Mikko and his wife Mari Kaplas are some the friendliest people you will find. Together they house 6 dogs in their home/agilitycenter in Oulu.  Mikko has employed himself with coaching agility since 2007, and is a full fledged professional.

Bordercollies Kesy and Keys are running with him in grade 3, but Mikko has had plenty of experience before them. He has competed in international, and national championships since 1998 with 8 different dogs, representing Finland in 16 different years. Mikko is a World Champion, Nordic Champion, multi-Finnish national champion and multi European Open team-champion. He is the essence of a superstar.

Mikko graduated as an agility judge in december 2022. His aim is to create safe and smooth courses, that hold speedy puzzles that can be solved in a variety of ways. He enjoys it immensly when a team succeeds in solving the puzzle, but most of all, seeing them have fun flying through the course. 

He says the most important thing is enjoying our sport together with our dogs.

Rafael has been running agility for over 20 years now, since his first dog Chica (cocker spaniel) to his youngest one Level (working cocker spaniel). Between Chica and Level he has run with a lovely poodle and some crazy pyrsheps, too. Each dog has required a lot of patience and time, but in return have given so much joy, including his beautiful wife ❤️

Around 5 years ago he decided to take a new step in his agility career and became a judge. Seeing each competitor run their course from the beginning to the end, watching each team how they fight overcome the obstacles on their way, seeing their wish to grow and become the better version of themselves was something that made him love agility even more!

"Very grateful to be able to come back to Finland and share my passion with all of you!!" - Rafael-

Fanny has been involved in agility since the mid-nineties and is currently a professional dog trainer, mostly focused on agility. She is a formidable competitor. Where others waver, she puts on a fabulous dress and dances through even the trickiest course. Her ballet won her the Swedish national Championship in 2023 and she has been on the Swedish team multiple times.

Her nearly 20 years of exprience have obviously brought her a confidence, and style to look up to. Her background from obedience training has certainly helped her train her dogs, and those skills are put to work beautifully by her.

On top of all this she has a wide experience from different sized dogs, having handled border collies, working cocker spaniels, and a basset fauve de Bretagne.

In 2018 she made loads of people happy by becoming a judge. She enjoys to test the handlers training skills on courses that flow like the amazon river. Lately her efforts were recognized when she was selected to judge the world championships in Sweden 2025.

We had long been gathering courage to approach her and were absolutely delighted she accepted our humble invite!

The Maestro of Flowing Agility Courses – Cedric Bargoïn

When courage, rhythm, and a touch of magic come together in course design, you know you're in the world of Cedric Bargoïn. He doesn’t just judge – he crafts adventures, where every obstacle feels like a cloud and every turn reveals a new chapter in a high-speed story.

Cedric’s courses are like scenes from a movie: dramatic, smooth, and unforgettable. They challenge, inspire, and push handlers and dogs to go beyond their limits – with a smile on their faces and adrenaline rushing through their veins. His creations don’t just test skill – they awaken passion. This man doesn’t believe in boredom – only in possibilities.

It’s only natural that he was chosen to judge the 2026 European Open – EO26 judge Cedric Bargoïn brings energy, elegance, and a truly unique vision of what agility can be at its very best.

If agility were a fantasy film, Cedric would be its screenwriter and director.