On May 9–10, 2026, students of the Faculty of Biology and Technology of Sumy National Agrarian University, Yelyzaveta Malkova, together with her pet — the shepherd dog Ulfi’s Dakota — and Ruslan Meniailo with the sheltie Fini and the border collie Alpina, took part in the open agility competitions of the Ukrainian SSR “SNAU Cup”. Elizaveta and Dakota also became participants in the Children’s and Youth Agility Championship of the Ukrainian SSR, which was a qualifying stage for the JOAWC 2026.
The competition was held in Kyiv and was organized by the Faculty of Biology and Technology of the Sumy National Agrarian University, the Sumy Regional Dog Breeding Center of the Ukrainian SSR and the “Adrenaline” team. “SNAU Cup” has a high CACAg rank and is a prestigious qualifying competition for the FCI World Agility Championship.
Agility is a modern dynamic sport with dogs that requires a high level of mutual understanding between the handler and the animal, speed of reaction, discipline and persistent training. The geography of this sport in Ukraine is rapidly expanding – more and more athletes from different cities are joining the competitions and forming an active community.
It is nice to note that SNAU is an active participant in this process and, starting from 2016, has been a co-organizer of the national agility championship every year. The coaches of the Sumy team are Nataliia Bozhko, an assistant at the Department of Production and Processing Technology of Animal Husbandry and Cynology, who has over sixteen years of canine practice, and Olena Spivak, a graduate of the educational program “Cynology”.
According to the results of the performances at the highest level of A3 competitions, Ruslan Meniailo and the border collie Alpina won two second places and were selected for the national agility team of Ukraine, which is being formed to participate in the AWC 2026 World Championship in Finland.
Yelyzaveta and Dakota demonstrated a high level of training and won several prizes at once:
It is also worth noting that Dakota performed in a pair with a young Sumy athlete, Shynkareva Elizaveta, at the KSU Children’s and Youth Agility Championship.
After the performance, Yelyzaveta shared her emotions on social networks:
“And they said that exterior shepherd dogs do not run agility.”
Sumy National Agrarian University sincerely congratulates Yelyzaveta Malkova and Ruslan Meniailo on their high results and wishes them new victories, successful performances and further achievements in sports and professional activities.
