Mondio Mexico

I met Humberto Bobadilla in Asti, Italy. He is a great guy with excellant English and was very patient with my weak Spanish. He is the first native Mexican player to represent Mexico at the World Championships (Asti in 2001) with his fine malinois, Pipin. He can be contacted at innotekmex@terra.com.mx - muchos gracios amigo!!!

Could your tell about when and how Mondio started in Mexico?

Well the Mondio history in Mexico began in 1993, when Ludovic Teurbane represented Mexico and got 3rd place with L´CH , Pipin´s father, but in Mexico nobody knows about that. In 1997 it was the same history with Ludovic representing Mexico but this time the dog was Irving and got 8th place, but we still knew nothing about Mondio.

Then, there was nothing until the end of 2000, when I got interested in Mondio, because I have been training FR for many years, and I got interested in Mondio because we can trial with other countries at the World Championships. So I began to train Mondio, learning the rules with one old video and that was it. I knew about the Lone Star Mondioring club Trial in March 2001, I got my dog prepared for that trial, and I got first place in Mondio 1, so I got motivated when I came back, and I began to organize my first Mondio trial. The trail was wonderful with horses, music band, people dancing, charros etc - a big Mexican party. But, I think it was too much for the first one, because we had 15 dogs but only two got qualifying scores, Ludovic´s dog in Mondio 3 and Chucky Gerardo Garcia´s dog in Mondio 2. In Mondio 1,. I got first place but with 157.5. It was very difficult. The trial was judged by Michel Riviere, a great gentleman, and we organized a Mondio seminar and a Mondio decoy test. We got 7 decoys aproved, and after this event we thought that Mondio had began, but Mondio needed more. There were many organizational difficulties and lack of support from the body that is in charge of Mexican Dogsports. ( Mexico would not see another trial until the summer of 2003 )

What kind of dogs are you seeing in Mexican Mondio?

The few ones that are interested, are malinois and they also practice FR.

In Mexico, what is the situation with dogs in general? and do you see Mondio changing this? If so, how?

In Mexico, FR was the most practiced dog sport (biting), but a few years ago things change, now the most practiced sport is PP (Perro de Proteccion) our Mexican sport. We have had many Perro de Proteccion trials, and there are many teams in those trials, in level 1. In this year our Federation FCM had been in contact with Germany SV, so now they are supporting Shutzhund a lot but there are not at good level yet.

Anything else you would like to say?
I think Mondio is great, I would say almost perfect if: "esquive" "esquiva" would be allowed bite would be scored (not as hard as Belgium ring, but scored) but even that I think it is the best. And I am against lowering the difficulty level like using no more articles in the heeling pattern.

Humberto's review of the latest Mexican Mondio trial Summer 2003

Well we didn´t have too many dogs at this trial, but we had fun, there were 6 dogs in level 1, 1 in level 2 and 1 in level 3. I will mail the scores later. There were a lot of people at the trial, many French ringers. The trial was much more easier than the last one, this time it took place in a French ring field, the theme was summer, so there was a small pool not inflable but the one with rigid walls, with not too much water, 20 cm, they used it as the obstacle for the attack with obstacle, and they used it for the transport after the search too, but it was not wide enough so we added tires on both sides, other articles we use, were a crocodile, and a shark, inflables of course, they used the crocodile like an obstacle for the heel in level 1, and the shark was used for the attack with article in levels 2&3, the shark got flat after level 3 because the only dog in level 3 bited it, before he got scared of the shark, and released the decoy before the out command. It was an experienced dog in FR 3 but he never practiced Mondio before. After the trial the owner told us that his dog didn´t like the fish:)) Another funny thing was the tire tube that a decoy use it on his waist, tight enough so he didn´t need to hold it, and the tube was cover with a Hawaiiaan style skirt. He looked very funny. The retrieve objects (apport) were very easy but not many dogs retrieved. Level one it was a pair of sandals tight together with duct tape, and for level 2 & 3 it was a pair of swiming goggles. Positions; with no difficulty just like FR just stand up in front of the dog. Long stay; (absence) was mixed with the food refusal and the distraction was people playing with a ball. Defense of Handler in level 1 was pretty much as a FR 3 defense, but using the shark, level 2 & 3 the judge used two decoys and the handlers had to sit on a big pipe at the time of the agression. In the he search and bark, the decoy was hidden in one of the blinds, nothing special, and for the transport the decoy used the big pipe, and the pool, he didn´t cross the pool but the decoy made the dogs got their legs into the pool. For the guard of the object; the object was a suit handler, and the dog got a little confuse, so on the second attemp, the dog transport the decoy and the object to the judge.

I will like to say thanks to the judge, Jose Camarena, a very good FR judge, who was judging his first mondio trial, and Dierik Morales, who was the organizer,he is a very enthusiastic Mondio man, and thanks to the decoys Juan Manuel Guevara, Aaron Sanchez, Omar Vazquez and to the competitors who had the courage to trial in this sport, thank you all.

We don´t know yet who is going to go to Bern, but me and Pipin are the first in the list, and second is Juan Jose Aguirre with Phantom, he is one of my club members, he will go for level 1 and I will go for level 2. I will write later with the scores & I will send the site where the pictures will be.

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