Go!Dog!Go! Agility Trial

This weekend, our agility club hosted our annual agility trial.  It sure is great to have a trial at home and not need to travel, even if the weather was rainy on Sunday.  The best part of the weekend was seeing the group of new students from our club participate in their very first trial.  This group started training last spring(2009) and they have been working so hard to get ready for this trial.  All the hard work paid off and they all did great!  I was so excited to see them run and see their dogs have a great time out on course.  I think the handlers had a good time too and if they were nervous, you sure couldn't tell.

For my own dogs, I couldn't have been happier with them.  The cooler weather sure does make a difference in how they run.  I have also been feeling more confident on course lately, so that may make a difference as well.

Maggie was entered in 5 runs over the weekend.  She ran well in all her runs - she was fast but didn't get the zoomies and she tried very hard.  She had great times in her 2 Masters Standard runs, but had weave faults in each.  She tried very hard in the 2 Masters Gambler runs and had lots of points in her openings, but distance work is hard for her, and although she tried hard to figure out what I wanted her to do, she did not get the final gambles.  She did have an awesome Masters Snooker run and earned a 'Q' for her efforts.  Yay Maggie!

Bosley worked very hard this weekend, and was under time in all his runs (even Jumpers).  He had an awesome Advanced Standard run, but then knocked the very last bar - it was totally my fault too.  There was a very odd finish line, so I decelerated at the last jump instead of running straight through, so Bosley pulled up and knocked the bar.  His second Standard run was very nice too, and he "Q'd that one and was 11 seconds under time.  He was the only dog who qualified in that run.

Bosley's Advanced Gamblers runs were really, really good.  I used to dread running in Gamblers, but I have worked hard to get some distance with Bosley, and he rocked it this weekend.  He 'Q'd his first Gambler run with 48 points.  The second run he 'Q'd with an amazing (for Bosley) 76 points where he managed to do the 12 point mini gamble twice.  This one had a tricky final gamble and only 2 dogs were able to get the final.  So now Bosley moves to Masters Gamblers (yikes!).  We will need to work on more distance in the weaves and get him more confident turning away from me.

Bosley ran nice in both his Advanced Jumpers.  The Saturday run, he knocked the first bar, but did well on the rest and finished 4.5 seconds under time.  In Sunday's run, he ran fast the entire course, even through the twisty parts, and he got his first Advanced Jumpers 'Q'.

Bosley was also entered in Advanced Snooker.  We had a great opening and needed to get to the end of 6 in the closing to qualify.  Bosley knocked a bar in the #5 sequence so we got tweeted off.  Not sure why that bar fell, but it was raining when we were running so maybe that was why.  Regardless, we were so close, and Bosley ran great.

Only one more outdoor trial left this season.