USDAA Crosby - October 31st - Happy Halloween!

Well this past weekend was a huge success in my eyes. Pyper and I had 5 runs all weekend; 2 Standard, 2 Jumpers and 1 Speed Jumping (which is a competition that all levels compete in).

First run on Saturday was Jumpers. We started off a little rough but we cleaned it up nicely in the second half of the run. Well except the very last jump...where I fell on my butt! :) Glad I have it on video so I can share with everyone! ENJOY! Oh by the way, We Q'd this run.



Second run of the day was Speed Jumping. This was a Great run! This was Pyper's very first time attempting and completing 12 weave poles in competition. She was fantastic. We dropped a bar (# 7) which took us over time, the dropped bar added 5 seconds to our time. If the bar wouldn't have dropped we would've move to round 2 on Sunday. No big deal! We still had a great run!

Last run on Saturday was a standard run. A bunch of first times for Pyper in competition in this run. First Table, First Chute, First Teeter, First Tire. All in all I think she did great. She missed the contact zone on the A-Frame which gave us 5 faults, but still a good run.

Sunday morning we started with Standard. I think I blocked Pyper's view of the weave poles so that made her struggle on her entry? But we would've been ok except when she missed her 3rd last pole and I went to bring her back to start again, she entered the poles backwards which gave us 5 points. This was my bad, I should've called her around to my right. Oh well. Again I am really happy with this run.

Last run of the weekend, Jumpers. Probably our 2nd best run of the weekend, over the Speed Jumping run. With a little work on Rear Crosses we should be in great shape for the next trial. We Q'd in this Run.

Accomplishments for the weekend: Pyper successfully completed 12 weave poles, table, chute, broad jump, tire, and teeter, all of which were a first for her in competition! Great job Pyper.
Lessons learned this weekend. Pyper and I need to really concentrate on our contacts. Think we are going to work on 2 on 2 off method for the teeter and the dog walk, and a running A-frame. Also need to work on Rear Crosses.
Take aways. This weekend I really started to get comfortable in the agility world and started to see the big picture. I really concentrated hard on trialing the same as I train, meaning I made myself follow the same rules that I train by; trying to stick my contacts, don't get jumpy and release too soon. I also discovered that I love that USDAA provides course maps; I believe it helped me run the course better. I also made a point to concentrate better. I see all of this as success!
Besides great runs. We had a really nice weekend watching our friends run their dogs. Renee King ran Hamlet and Cisco, Jackie Bludworth ran Jill and Pete, Elizabeth Blanchard ran Demo, Dodge and Roxie, and sorry Blake but I had a hard time keeping track of who you ran.
We also had the honor to watch Linda Mecklenburg run her dogs this weekend. Linda is a VERY accomplished individual in the sport of agility. Her handling system is one of the top handling systems used in the US today, and just happens to be the handling system that Renee is teaching to me. This weekend was a great opportunity for everyone to learn from a GREAT handler. She ran Wonder and Super in all classes. What a treat!