Jacksonville Hosts Sunshine Regional, Setting Stage for Cynosport National Qualifiers

Five regional championship titles were decided at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center in early March, and the dogs and handlers who claimed them now hold the clearest path in the Southeast to the Cynosport World Games in Tucson this November.

Hosted by Pals & Paws at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center, the three-day competition ran March 6-8 before USDAA posted the official podium placements on March 26. Champions were crowned across the Purina Pro Plan Masters Challenge Biathlon, Grand Prix of Dog Agility, Dog Agility Steeplechase, and Masters 2-Dog and 3-Dog Teams, with Masters Strategic Games, Veterans All-Around, and Junior Handler titles also on the line across the weekend. Competitors made the trip from across the Southeast, representing the full mix of established teams and handlers still building their national resumes.

The timing matters. This is USDAA's 40th anniversary season, and the Sunshine Regional sits near the front of the 2026 regional calendar as the second qualifier in the series. In the USDAA/Cynosport structure, regional podium finishes and qualifying scores carry direct numerical weight toward the championship invitations required for entry into the Cynosport World Games, scheduled for November 11-15 at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. For teams who spent the fall and winter stacking local qualifying scores, Jacksonville was the first real pressure test of whether that preparation translates to a judges' floor.

The Biathlon is the event that tends to sort those teams most honestly. It stacks a standard agility course against a jumpers course in consecutive rounds, which means pacing and drive management between runs matter as much as raw speed within them. A dog that blows its contacts rushing through Round 1 pays for it in Round 2, and handlers who struggle to reset focus between very different course styles find the format unforgiving. The Steeplechase adds another layer, combining an A-frame and weave poles into an enhanced jumpers-style course where contact reliability at full competition speed is non-negotiable.

The full winners list and course maps are posted in the USDAA news section. For handlers targeting their next qualifier, the South Central Regional runs May 1-3 in Greenville, Texas, hosted by the Dallas Agility Working Group. The season closes at Cynosport in Tucson in November, where every regional podium from Jacksonville forward feeds the final field.