Monday, August 26, 2013

The Weekend Report - A Blue Ribbon!

This weekend was a two day agility trial given by the Carroll Kennel Club. It was held in Westminster, Md.
Just like the last trial I went to there, they had the convenient running order of Masters/Excellent JWW then Masters/Excellent Standard. This way I didn't have to wait through the Novice and Open classes. And it was small to tall each day, making it go even faster since I run a "small" dog. Of course, to get there well in advance of the 8 AM start time, to have plenty of settle in time, I left home at about 5:30 AM both days. Arrrgghhhh!

First, there were no Double-Qs to be had yet again this weekend. For some reason, both Jumpers runs had a weird bobble where Jimmy went around a jump he should have gone over. That's unusual for him. It could be his view of the jump was cluttered by background scenery such as other jumps, white walls, etc., and he just missed it. On Sunday, my body language was a bit iffy and I think I pulled him off of the jump. Whatever it was, we kept all of the bars up but just didn't quite succeed. As they say, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades".

Our Standard runs, on the other hand, went well! Saturday's STD looked to be tricky in a subtle and not-so-subtle way, but it ran great! Jimmy Q'ed and came in in 5th place! Sunday's STD was again quite fun and fairly easy as long as we kept the bars up! Jimmy did a great job! When I went to look at the score sheet posted on the wall, I couldn't find Jimmy's name. I was like, well, where is he?! I thought we Q'ed! That's because it never occurred to me to look at the placements. And there was Jimmy's name in the top spot! Woohoo! A first place is a very rare occurance! It takes just the right mix of the usual speedier dogs not entered, and the usual speedier dogs disqualifying themselves! There were two faster dogs, but luckily for me, they didn't Q this time.

So, if we aren't going to get a double-Q, then Q'ing in STD is preferred as it brings more points. Since points are the big thing I need to get to the AKC Nationals next March, I am glad my Q's came in the Standard runs! We netted another 41 points. There's still a long way to go to qualify, but this helped!

Here's Sunday's Blue Ribbon Standard run.....




Course maps for those interested (anyone?).......





 And just a small note about Jimmy's A/C fear. He was still not happy about going in the building. But this time he was willing to try the warm-up jump. That hasn't happened since he had his scare. So another step forward in our quest to have Jim fully happy again. I'm still using the smelly raw tripe before the run and it's still working its magic.

Finally, this was the last agility trial to be held at this location. I guess the owner wants to get away from "going to the dogs".  They had replaced the flooring in the upper building with something too slippery, which reduced the location to being a one-ring trial. Now, they are getting ready to do the same in the lower building. Thus ends an era.....I am not sure how they think they will fill all those weekends w/o the dogs.....
The trials have all relocated to a new sports center, one much closer to home for me. Score! One thing I will miss however, is the beautiful drive through Maryland farmland getting to the site. Here's the view from yesterday morning.....




20 comments:

  1. Pretty picture!! Where is that at? (The sunset)

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    1. A bit north of Frederick, Maryland on Route 26.

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  2. Oooooh how excitin' fur ya'll to gets more points...I knows ya'll will make it all da way no problem!

    Puddles

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  3. Congratulations! You two looked fantastic! So glad to hear Jimmy is getting over his A/C fear. The new location sounds like a winner. Love the beautiful sunrise photo. :-)

    Susan and Wrigs

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  4. Well done and bravo. Also well done to you Jimmy....the AC problem is no more. Have a marvellous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  5. Congratulations on the placement!
    But even more importantly: congratulations on the improvement in the AC fear!!!

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  6. Congratulations! I'm so happy to hear that Jimmy went so well! Both of you deserve a pat on the back!

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  7. It sounds like you had a great run! And I would definitely appreciate that view, too!

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  8. Congratulations! And that is a beautiful sunrise!

    thank you so much for the donation! We will let you know how we end up doing. We are very grateful!

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  9. Congratulations!!! We're happy Jimmy seems to be getting over his fear of the a/c a bit.

    XXXOOODaisy, Bella & Roxy

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  10. Congratulations! Very exciting to get a ribbon! What a lovely spot! But it will be nice to have it closer to home.

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  11. Congrats on your blue ribbon, nicely done. What a gorgeous picture!

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  12. Lovely run! Congratulations on the blue!

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  13. Great job....Congrats!!!!

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  14. WooooWooooo!!!! Way to go!!! Congrats, you guys looked FABulous!!
    Good thing you gots that stinky tripe goin' on for Jimmy! What our Moms won't do fur us, huh?! BOL
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥
    pees: purty pics!!!!

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  15. Congratulations!! Agility seems like it would be so much fun!

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  16. Great job, Jimmy! Congratulations!!! That course looks really tough, so you definitely deserve all those points. :)

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