Sully is a shining example of the versatility and capability of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Bred by Llandaff and handled by Niccola Hardaker, Sully represents the next generation of performance Cardigans and continues a proud tradition as the fourth Cardigan in the Hardaker family to earn Rally titles.
With his fantastic temperament, steady attitude, and enthusiasm for work, Sully has proven himself to be a truly multi-talented dog. His achievements span an impressive range of disciplines, including Obedience, Rally, Dances With Dogs, Trick Dog, Scent Work, SprintDog™, and Conformation — a remarkable accomplishment that highlights both his versatility and his willingness to work across a wide variety of sports.
Rally was created to promote a positive and enjoyable relationship between dog and handler. The sport combines traditional obedience behaviours with a flowing course of signs that guide the team through a sequence of exercises.
Unlike formal obedience, handlers are encouraged to talk to and praise their dogs throughout the course, creating an atmosphere that emphasises teamwork, enthusiasm, and clear communication between dog and handler. Rally courses include many familiar obedience behaviours, such as heeling, sits, drops, turns and cone work, but often with fun variations and creative combinations.
Like all Rally teams, Sully began his journey at Rally Novice, where the exercises focus on foundation behaviours such as sits, drops, heeling patterns, turns and cone work. At this level the course is completed on lead, and teams must earn three qualifying scores under different judges to gain their RN title.
From there, Sully progressed to Rally Advanced, where the courses become more complex and the dog works entirely off lead. New challenges are introduced, requiring greater focus and teamwork as the dog and handler navigate longer sequences of exercises.
The next step is Rally Excellent, where courses increase in both length and technical difficulty. Teams must demonstrate smooth transitions between exercises while maintaining accuracy and teamwork throughout the course.
Sully continued to progress steadily through the levels, building both skill and confidence. After achieving his Excellent title, he became eligible to compete for the RAE (Rally Advanced Excellent) title. This title requires a team to successfully qualify in both the Advanced and Excellent classes at the same trial, demonstrating consistency and reliability across two separate courses on the same day.
The next challenge was Rally Masters, the highest regular level in the sport. At this stage the exercises become significantly more demanding and can include distance work, position changes while moving, backing up, and heeling on both the left and right sides of the handler.
To earn the RM (Rally Masters) title, teams must achieve seven qualifying scores of at least 85 out of 100 under different judges. Each run requires precision, teamwork and concentration, as a single mistake can cost valuable points or result in a non-qualifying score.
For Sully and Niccola, reaching this level has taken over a year of consistent training and competition, with many hours spent practising skills, refining precision, and strengthening their partnership.
While the titles may look like a simple list of letters, each one represents a significant amount of training, preparation, and teamwork.
Their progress has been made even more impressive by the fact that Niccola has also recently added a Rally judging licence to her list of achievements, which has naturally limited the number of trials they have been able to enter while balancing judging commitments, training, and competition. Clearly a very hard-working team!
Her dedication to both competing and giving back to the sport as a judge highlights the passion behind this successful partnership.
In the first three months of 2026, their dedication paid off when Sully added two significant milestones to his growing list of titles, earning both his RAE (Rally Advanced Excellent) and RM (Rally Masters) titles. These achievements represent the culmination of many months of careful training, teamwork, and dedication between Sully and Niccola, and stand as a testament to his enthusiasm, work ethic, and steady temperament.
Sully’s success across so many disciplines is a wonderful example of the versatility, intelligence, and work ethic of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi. From the precision required in Rally and Obedience, to the creativity of Dances With Dogs, the problem-solving of Scent Work, and the speed of SprintDog, Sully has demonstrated an enthusiasm and adaptability that make him a true all-round sporting dog.
With his Rally Masters title now complete, Sully and Niccola are setting their sights on their next milestone: Sully’s Rally Championship, which requires ten qualifying scores of 90 points or higher at Masters level. Given Sully’s dedication and drive, it will be exciting to watch the team continue their journey in the ring.
Along the way, they have also enjoyed cheering on Sully’s breeder Jan West and his mother Silva (Ch Kardibroke Arctic Breeze RA) as they achieve success in their own Rally journey — showing clearly where Sully’s brains and enthusiasm for work come from.
Sully’s story is a wonderful reminder that Cardigans can truly do it all.
Find out more about Niccola on her Members Profile.
