The Weekend Report: Yes! You Read That Right!!!!

First, I must rant! I just spent an hour writing up this post, previewing along the way, and was almost done...so close. I fumbled fingered it somehow, and all my text was gone! Vanished! Not saved as a draft, just gone. ARRGGGHHHH!!!!!! Now I don't have the patience to rewrite it as I had it. Sigh!

Here's an abbreviated version:

This past weekend, Jimmy and I actually tried our hand (and my knee) at an agility trial. I needed to know where I was in my recovery. I truly didn't want the big AKC National Agility Championship at the end of this month to be our first try since early December.

Currently, Jimmy and I are sitting at Double-Q #19. We need twenty to complete our championship title called a MACH. We already have all the points we need so it's just getting that last double-Q. Ordinarily, my nerves would have been on overdrive, worrying about getting two successful runs. But, having no idea if I could really even run, let alone run fast enough to show Jimmy where to go, and also worried that it could potentially be very painful, I had no nerves at all about earning Double-Q #20! I just wanted to see if I could do agility at this point in my recovery. And I found out, yes, I can! Woohoo!

No doubt about it, I have a significant limp. I don't have full speed capability yet. But I learned I have enough to get through a course without frustrating Jimmy. And it really doesn't hurt, just feels odd or maybe twingey.Even after two days of agility, my leg was not sore this morning. This is really happy news. I still have another 10 days I can use to improve my stride now that I trust my leg more.

As to how the weekend went, course wise, let's just say we came very close to earning our championship. Each day, just one downed bar stood in our way. When you consider that my lurching stride was a big distraction for Jimmy, he did a great job. Saturday just one JWW bar, Sunday in Standard, the top bar of the triple. Other than that we had nice runs where I managed to get to where I needed to be.

In addition to our Jumpers and Standard runs, this trial also offered Time2Beat. In an effort to spare my knee too much work, my friend Gretchen handled Jimmy for those runs both days. Many dogs won't run for anyone but their owner. However, with just a tiny bit of angst and a brief look back at me, Jimmy flew around the courses with Gretchen like they had done it 100 times before. Gretchen runs her own Pembroke Corgis, so Jimmy's speed and style of running were pretty familiar and she did a wonderful job, Q'ing both days! She even finished our Time2Beat (T2B) title for us. Thank you, Gretchen!

Jimmy's registered name is now:

Fine Creek's Sharp Dressed Man RN HT MX3 MXJ4 MJB MXB OF T2B

How's that for alphabet soup?

The weekend leaves me feeling very hopeful that I can go to the big event feeling, if not ready, maybe secure in the knowledge I'll be able to get around the ring. The truth of the matter is, even before my knee, we were never going to the podium. The accomplishment for us was in the qualifying. And for me, the experience of competing at a big National event. So barring anymore unexpected surprises, we'll be there! It may not be our A game, but we will be there!

Here's are a few videos.....

Saturday Standard:





Sunday JWW






Sunday Standard:





Sunday Time2Beat:

The Weekend Report - I Overslept!

One thing about agility trials that isn't so great is that you usually have to get up at the crack of dawn (or even earlier!) to be there with enough time to settle in, walk the dogs, get your armband sticker, and have time for the obsessive walk-thru. That being said, I set my alarm clock for 5AM on Saturday morning so I could have a full hour to get myself out the door. Well, when my eyes first opened, I immediately noticed the day was getting light! Yikes! 5AM is still full dark out this time of year! I knew I was in trouble. I must have been sleeping so heavily the alarm never roused me! I looked at the clock and saw that I had only fifteen minutes to get out the door for the hour and a half drive to the trial. CRAP! No time for coffee, and you definitely wouldn't like me on a day that starts without coffee! All I could do was feed Jimmy and Wilson, throw them in the car and go! No time for even a short walk. Good thing I had had my shower before bed ;-) So, of course, when the day starts this frantically, every new delay adds to the frenzy. The drive to the trial site wound through Maryland farm country, and while beautiful, getting stuck behind a piece of farm equipment that is taking up a full 3/4s of the full road width with no hope of passing is nothing if not maddening, angry and insane! I did manage to arrive at pretty much the time I had planned for but certainly not in the frame of mind I needed. And, unfortunately, this sort of set the mood for the whole weekend. Jimmy and I just could not get it together. If Jimmy was doing his job, I was screwing up. Jimmy popped out of the weaves on two runs, which is usually not something I need to fear. The first time he had not one, but two tunnels gaping at him at the end of the poles. The lure was too great and he popped at pole ten. Later, on our very last run, the poles were angled into the wall. He again popped out at ten. I'd say it's time for a Chiro checkup to see if he's out of adjustment somewhere. This was a one ring trial and the days were very long, with a lot of down time between runs. That never helps to keep us on track.

 There was one very bright spot in the weekend. This trial offered the optional class called Time to Beat. There is only one winner in each jump height, and that goes to the fastest dog. Jimmy won the 12 inch class and got the blue ribbon! He earned the full ten points for being first. This has never happened before and may not again as it is very hard to beat the 12 inch Shelties/Jacks/Cockers, etc. For this particular run, we lucked into the right combo of dogs that let Jimmy come out on top! Yay, Jimmy! While not shining examples of either my or Jimmy's skills, here are our Standard runs...I certainly don't have to worry about my ego getting out of control!


 

A very poorly planted front cross by me before the table ensured Jimmy didn't know where to go so we got a refusal. Completely my fault and of course everything else was clean.



Since we added nothing to our MACH quest or our Nat'l tallies, I'll leave off our progress info for this post.....We will try again another day!

I should have gone to the BlogPaws Conference instead!

The Weekend Report - Oh, The Irony!

This weekend was our last agility trial of the year. It was held by the Capital City Cocker Club. They are a very fun bunch and put on a great trial. It was held at an equestrian center so the footing was great. Last year the place was a bit dark and too dusty, but the club had them water it down better this time. The place also made sure all the ceiling lights were working properly. It was quite improved this year!

On Saturday, I have to say Karma was having her fun with me. As you know from previous agility posts, Jimmy doesn't like the table. But it seems to be improving. If I can fit in a front-cross, he seems to pop right on. Well, Saturday's course really didn't need a front-cross, but I tried to throw one in any way. It was so poorly planted, I blocked Jimmy's approach to the table and nearly made him miss the table. He just about broke the back refusal plane and hesitated about getting on. A stricter judge would have called me with a refusal, but this sweet judge let it slide, and we ran the rest clean for a Q!

A bit later, it was time for Jumpers. It wasn't too difficult and of course I had my fingers crossed for another Q. I led out and released Jimmy. He made it one jump before a Doberman in the Standard ring SLAMMED the teeter so hard, it sounded like a shotgun blast. I didn't even know what the noise, it was that loud. It even echoed. Well, Jimmy is quite scared of fireworks and gunfire, and he just plain froze. He kept waiting for more of the same. He of course got called with a refusal for stopping. With much coaxing, I was able to get him moving again. We ran clean but over time......I guess Karma decided the first judge was just a bit too nice and decided to prevent a Double Q :-(

The club offered the optional Time 2 Beat, so we had signed up for that. It was in the same ring as the Jumpers had been, and I was happy to see Jimmy had let go of his fear. We ran cleanly and earned another leg and 7 more points.

Sunday started with Standard again. It was chute to the table this time and absolutely no way to fit in a front-cross. I just had to go with it. Jimmy slowed noticeably before getting on, and it looked like he was getting ready to sass me. But he did hop on, I praised him, and off we went to another Q! Yay!

Jumpers was a tricky course and all was going well until a double jump about 3/4s through the course. Jimmy nicked the top bar and down it came.....Heavy Sigh...

After such a long struggle with Qing in Standard, it is so ironic that now we are having difficulties getting a Jumpers Q! But I am very thankful that we have made such great progress on the table. This was the 6th Standard Q in a row! That means success on the table as well as success on the dogwalk contact.

Jimmy had a professional massage before going home. Anne said he definitely had some tightness in his iliopsoas muscles and spent a lot of time trying to work it out. She said it was time for Jimmy to take a break. Good thing the season is over for us! I guess Wilson will be filling in for class again for a bit! And speaking of Wilson, he got to run a Jumpers course on Saturday. He was quite happy to play and even did his weaves! Alas, he took one bar so we did not Q, but it was fun none the less!

Here's Saturday's Standard run with my messy table handling front and center:




Tracking Jimmy's MACH progress:
Excellent B JWW legs: 24  Now he's working on his MXJ3!
Excellent B STD legs: 13. We earned our MX and are working on MX2 now.
Double Q's: 8 (out of 20 double-Q's needed for a MACH.... 40 Percent!)
MACH Points: 561 (out of 750 speed points needed for a MACH...... 75 Percent!)

Time 2 Beat legs: 6 (out of 15 needed for his T2B) 48 points (out of 100 needed) 

The Weekend Report - A Table for the 4th Time in a Row!

Yesterday was another fun day of agility. This trial was an outdoor trial held at a farm over on Eastern Shore, Maryland. I was worried the place would be a muddy mess after the passing of Hurricane Sandy, but it was really quite dry. The forecast was for a chilly, but sunny day. Well, the weatherman was right about the chilly, but there was very little sun. It came out for the last run of the day.

The first run was Standard. It was a tight course (the judge runs Corgis!) but not too difficult. It was Aframe to the Table, which seems to be working for Jimmy recently. I front-crossed in between and he hopped right on! Good boy! We ran the rest cleanly and it was a Q! We weren't quite fast enough to place in the ribbons, coming in 5th.

Next, Jumpers. Again, not too tough. A big circle that eventually led to a triple in a corner. Unfortunately Jimmy took this jump out, knocking the top bar. Being an outdoor trial, the ground is not level everywhere, and this jump caused the dogs to jump slightly uphill. It was just enough that a lot of dogs didn't get over cleanly. There was lots of grumbling :-) This was our only mistake but as such no Q and no Double-Q for the day. While I was a bit disappointed, I was stilled thrilled at getting the table yet again in my first run. Success on the table is much more important in the long run!

This trial offered the optional course called Time to Beat (T2B). It was a nice flowing course (as they should be, but some judges seem to forget that) and Jimmy cruised around cleanly and quickly. Now with T2B only the fastest dog get a placement ribbon, and our butt was kicked by a very speedy King Charles Cavalier. Jimmy was the next speediest so he did get 9 points toward his title and of course another leg.

I forgot my video camera so I am afraid there's no agility clips to share. This trial was about an hour and a half ride from home. To get there, I needed to cross the huge Chesapeake Bay Bridge . Well, as it usually is with agility trials, you are driving at the crack of dawn in order to arrive in plenty of time to settle in. Fortunately the clocks going back an hour eased the pain of getting up so early.  I got to the bridge just as the sun was beginning to color the sky. I didn't catch quite the picture I wanted but it gives a hint of how pretty it was to cross the bridge so early. Another reward for arising early!

And at mid-span, I liked the abstract quality of the support structure.....

I've got more pictures from the farm, but I will save them for later. I've got to conserve my blog fodder, don't cha know :-)


Tracking Jimmy's MACH progress:
Excellent B JWW legs: 24  Now he's working on his MXJ3!
Excellent B STD legs: 11 We earned our MX and are working on MX2 now.
Double Q's: 8 (out of 20 double-Q's needed for a MACH.... 40 Percent!)
MACH Points: 520 (out of 750 speed points needed for a MACH...... 69 Percent!)

Time 2 Beat legs: 5 (out of 15 needed for his T2B) 41 points (out of 100 needed) 

The Weekend Report - Two Out of Three.......But....

.....unfortunately not the two out of three I needed for a double-Q. Sigh.

This trial was out on Eastern Shore, Maryland at the beautiful farm I've reported on before. It was a very chilly morning, overcast until midday. Our first fun of the day was Standard and although it looked like it could be tricky, many dogs qualified. Jimmy gave me a beautiful table, nailed his dogwalk contact, and was nice and speedy. When the results were posted, Jimmy had earned a third place ribbon. Good Boy!

Next up, JWW. It really wasn't too bad of a course, just a couple areas of concern. If Jimmy is going to drop a bar, it's usually on a double jump or a triple jump because not only does he have to jump up but he has to jump wider than usual. Unfortunately, there was a double at the back corner of the course, in a spot that made getting a straight on path over it rather difficult. I didn't work the turn quite hard enough to give Jimmy a better angle, and down it went, taking our double-Q with it. I think I see the purchase of a double jump in my future as this needs more practice than a once-a-week class can provide.

At the very end of the day came the Time 2 Beat class. Only one dog earns a ribbon (and 10 points) in this class and the rest earn points based on how close they come to the winner's time. Jimmy gave a nice speedy run and earned another 9 points toward his title. He's now got 24 points/3 legs out of the 100 points/15 legs it takes to title.

I didn't take any photos of the farm this time. I have lots already and just didn't get around to it. I did take one shot as I headed out for home. How's this for an agility trial in the middle of nowhere......?

Tracking Jimmy's MACH progress:
Excellent B JWW legs: 13 (out of 10 needed for his MXJ) Now he's working on his MXJ2!
Excellent B STD legs: 4 (out of 10 needed for his MX) But at least we are now in B class!
Double Q's: 2 (out of 20 double-Q's needed for a MACH)
MACH Points: 244 (out of 750 speed points needed for a MACH)

Time 2 Beat legs: 3 (out of 15 needed for his T2B) 24 points (out of 100 needed)