Regionals 2009

Maggie and I just attended our very first agility Regionals Championship Trial.  It was amazing.  There were 160 dogs from all across Alberta here in Lethbridge to compete for "Top Dog" and to try to qualify to go the the National Championships later this summer.  I got to watch some of  best agility dogs in our province (and in the world since there were several world team members competing).  All I can say is WOW!  There are some very amazing teams out there.  I am very proud to say many of those great teams were right from our own little agility club.  Everyone from our school did wonderful with  placements in their divisions and with nearly everyone qualifying for Nationals.  We are very lucky to have talented and supportive instructors in Sarah and Amanda.  They are both amazing handlers and wonderful teachers of the sport. 

My goal this weekend with Maggie was to go out there and enjoy being at Regionals.  We had a lot of fun.  Maggie would have had more fun if the weather would have been cooler, but she worked hard and tried her best, which is all I can ask.  We had some really awful runs this weekend.  I say this with a smile because, although Maggie made up some of her own courses and I got lost on one course, I would look over and see "The Maggie Face" and it suddenly didn't matter how poorly we were doing.  The "Maggie Face" looks like this:

This is Maggie just having fun.  My most memorable run of the weekend was the Gamblers on Sunday.  It was hot and Maggie was trying hard to do what I was asking but was really sluggish over all the obstacles.  We ran out of time on our final gamble and the buzzer went indicating our time was up and Maggie suddenly perked up because she knew we were done and sprinted out of the ring, jumping over all the jumps in her path.  Everyone watching laughed and I did too - if Maggie is good at anything, it is making people smile.  

So, we didn't win any ribbons but we had lots of fun and I was just so happy to be playing agility with Maggie, and that is all that should really matter.

Oh ya, we won a door prize.  A big bag filled with dog treats, dog toys, a t-shirt for me and a very cute doggie raincoat.  Here is Maggie modeling the raincoat - doesn't she look cute?

Ok, so it doesn't quite fit, but it is still cute.