Jennifer Fraser makes new world record attempt, takes off for Romania’s Got Talent

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wheatland County resident Jennifer Fraser and her dog Chardonnay have set their sights on a Guinness World Record for the fastest 10-hoop slalom by a dog. 

A 10-hoop slalom consists of five hoops set up in a line. The dog is expected to jump back and forth through the hoops from one end of the line to the other and back as fast as possible.

The previous record for the category was set in 2016 by Stephen Bailey and his dog Neo in Minehead, United Kingdom with a time of 8.58 seconds.

Fraser explained Chardonnay was able to complete the course with a time of 7.34 seconds. It will be a three-month process to hear back from the team at Guinness to officiate her claim to the record.

“It is a matter of making sure that I followed all of the measuring rules. This specific record requires a lot more measuring because the hoops have to be measured off the ground, measured between each other, and measured the length of the course,” said Fraser. 

If the verification of the record returns successfully, it will mark the 15th world record Fraser has achieved. 

Fraser added Karen Galady, from Strathmore High School, assisted her in measuring out the course for Chardonnay and keeping time for the attempt. 

“She basically did everything for me, she got the location, she got the volunteers, she got the other timer for me … she also brought students with learning disabilities – she brought out her class to be able to watch and experience that,” she said. “We made sure to bring an extra dog and we went and visited everybody after the record was done. We ended up doing the record in the snowstorm, the one time where it was snowing like crazy, that is when we did it.”

Prior to the attempt, Fraser explained Chardonnay trained for between two and three weeks to develop the skill and muscle memory for the course. Chardonnay is two years old. 

Following their attempt at the record, Fraser and Chardonnay took off for Romania to participate in Romania’s Got Talent where the pup will make her debut on the world stage.

“Daiquiri is 10 so he is still doing great but for Romania’s Got Talent I decided this is a lot for him. Even though he would be able to do it and he would do it perfectly, I figured it was Chardonnay’s turn,” she said. “I got a call from a producer two weeks ago that I had a walk-on spot on Romania’s Got Talent if I wanted it and so that gave me – once they finally told me what routine they were looking for – that gave me roughly eight days to train a routine … so no pressure.”