Hi, My name is Anders and I live in Jakobstad, a small town on the west coast of Finland. I work as a dentist and my family consists of my wife Marica, two grown-up sons Jan and Tom and four dogs, three bordercollies and a kooikerhondje.
I was first introduced to agility in 1989. My first agility dog was a golden retriever and over the years I have trained and competed with dogs in the highest class. At the moment I train and compete with my kooikerhondje Zåia in class 2.
Many years ago, when I didn't have a dog of my own to compete with, I decided to dedicate more time in other sectors of agility such as becoming a judge.
I became an international agility judge in 1995 and so far, I have judged in 19 different countries. Besides judging, I work with various tasks in my own club, in the Finnish Kennel Club and the Finnish Agility Association.
The most important judging assignments so far have been the FCI European Open in Rieden, Germany in 2015 and the FCI Junior Open Agility World Championships in Vantaa, Finland in 2022. In 2023 my dream as an agility judge will come true when I will have the great honour to judge at the FCI Agility World Championships in Liberec.
I am eager and motivated to take on the task and really looking forward to what the coming year will bring.
See you all in different competitions and in Liberec!
Anders Virtanen
