We're back from our trip up-island to Courtenay to take part in the Roadsters' agility trial that was held over the Labour Day weekend. Lorri, Peni and I headed out mid-afternoon on Friday, with the van packed to the roof with 6 dogs, 3 people and a whole lot of human and canine paraphenalia. We arrived at the local exhibition grounds and set up our tent so we wouldn't be in a panic to do it all in the morning when we were trying to get everything else done and getting our dogs ready to run.
We were all very proud of our dogs for accomplishing what they did over the weekend. We didn't have many Qs (Abby had 2, Betty and Switch (!) each had one; I don't think Mylo got a Q, but he did get a second place in one of his runs, and he's finally getting the hang of actually putting his butt down when he does the table obstacle. Switch's Jumpers run was a joy to watch. Peni just kept him moving, and at the end, I don't know which of the two was more surprised by their accomplishment!
Abby's Qs came in Advanced Standard (just one more to go before she's into the Masters level!), and in Starters Snooker -- which had been her one remaining Starters level class. With that Q, she got her Starters Snooker title and her Starters Game Dog of Canada (SGDC) title, the latter requiring a certain number of Qs in three games (Jumpers, Snooker, Gamblers) at the Starters level.
Zack got skunked in the Qs, but had some good runs nonetheless. Despite no Qs, he did finish first in three of his runs, so that was his big accomplishment for the weekend. Gemma's big accomplishment? She actually completed TWO runs, no mean feat considering that the rings had no fences around them -- something that pretty much guaranteed that a dog who is still lacking a lot of focus is going to exit the ring at some point in their runs. Gemma's first complete run was her last one on Saturday, an accomplishment made all the more amazing as there were high winds throughout her run, and a jump blew over just as she was about to take it. She kept her cool and her focus and kept on going. Nobody was more surprised than me! Except maybe the judge who had watched her scamper out of the ring on her previous two runs. He was grinning very broadly when we finished. In the two runs she completed, she chalked up two second places; you can bet that I picked up her second-place ribbons for her!
There was an event photographer on hand, so I hopefully will have some pix of the Silkies to post sometime later. But here are a few of Mylo, Betty and Switch in action (you can see more by clicking on the Flickr photostream on the right-hand side of the blog):
We were all very proud of our dogs for accomplishing what they did over the weekend. We didn't have many Qs (Abby had 2, Betty and Switch (!) each had one; I don't think Mylo got a Q, but he did get a second place in one of his runs, and he's finally getting the hang of actually putting his butt down when he does the table obstacle. Switch's Jumpers run was a joy to watch. Peni just kept him moving, and at the end, I don't know which of the two was more surprised by their accomplishment!
Abby's Qs came in Advanced Standard (just one more to go before she's into the Masters level!), and in Starters Snooker -- which had been her one remaining Starters level class. With that Q, she got her Starters Snooker title and her Starters Game Dog of Canada (SGDC) title, the latter requiring a certain number of Qs in three games (Jumpers, Snooker, Gamblers) at the Starters level.
Zack got skunked in the Qs, but had some good runs nonetheless. Despite no Qs, he did finish first in three of his runs, so that was his big accomplishment for the weekend. Gemma's big accomplishment? She actually completed TWO runs, no mean feat considering that the rings had no fences around them -- something that pretty much guaranteed that a dog who is still lacking a lot of focus is going to exit the ring at some point in their runs. Gemma's first complete run was her last one on Saturday, an accomplishment made all the more amazing as there were high winds throughout her run, and a jump blew over just as she was about to take it. She kept her cool and her focus and kept on going. Nobody was more surprised than me! Except maybe the judge who had watched her scamper out of the ring on her previous two runs. He was grinning very broadly when we finished. In the two runs she completed, she chalked up two second places; you can bet that I picked up her second-place ribbons for her!
There was an event photographer on hand, so I hopefully will have some pix of the Silkies to post sometime later. But here are a few of Mylo, Betty and Switch in action (you can see more by clicking on the Flickr photostream on the right-hand side of the blog):
Switch heads for the chute.
Betty rounds the corner.
Mylo shows perfect form on the table.
And here are the Silkies, with their booty from the weekend:
Gemma looks amazed at her two second-place ribbons.
Zack rests on his laurels.
Abby is overwhelmed by her ribbon collection from the weekend.
1 comment:
WELL DONE!!!
I'm loving the photos and their captions...may have to print them out for my classroom bulletin board!
xoxo
Laurie
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