It's been a very long time indeed since my last weekend report. We have attended a few agility trials over the summer and fall but not like past years. Wilson still comes along so it's only one day a weekend and not as often. It's a lot for him and I wouldn't want to over do it. Now, why I never reported on those trials is just the same ol', same ol'...I've been letting this blog slide. However, I did want to report on Jimmy's most recent trial because it is his last. At 11 and a half, he's beginning to show signs of aging. He has a hard time keeping the bars up and it seems his depth perception is causing it. He is also a bit hesitant getting on the contact equipment. Whether this is due to vision or a bit of arthritis, I'm not sure. His heart is definitely still in the game, but I just don't want to take any chances with him getting hurt so I made the tough decision to retire him this past weekend. After such a long and reasonably successful career together, it was a very emotional occasion. I shed quite a few tears knowing these were our last competition runs together. We will still play the game in lessons where Jimmy will be free to jump four inches and we can avoid the contact equipment.
The trial was at that farm I love so much in Reva, Va. It was a gorgeous day which helped ease the melancholy.
Of course I got video!
This is our Jumpers run and was a bar knocking disaster. It convinced me I was making the right decision.
Standard came next, and I almost thought we might run clean, but a bar after the weaves and also the very last jump both went down.
One of the really great things was that Wilson was along for the ride. He has been Jimmy's travel companion to each and every trial and he was there for the very last one. Look at that perfect blue-sky day!
I could not have asked for a better teammate. Jimmy loved the game as much as I did!
MACH PACH2 Fine Creek's Sharp Dressed Man RN HT MXB MJB MXP6 MXPS MJP7 MJPS PAX2 OF T2B
We celebrated our many years of fun with a cake that evening. I think the cake decorator's hand writing left something to be desired! LOL!
It has been a very long while indeed since my last agility trial...all the way back to October when Jimmy and I earned our PACH2 title. I usually sign up for a lot less trials in the winter, but I was also staying home with Wilson. Fortunately, he's been doing so well, I felt comfortable signing up for a trial and taking him along. This trial was given by the Charlottesville Kennel Club and was held at that farm I love so much. It was still a winter day with chilly temps and a wind, but the sun was shining! And of course Cedar got to come along as well!
I won't spend much time talking about our runs. Jimmy and I are both out of practice and a bit out of shape as well. Jimmy knocked a bar on both of our runs so we did not get any Qs. We did have a lot of fun and that's what really counts. Jimmy got to be the center of attention, something he's been missing since Cedar came along. Plus he got peanut butter! MMMM! That's his post run treat.
I had lots of fun seeing my friends again and showing off Cedar. Most people had seen him on FaceBook, but real life is a lot more fun when it comes to a puppy! Cedar took the agility scene in stride. He enjoyed meeting people and oh, so many dogs of all shapes and sizes. But the best thing that happened for him was a cute little Pembroke Corgi girl who was 10 months old. She wasn't a whole lot bigger than Cedar so they were a good match. They wrestled, they ran, they chased, and just had an all around blast. He definitely couldn't catch her with his still clumsy puppy stride, but he gave it his all. And of course I took photos....Lots of them!
I did *try* to get a picture of all three boys with a mountain background. Wilson wasn't up to walking way back in the hills so I tried near where the cars were parked. It's very hard to get a good shot when you have a puppy with no "stay".....Cedar is in the process of trying to run off with the poop bag holder attached to Wilson's leash. Just about anything is fair game to a pup!
Blogging truly seems to have fallen by the wayside. I have lost all urges to keep this space going and that makes me sad. I blame FaceBook and its easy instant gratification! Post something there and you instantly start getting those silly "likes" that feed the ego. BUT! Something so worthy of a post and my storyline here happened on Monday that I can't let myself be lazy!
First let me build up to it....
As you all know, Jimmy and I have been getting ever closer to our big PACH2 title (Preferred Agility Champion, second time!). I reported on the first try here. We also had another try this past Friday the 13th. It was at that great farm I love so much. Alas, this time the weather did not cooperate. It was cloudy and damp almost the whole day. I was uninspired when it came to photos and took not one. The agility went well but we did not earn the 20th double-Q we needed to finish our PACH2. One bar was knocked down and with it the QQ. But really, I wasn't too upset. I knew I had another two day trial coming up after the weekend, and it was one where earning the big title would be truly special!
This past Monday and Tuesday, the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America held it's first mixed-breed agility trial. They have held all-Cardi trials as part of their National Specialty, but never a stand-alone all dogs trial. Despite it being a long drive from my house (2 full hours each way!), I signed up for both days. You always sign up a couple of months ahead of time so I had no idea my big title would be in play.
I got up at the ass-crack of dawn (4AM!!!) in order to get to the facility nice and early. I didn't need to be there quite so early, but wanted to settle in and be available to help the club.
I had four runs for the day. The first one was Premier Standard. It went very well, but Jimmy took out the very last jump! Just when you think you are home free! LOL!
This transitioned into regular Standard that was needed for my double-Q. Here is the map:
Really not too bad. One thru five was just like Premier so Jimmy recognized it right off. The end of the dogwalk is always iffy but we got past that cleanly. The rest was pretty much keeping the bars up.
We made it it through cleanly and had part one of our QQ! And of course I was sure to get video (thanks Abbey!)....
I spent a good part of the day working as a leash runner in order to keep my nerves in check. I was half way to my QQ#20! Plus being the leash runner helps me meet all those steps we should walk each day!
My next run was Premier Jumpers. This one was tricky and I had to work hard on keeping Jimmy on course but we finished it with a Q!
And finally.....the last run of the day for us would be our regular Jumpers run. I tried very hard to keep my mind focused and to be in the moment. First, here is the map.....
It had a couple of awkward spots, like 8, 9, 10 and getting to the side where I wanted to be without causing Jimmy to knock a bar, and also the angle of 18 to 19. I didn't want Jimmy to slice 19 too much and possibly knock the bar there. Very happily and fortunately, the fates were kind to me. We finished up cleanly and there it was! Double-Q#20 and our big PACH2 title! And while that is very sweet on its own, earning this title at the National Cardigan Club trial is such a thrill! I earned a beautiful big ribbon and my PACH bar for everyone to sign....
Now don't worry, I of course got video of the Jumpers run (Thanks Kim!) and also the little celebratory run around the ring....
If you have read my other posts for our MACH and first PACH, you know it is tradition to get a picture with the judge. My judge was Kathy Rupprecht.
I also did a portrait of Jimmy with his ribbon once we got home......
Jimmy is SO serious! Posing his little heart out!
Over the course of Monday and Tuesday, Jimmy and I ran eight courses and qualified in five. About right for our usual average. This gave me a few more CWCCA ribbons for my collection!
This is probably our last championship title. I won't push Jimmy for another one. Now we will just play without any goals and see how it goes. What a great little teammate Jimmy is!
Love, Love, LOVE this boy!
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Monday 10/16/2017 We did at the CWCCA's first stand-alone trial!!!! Masters JWW legs: 66...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 60...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 20 (out of 20 needed) PACH Points: Way more than we need! I have lost count!
Sunday was our first try at earning our final QQ , #20, for our PACH2 title (Preferred Agility Championship, second time). Obviously by saying "try", I've kind of given away the results!
The day actually started with a Premier Jumpers course. We had a nice run but unfortunately Jimmy knocked down the #2 jump, which was one he had to jump from the back side. I cheered him on the rest of the way and we had a very nice speedy run.
The map......
Next it went right into the regular Jumpers. Here are the maps, the JWW being on the left.
It was a bit tricky with a few spots where things could go wrong. Fortunately we made it through cleanly! So now we had the first half of QQ#20. Jimmy earned a 3rd place ribbon for his efforts. I was being extra careful and didn't push Jimmy for speed or tight angles going over the jumps. Here is the video......
This trial ran all the Masters level dogs first so we didn't have to wait too long before it was our turn for Standard. (Map above on the right) Again, the course was a bit tricky, and my biggest concern was the #13 tunnel to the #14 jump, to the #15 table and then back over the #16 jump. That jump bar at #16 was a tough angle coming from the table and I was worried Jimmy might knock it. We made it all the way through those obstacles cleanly only to have Jimmy run right past #17! I don't know if my body was blocking his view, or perhaps the jump blended into the wall and he just didn't see it, but, alas, we were disqualified. And so close to the end.....Here is the video...
Now I always get way more nervous when there is a big title on the line and that doesn't help to get good results. Jimmy's breeder Anne and her husband had come to watch and I SO wanted to be successful. Oh, well, we will just have to play another day! But it won't be for a while. My next trial isn't until mid-October! You all get a break from these Weekend Reports.
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 65...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 59...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 19 (out of 20 needed) PACH Points: Way more than we need! I have lost count!
I tried out a new trial location for this report. While most people I know have gone to this site many times before, it was just outside my distance range, plus, until this year, it did not have A/C in the agility ring building, just the crating room. The venue is called Bella Vista and the trial was given by the Northern Virginia Brittany Club. It took just about a full two hours to get there, located a good distance north of Gettysburg, PA. That's a lot of driving in one day but, boy, oh BOY! Was it ever worth it this time!
We had a fabulously successful weekend! I had signed us up for four runs, regular Standard and Jumpers, and the trickier Premier Standard and Jumpers. I'll have to apologize up front, there are no videos. I didn't know too many people (not the usual gang here!) and I didn't want to bug anyone for video help.
I have the maps of course. And also a photo of our results.... Since it has been a few days since the trial (last Thursday), I'm not even going try a blow by blow description. I just know I was pleasantly surprised as run after run, Jimmy kept qualifying! When we got down to the fourth and final run, regular Jumpers, I didn't think our luck could possibly hold. But lo and behold, it did! And Jimmy had earned double-Q #19!!!! We are now on the very cusp of finishing his big PACH2 title (Preferred Agility Champion 2). Every trial from now on could be the one! So now I must have someone video us from here on out! Don't want to miss having that on camera!
It was such a lucky day, I even won one of the workers raffles, a Starbucks card! Woohoo! I think I probably should have played the lottery that day!
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 63...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 58...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 19 (out of 20 needed) PACH Points: Way more than we need! I have lost count!
I did what is becoming a usual Friday activity and went to an agility trial at our normal location. This time it was given by the Hyattsville Dog Training Club. I signed up for four runs. The two regular classes, Standard and Jumpers, and then the Premier versions as well.
The day started with Premier Standard and then shifted to regular Standard. Here are the two maps so you can see a side by side comparison of the similarities and differences....
The more difficult Premier is on the left. We were doing fine until the #8 to #9 jumps. There was just a bit too much space between those two jumps and Jimmy felt sure we should be going anywhere but to #9. He ran right past it and we were toast! I didn't get video so I don't remember if we made anymore mistakes, but I don't think so.
Our regular Standard run was a breeze in comparison! There were still lots of odd lines and angles but after Premier, I am sure Jimmy thought this one was easy. We qualified and earned the blue ribbon! Yay, Jimmy.
Next up, Premier Jumpers. Here are the side by side maps.....
Interestingly, this course had no back side jumps. Premier usually has at least one. Standard had it at #2. It was tricky and we were doing well until a very difficult weave pole entry at #14. Jimmy did not want to go in the weaves as you can see in the video. He decided it was the tunnel and off he went! #16 tunnel to #17 jump didn't work either but by then of course we were already disqualified and I didn't care! After so many years of the more straight forward Standard and Jumpers, Jimmy really thinks I am nuts with some of the places I want him to go. I can see the look on his face...."You're CRAZY lady!"
And finally the regular Jumpers course....This was not an easy one! Lots of odd angles and turns that were tough to guide Jimmy through. I got lost at #12 to #13, running up a bit too far. Luckily I was able to correct it before we got a refusal or off course fault. All the dogs absolutely LOVED the tunnel to tunnel finish. They all hauled through leaving their people in the dust! Fortunately, we had a Q and that gave us double-Q #18! Woohoo! Two more to go.....
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 62...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 57...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 18 (out of 20 needed) PACH Points: Way more than we need! I have lost count!
This weekend was another three day trial where I opted for just doing Friday. I signed up for four runs, the usual Standard and Jumpers, and also the trickier Premier Standard and Premier Jumpers. (Premier runs contain more challenges that need to be completed in less time.)
So first up was Premier Standard and I have video! Here are both Premier maps, Standard on the left....
The first challenge and something Jimmy has not seen at a trial ever, but practiced once or twice in his lessons, is the #3 tunnel. Notice how the tunnel entrance faces away from the bottom of the #2 dogwalk bottom. If you watch in the video, Jimmy wasn't sure where he was going and did hesitate a bit before going into the tunnel. The judge could have called that a refusal, but kindly did not. I did a lot of shouting to keep Jimmy heading toward the correct obstacles. He expects more flow so I have watch him closely so he doesn't take what "he thinks" is next. He stayed with me pretty well but alas he knocked down the bar after the weaves. I was still very happy with our run. These are difficult courses and he ran it completely in the correct order. Such a good boy! Here is the video....
I don't have any more videos so feel free to move on. LOL! This stuff can be a tad dry, I know.
Next came regular Standard. You can see it has a few similarities to the Premier course, the tunnel facing the right way of course. Here are the Standard and Jumpers maps...
This was still a pretty tricky course and Jimmy did a great job. We qualified and earned 2nd place. Jimmy's corgi friend Twist smoked him, coming in several seconds faster! Of course now I had hope for a double-Q but it was not to be. Jimmy did not read my turn between #2 and #3 and ran right past the #3 jump, earning a refusal and a disqualified run. He made a couple of other errors as well, but after the first one, the rest don't matter since we are already out.
And finally Premier Jumpers (map in first image on right), another tricky course. #1 to the backside of #2, around the corner to the backside of #3, to the backside of #4, to a tough weave pole entry...whew! A few more manuevers to a tunnel facing away again, and a bunch of jumps to make it through. It wasn't easy and I was constantly calling Jimmy off of what he thought was right, but we made it through clean! Woohoo! It was a long but fun day and we were all pooped and ready to go home!
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 61...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 56...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 17(out of 20 needed) PACH Points: Way more than we need! I have lost count!
At long last, Jimmy and I have broken out of our funk, and gotten back on track! This weekend was one of our favorite trials, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of the Potomac's annual event. I have been doing less agility, usually signing up for only one day, but for this trial, I made sure to sign up for Saturday and Sunday! I am SO glad I did. The courses were challenging and fun, and Jimmy and I seemed to have our timing back. We qualified in all four runs over the weekend, bringing in double-Q #16 and double-Q #17 toward our PACH2 championship title! Whew and yay! I have video of three out of four of the runs, plus stick around to watch something very fun and special at the end of this post.
Map #1 for our Saturday morning Standard run....(photos from my phone so not so great)
And the video.....
Followed by Jumpers....the map...
The video....
Both these runs were successful with a bit of good luck thrown in. I heard Jimmy tick a couple of the jump bars pretty hard, but luckily the bars didn't fall! This was double-Q #16 toward the 20 we need.
On to Sunday...
It started with Standard once again....the map...
The video.....
Of course the last run was another Jumpers run, but I only have the map. I didn't ask anyone to help with the video.
Qualifying in the Jumpers run gave us our second double-Q of the weekend and #17 toward our title. Plus another 97 points all combined for the weekend, but we have many more of those than we need already. We had good, healthy competition this trial so we didn't earn the blue ribbon quite so often, but that's OK! I was thrilled to just double qualify! Here is our pretty rainbow of colors.....
At most trials, I have the only Cardigan Corgi. There are usually several Pembrokes, and at this trial there are tons of Pemmies. But this time quite a few of my Cardigan friends showed up. All told, there were seven Cardis running. Saturday's Standard run had Cardigans winning three of the four placement ribbons! How cool is that?!
Now, at the beginning of this post I told you to stick around for something fun and special. At this trial our judges were Barbara Bounds and Oksana Syrkin. But really, in Oksana's place should have been judge Pam Johnson. Sadly, Pam is very ill and in the hospital, so Oksana was filling in for her. There has been a push to help raise funds for Pam. As we all know in this day and age, being sick is very expensive, especially when you are too sick to work. So the judges volunteered to run one of the agility courses themselves to help bring in donations.
Our dogs are much more proficient at running these course, but it sure is fun to watch people try!
Here is Oksana's run on the course from my first map above....
And then Barbara's turn....same course...
Over the course of the weekend, the judges and competitors managed to raise about $1000. Not too bad! Here's wishing Pam a speedy recovery. We all hope to see her back in the agility ring as soon as she feels better!
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 61...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 55...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 17(out of 20 needed) PACH Points: 1760 plus more! I have lost count!
Jimmy and I just can't seem to get it together lately. Friday we ran three courses and something went wrong in each run.
First the maps:
Our first run was Premier Standard, which is just a trickier and faster version of a normal Standard run. Most of the challenges involve making your dog run around to the backside before jumping. #3 was a backside, and I got myself lost and off balance coming around from sending him. This got Jimmy flustered, and put me behind for doing another backside at #5. We almost pulled it off but Jimmy dropped the #5 bar. The rest was clean, even the odd jumps after the AFrame.
Next up was regular Standard (middle map). We had a nice run going until the jump after the AFrame. Sigh.....but hey, I did get video!
And finally our Jumpers run where I felt confident we would redeem ourselves.....NOT! I knew the weaver entry would be a tad tricky and I thought I worked it enough but alas, Jimmy missed it and went in at the 2nd pole. It's been a long time since we have come home completely Q-less. Of course, Jimmy gets his peanut butter treat either way, so he's fine with it!
Next weekend is the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club trial. Two days of agility! Let's see if that helps!
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 59...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 53...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 15(out of 20 needed) PACH Points: 1760 plus more! I have lost count!
Logging another one of our attempts at getting a double-Q....alas no luck once again! Sigh! I am beginning to think trialing just one day out of the weekend isn't enough for us to find our mojo! So often our weekend trials would end with success in 3 out of 4 runs. So now, with only one day and two runs, we aren't getting enough tries for a double-Q. I'll put this theory to the test at the end of the month when I do both days of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi trial.
Here are the maps:
The day started with Standard (map on the left) and the first obstacle was the tire. Tires are magnetized and break apart if the dog whacks it too hard. That is then considered a fault. Well, right off the bat, Jimmy broke the tire. When I put him in his stay, I had a niggling feeling I had set him just a bit too close, but didn't adjust him. Obviously I should have trusted my instinct! Then, oddly, the judge didn't call it. But I was thrown for a loop by the tire and made my own course mistake so we were very definitely NQ'd! If the rest of our run had been clean, I still would have told the judge about the tire. I never like to take a Q I didn't truly earn.
The Jumpers run had a few odd angles but otherwise went well and fast. Jimmy qualified and earned the blue ribbon! Still a speedy boy at 10!
I have gotten incredibly lazy about videos and for that I do apologize. These weekend reports aren't much without that! I'll share a few pretty flowers from my garden just to add a bit of color to this post....
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 58...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 52...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 15(out of 20 needed) PACH Points: 1600 plus more! I have lost count!
I have been getting lazy about my weekend reports! I actually had a trial last weekend and I never wrote it up! We didn't qualify and I didn't get video so I just let it slide by. Bad me!
So this weekend we had another trial given by the local Golden Retriever club. I only signed up for one day. I still didn't get video. Bad me again! But since we did get one Q, I want to write it up for the record keeping.
Here are the maps:
First up was Standard, the map on the right. The trickiest spot, or so I thought, was the #8 table to the #9 jump. You had to be sure you worked it well enough that your dog took the proper side. We had already cleared our dogwalk contact, and now made it past the table, so I thought we had a good chance for a Q, We made it all the way to #15 and then Jimmy knocked a panel of the #16 jump. A panel jump is one that the dogs can't see through, the bars hold a PVC panel so it looks like jumping a little wall. It's not a jump dogs usually knock because they give a bit of extra effort to clear the "wall", but it could be the big Aframe as the next obstacle played with Jimmy's eyes. You just never know for sure what brings a jump down.
Next up, the Jumpers run, and the left map. Nothing too tricky. It flowed nicely and ran fast. Jimmy finished in a tad over 32 seconds, quick enough for the blue ribbon! Good Boy!
Now, pretty much my only agility goal right now is to finish up Jimmy's PACH2 championship title. We have way more than enough points so we just need five more double-Qs. And we just can't seem pull one off! It's always something! We have no time frame to finish this title, but sooner than later is better for an aging corgi.
On a humorous note.... Jimmy's favorite canine masseuse was at the trial and lucky for us a spot opened up in her schedule. It was right after we were done for the day so perfect timing! Jimmy was so cute. He hopped up on Kim's table and immediately lay down on his side so she could get busy rubbing his back. We didn't even ask him to, he just assumed the postion! LOL!
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 57...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 52...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 15(out of 20 needed) PACH Points: 1600 plus more! I have lost count!
This weekend was a trial given by the Weimaraner club. Just like last week, I only signed up for Friday.
The day started with Premier Standard. Premier is the more challenging version on Standard with less time to get it done and trickier courses.
Here is the map:
It wasn't super difficult. You just needed to be clear on where to go and keep your attention on your dog. I actually walked it incorrectly but it was fairly easy to add in the section I had skipped. Oops!
Jimmy listened very well even if some of his turns were a bit wide. Here is the video:
This run earned him a blue ribbon as the only other dog running in his class did not qualify.
Next came the regular Standard. It was a bit similar to the Premier, but a bit easier. It ran nicely and Jimmy was clean! Another blue ribbon. Good boy!
And finally Jumpers. I had been the leash runner for the big dogs so I had watched lots of runs. I knew right where the most screw-ups happened. If the handler did not properly support the 2nd to last jump (#18), the dogs were pulling off too soon and not taking it. So when it was my turn, I knew I needed to place my rear-cross close to the jump so Jimmy was sure to jump it. To pull off a rear-cross successfully, your dog needs to be ahead of you. Unfortunately, I out ran Jimmy, and couldn't do a rear-cross. So I ran past the jump, hoping to turn Jimmy on the landing side. It worked, but it messed up his stride and he knocked down a bar on the very last jump. Sigh! So close to a double-Q! Completely my fault! I'm not in a hurry to complete my PACH2, but I don't want it to take too long....Jimmy and I aren't getting any younger! LOL!
Sorry, but you will have to use your imagination as I didn't video either STD or JWW. Here are the maps to help visualize!
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 56...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 52...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 15(out of 20 needed) PACH Points: 1582 plus many more! I have lost count!
So now that I have both of my "big events" behind me, I am back to just the usual run-of-the-mill agility trials. It sort of seems anticlimactic now. You invest so much time, effort, and emotion into the National shows, that going to a normal trial (and especially on a quieter Friday!) seems strange.
This weekend (as I said Friday. It was a three day trial.) was a trial given by the Shenandoah Valley Kennel Club and held in Winchester, Va. It was a cold and cloudy day so absolutely perfect for indoor agility!
It started with Jumpers on a fairly tricky course. We were going along well, and getting close to the end. Unfortunately Jimmy crashed the triple jump. Not exactly sure why, maybe the busy background behind the jump made him unsure of what he was jumping. It looked like he didn't jump quite high enough to clear it or he launched a bit too soon. But down the bars went and no Q for us.
Here are the map and video.....
The day moved along quickly and before I knew it was time for Standard. The triple was in pretty much the exact same place but this time Jimmy knew what he was doing and cleared it just fine. We had a nice run everywhere else as well and earned the blue ribbon! Yay for Jimmy! Of course, right now we are counting down the double-Qs to our PACH2 title, so this won't count toward that. But then I don't want to get there too quickly because I don't really have any more goals after that!
Here is the map and sorry, but no video.....
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 56...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 51...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 15(out of 20 needed) PACH Points: 1582 plus many more! I have lost count!
I am so very far behind on my blogging. I really have lost the drive for this. Beautiful spring days, lots of errands, travel, and so much more seem to have taken over. It would be very easy just to let it go.....
But I am not going to let that happen! I still have agility trials to record and another big event! I need to get busy.
On April 29th I drove out to Huron, Ohio to the Sawmill Resort. This was the location of the 75th Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America's National Specialty. I arrived one day early so I could do an agility trial given by the Cleveland Dog Training Club on Sunday the 30th. The trial was held at an indoor soccer building about a half hour from the resort. It was a warm-up for the "real" trial held as part of the Specialty also at the same building.
I signed up for 4 runs. Two regular classes, Jumpers and Standard, and also the tricker and faster Premier Standard and Premier Jumpers.
First up was Premier Standard. Here is the map:
We did it all perfectly except the #4 dogwalk u-turning to the #5 tunnel. He never even saw the tunnel and flew past. Refusal called! Oh, well....
Then came Standard, followed by Jumpers....maps:
These went very well and we qualified in both! Even earning blue ribbons! WooHoo! Qualifying in Standard was my 50th Standard leg (you would not want to do the math on entry fees X # of legs! Just sayin'! LOL!) There was no ribbon available for this big title so they gave me a nice MXP ribbon and I wrote the S on it myself. It was also Double-Q #15 toward our PACH2 big championship title.
This club also gave the best toys for placing so we came home with quite a haul!
The day finished with Premier Jumpers. I can't find the map for this one but here too we had success! Our day ended with 3 out of 4 runs being "in the ribbons"! What a good little boy my Jimmy is!
This trial was fun because it was a new set of agility teams. I got to see lots of new people running dogs I haven't seen before. Quite a change of pace! And because it was the day before the Cardigan Specialty trial, lots of Cardigans were there. That never happens!
Be sure to check back for all the news on the Specialty. Lots to report in my next post!
Tracking Jimmy's PACH 2 progress: Very 1st Double-Q: Sunday 5/1/2016
QQ#20: Masters JWW legs: 56...MJP Title 01/25/15 MJPB 10/11/15 MJPS Title Masters STD legs: 50...MXP Title!10/24/14 MXPB 04/30/17 MXPS Title Double Q's: 15(out of 20 needed) PACH Points: 1582 plus many more! I have lost count!
