout the weekend including Happiest Tail, Most Likely to Vote, Hollywood, Rally Spirit and High in Trial. We also have a NQ raffle where people get to choose a fun dog-related item when they receive an E for their run.”
Two participants in the November WCRL rally trial, Sheri Gish and Denise Gormish, were delighted to have these events back in the Bay Area, crediting the encouraging, low-key environment to a successful weekend.
“It was Team Sky’s first rally trial and Sky’s first trial ever,” Sheri said. “My goal was to make it fun for her as a good foundation. Thanks to the supportive environment at this trial, it happened. We’re looking forward to the next one!”
Denise echoed these sentiments, especially thrilled about the Flash rally offerings that she competed in with her dog Rey for the first time together. “This class really excites the dog,” said Denise. “It rewards movement with speed and teamwork at the same time. It has quickly become our favorite rally class.”
Just Rewards plans to host more events throughout 2025. A trial in March offered "for exhibition only" (FEO) runs for teams that were not yet ready to trial but wanted to give it a try. Another two-day trial will be held in June, followed by a fall trial as well. In addition to the rally classes offered at Just Rewards, Wendy has held a Flash 1 workshop and looks to offer additional workshops and run-throughs throughout the year.
“One of my greatest joys is seeing first-timers having a great time with their dog and their excitement over competing with their best friend,” said Wendy. “A lot of my rally students have never competed in any sport with their dog and end up pursuing rally and other sports. I think WCRL rally is the most inviting, inclusive, supportive and just plain fun rally organization that I’ve ever been involved with.”