Today the pups and I were at an AKC trial at this wonderful indoor soccer center in the Denver area, the dogs did really well :-) Wally had a beautiful standard run with an unfortunate bar... SoBe decided to see if I was willing to maintain my criteria at an AKC trial where we pay premium dollar for 2 whole runs. She learned that I will still maintain criteria even with those very tempting reasons to potentially falter on that a bit. Her standard run was by far the fastest of them all, of course she only did a tire and 1 jump before being carried off the course for breaking her start line! I do love my ever pushy Doodle Bug!
Maze had a beautiful standard run and Q'd with a 1st place :-) We got to play role reversal in JWW, where SoBe took the message to heart, had a very nice stay and a smokin' clean JWW run! Wally also decided that he could Q in JWW since we got that pesky double Q possibility over with in standard :-)
Maze did the always unusual for him, he dropped a bar. So, we were 50% today but alas, no double Q's.. Tomorrow we head back down for another go at it, and, if the weather decides to improve and be as beautiful as they are predicting we may play hooky and go hiking on Monday instead of to the trial, sometimes a lovely hike is a way better idea than a day indoors at a trial :-)
We have a very busy few weeks of trialing coming up, next weekend is a 4 Star USDAA trial in Minnesota, followed by the Alberta Canada Regionals, then another 4 star in Utah :-) There will be a little vacation in between as we are taking the RV and making an extended road trip out of it.
So, what's with the title of todays post? Actually I was thinking about starting a young dog again and it got me thinking about all that is involved in starting the babies trialing.
Next weekend Danger will make his debut in USDAA in jumpers and gamblers. To say I am a bit nervous is sort of an understatement, but mostly I am super excited!!
Danger is such an incredible boy I truly cannot wait to get into the ring with him. I do realize, however, there are a multitude of potential things that can happen and yet, I have know idea what actually will. I just know that he is ready to try out a real trial and I also know that there are going to be tons of things that do not go exactly as planned which is totally fine! I know what I have taught him to do, I know what my criteria is and I know that my expectations can only be for him to do the best he can in a totally new environment on totally new equipment in a very high charged environment.
I am prepared to praise the living daylights out of him, I am prepared to get a full unobstructed view of all of holes that we most certainly have at this point in our training, and, I am fully prepared to enjoy every second of our time out on course no matter what happens!
He is a baby, we are not yet a team, and, I have yet to actually run a "full" course with him even in a training situation. Danger will need experience in the ring to know what to do, "we" need experience in the ring to become a real team, and, my wonderful, beautiful, super smart baby boy needs to learn to walk before he can truly run!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
That's Life...
It is a totally gloomy day here in "colorful Colorado", we have gone from serious draught to monsoon! It has been raining for the better part of 2 weeks, thank goodness I have had "breaks" traveling, here, there, and, everywhere!
I am not a fan of rain but I am seriously scared of fires as well, so, for now I will take the rains which will green everything up and keep the fires at bay at least for a few weeks.
This rain will of course end and we will very quickly ascend into the heat and inevitable draught of summer.
This weather also puts me in a bit of a thoughtful mood, as it were. I have been thinking about the twists and turns that life brings, trying to sort out why things happen the way they do and for what reason. Trust me when I say that I think everything in life happens for a reason, sometimes the reasons are hard to determine but never the less, there are reasons!
Starting with the horrible natural disasters that seem to be rampant in our country and around the World.
These latest tornadoes in Joplin, MO really should put the trivial things into perspective shouldn't they! I am overwhelmed with sadness for all of the people that have lost their homes and even worse, loved ones. I cannot even imagine having such a horrible tragedy hit close to home.
Even with this fresh in our mind, as long as it does not affect us directly we still seem to find a way to feel bad about something that is by comparison not even on the radar of the most minute importance.
I guess this is just one of the many things that make us human, not bad, just human!
Today the news of who will be representing the US in France on the AKC World team was announced, I barely slept at all last night in anticipation of the phone call I was hoping to get, trust me, I have been playing this game long enough to know that there are no guarantees, and, anything can happen, however, Maze and I did an amazing job at tryouts ending up 4th overall proving that we have the skills, patience, experience, and, ability to represent the US at the 2011 World Championships in France.
Well, although I carried the phone with me everywhere, stared at it pretty much continually, and, seriously willed it to ring, it did not.
To say I was not disappointed would be a very big lie, however, when we put it into perspective and weigh it against the grand scheme of things, it is but another blip on the radar of life.
I am going to allow myself to be disappointed, but, most importantly I am going to allow it to help me to continue to work hard at achieving the goals that I set for myself and my dogs in agility.
I am going to use it to push myself to continue to try new and different things, push myself to train and handle even more aggressively than I feel that I already do, and, most importantly, I am going to use this experience to continue to remind myself to enjoy the process!
I have worked hard to get where I am in the wonderful sport of agility and I have been very fortunate to experience a lot of firsts, meet a lot of awesome people, go to the most fabulous places. and, experience what success feels like both in competition and my love and passion for teaching!
There are many more awesome experiences to come for me in this sport I am certain of that, so, todays feeling of disappointment will pass and it will be replaced with euphoria over some wonderful thing, then there will be more disappointments, more euphoria... that's life!
So, before this mornings emotional smack down, I was actually in one of those awesome euphoric states after having the most wonderful time at the SC Regional in Fort Worth, TX. Again, the events, or lack there of :-), of this morning certainly did not take away from the awesomeness of the weekend!
The trial was fantastic! I got to once again see bunches of friends that I have not seen in a while as well as hang with some folks from right here in Colorado, a great time was had by all!
The Colorado/New Mexico/Arizona contingency did super and truly represented the area in an amazing way.
The courses were great, and, my dogs were AWESOME!!! Before I talk about me, I want to say how incredibly proud of Geoff I was! He and Rumor came with me to Fort Worth and after a crazy tax season and truly zero training he and Rumor earned byes into the semi finals of PGP and Perf. Speed Jumping! They also Q'd in both Masters classes offered and took third place in IHC Perf. Jumpers, they are a great team!
Now, about me :-) Maze was a very good boy! He came home with 53 IFCS points, placing in 5 of the 7 IFCS classes, a bye into the GP semis after a 4th place finish, a bye into Steeplechase semis, taking 2nd place overall in the 26" class, and was a member of the third place DAM team!
Wally kicked butt in several classes but my crowning achievement of the weekend with the Wally man was getting a GP semi final bye by going clean through both rounds and doing so without a voucher!
SoBe was my very best doodle bug ever! She placed in team jumpers, team gamblers, and, won masters gamblers in a very competitive 22" field. She looked fabulous and did not have a single run that I was not over the moon about!
So, overall, a FANTASTIC time was had by all :-)
In summary, on occasion life hands us what we consider to be lemons, but, most often life gives us countless things to be appreciative of, happy about, and, down right lucky for! Try not to sweat the small stuff, have a seat and enjoy the lemonade! My friends... THAT'S LIFE!
I am not a fan of rain but I am seriously scared of fires as well, so, for now I will take the rains which will green everything up and keep the fires at bay at least for a few weeks.
This rain will of course end and we will very quickly ascend into the heat and inevitable draught of summer.
This weather also puts me in a bit of a thoughtful mood, as it were. I have been thinking about the twists and turns that life brings, trying to sort out why things happen the way they do and for what reason. Trust me when I say that I think everything in life happens for a reason, sometimes the reasons are hard to determine but never the less, there are reasons!
Starting with the horrible natural disasters that seem to be rampant in our country and around the World.
These latest tornadoes in Joplin, MO really should put the trivial things into perspective shouldn't they! I am overwhelmed with sadness for all of the people that have lost their homes and even worse, loved ones. I cannot even imagine having such a horrible tragedy hit close to home.
Even with this fresh in our mind, as long as it does not affect us directly we still seem to find a way to feel bad about something that is by comparison not even on the radar of the most minute importance.
I guess this is just one of the many things that make us human, not bad, just human!
Today the news of who will be representing the US in France on the AKC World team was announced, I barely slept at all last night in anticipation of the phone call I was hoping to get, trust me, I have been playing this game long enough to know that there are no guarantees, and, anything can happen, however, Maze and I did an amazing job at tryouts ending up 4th overall proving that we have the skills, patience, experience, and, ability to represent the US at the 2011 World Championships in France.
Well, although I carried the phone with me everywhere, stared at it pretty much continually, and, seriously willed it to ring, it did not.
To say I was not disappointed would be a very big lie, however, when we put it into perspective and weigh it against the grand scheme of things, it is but another blip on the radar of life.
I am going to allow myself to be disappointed, but, most importantly I am going to allow it to help me to continue to work hard at achieving the goals that I set for myself and my dogs in agility.
I am going to use it to push myself to continue to try new and different things, push myself to train and handle even more aggressively than I feel that I already do, and, most importantly, I am going to use this experience to continue to remind myself to enjoy the process!
I have worked hard to get where I am in the wonderful sport of agility and I have been very fortunate to experience a lot of firsts, meet a lot of awesome people, go to the most fabulous places. and, experience what success feels like both in competition and my love and passion for teaching!
There are many more awesome experiences to come for me in this sport I am certain of that, so, todays feeling of disappointment will pass and it will be replaced with euphoria over some wonderful thing, then there will be more disappointments, more euphoria... that's life!
So, before this mornings emotional smack down, I was actually in one of those awesome euphoric states after having the most wonderful time at the SC Regional in Fort Worth, TX. Again, the events, or lack there of :-), of this morning certainly did not take away from the awesomeness of the weekend!
The trial was fantastic! I got to once again see bunches of friends that I have not seen in a while as well as hang with some folks from right here in Colorado, a great time was had by all!
The Colorado/New Mexico/Arizona contingency did super and truly represented the area in an amazing way.
The courses were great, and, my dogs were AWESOME!!! Before I talk about me, I want to say how incredibly proud of Geoff I was! He and Rumor came with me to Fort Worth and after a crazy tax season and truly zero training he and Rumor earned byes into the semi finals of PGP and Perf. Speed Jumping! They also Q'd in both Masters classes offered and took third place in IHC Perf. Jumpers, they are a great team!
Now, about me :-) Maze was a very good boy! He came home with 53 IFCS points, placing in 5 of the 7 IFCS classes, a bye into the GP semis after a 4th place finish, a bye into Steeplechase semis, taking 2nd place overall in the 26" class, and was a member of the third place DAM team!
Wally kicked butt in several classes but my crowning achievement of the weekend with the Wally man was getting a GP semi final bye by going clean through both rounds and doing so without a voucher!
SoBe was my very best doodle bug ever! She placed in team jumpers, team gamblers, and, won masters gamblers in a very competitive 22" field. She looked fabulous and did not have a single run that I was not over the moon about!
So, overall, a FANTASTIC time was had by all :-)
In summary, on occasion life hands us what we consider to be lemons, but, most often life gives us countless things to be appreciative of, happy about, and, down right lucky for! Try not to sweat the small stuff, have a seat and enjoy the lemonade! My friends... THAT'S LIFE!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
World Team Tryouts!!!
I could not be more proud of Maze, or, myself for that matter! World Team Tryouts were held in Hopkins, MN this past weekend and it was fantastic!!!
I honestly do not think that Maze could have run any better, nor, has he ever run better than he did at tryouts.
We were focused, rested, and, ready to rock and roll! The tryouts are such an incredible competition with amazing dog and handler teams from all over the US competing for a coveted spot on the team. These few spots could go to any of the awesome dog and handler teams and to have landed in 4th place overall has me seated securely on cloud 9!
The courses were so much fun! I truly wish we had opportunities to run these types of courses on a more regular basis, they really push you to better yourself as a trainer and handler.
The organization of the event was amazing and the facility wonderful!
The atmosphere at tryouts although highly charged, is also laid back from the standpoint of support among competitors. Each and every person there is genuinely excited for the other competitors, the support is fabulous and the environment competitive and FUN!
The surface was great and Maze handled it brilliantly, no slipping at all.
We came away from the weekend with 3 clean rounds, 3 placements, and, 2 rounds that although not clean were fantastic none the less. Maze never missed a weave pole, touched a bar, pushed a contact or second guessed a single direction. I cannot tell the future, and, at this point have no idea whether we will be going to France this year, but, I can say in all honesty that we are ready, willing and able to represent the US and the AKC, and, whether we are here in the US or over in France come October I could not be more pleased with our performance at the tryouts!
I honestly do not think that Maze could have run any better, nor, has he ever run better than he did at tryouts.
We were focused, rested, and, ready to rock and roll! The tryouts are such an incredible competition with amazing dog and handler teams from all over the US competing for a coveted spot on the team. These few spots could go to any of the awesome dog and handler teams and to have landed in 4th place overall has me seated securely on cloud 9!
The courses were so much fun! I truly wish we had opportunities to run these types of courses on a more regular basis, they really push you to better yourself as a trainer and handler.
The organization of the event was amazing and the facility wonderful!
The atmosphere at tryouts although highly charged, is also laid back from the standpoint of support among competitors. Each and every person there is genuinely excited for the other competitors, the support is fabulous and the environment competitive and FUN!
The surface was great and Maze handled it brilliantly, no slipping at all.
We came away from the weekend with 3 clean rounds, 3 placements, and, 2 rounds that although not clean were fantastic none the less. Maze never missed a weave pole, touched a bar, pushed a contact or second guessed a single direction. I cannot tell the future, and, at this point have no idea whether we will be going to France this year, but, I can say in all honesty that we are ready, willing and able to represent the US and the AKC, and, whether we are here in the US or over in France come October I could not be more pleased with our performance at the tryouts!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Aloha!
Mahalo to all of my students in Hawaii for a wonderful time! Hawaii was exactly what it sounds like, paradise!!
Although Geoff and I came home with a massive sunburn, it was well worth it considering it was a by-product of a wonderful afternoon in a private lagoon swimming under waterfalls and drinking wine!
This was on Friday after 2 fabulous days of teaching, and 4 days of playing on the big island of Hawaii. Geoff and I spent 2 days in Kona, touring the Kona Brewery, going Parasailing, and, just hanging out.
We followed these days with a kayak trip down a sugar cane factory irrigation ditch and a lovely horseback ride in the mountains.
After all of this relaxation I needed a rest :-) Saturday and Sunday I was once again wearing the instructor hat and as always thoroughly enjoyed my students!
The hospitality was amazing, the landscape and weather to die for and the fabulous guest cottage that we stayed in, was, well... fabulous :-)
Now, back to reality!
We got home yesterday morning after an overnight flight so I cannot say I was worth much yesterday other than to clean up the house and the yard a bit :-) I did manage to get a little training done with Danger and Maze before I went to bed!
Maze and I head to Minneapolis this weekend for the AKC World team tryouts we are so ready!! I am truly excited and seriously looking forward to the weekend! Not only do we get to compete with some of the best dogs around but I get to see some people that I have not seen in quite some time and visit, that is a bonus!
I worked on some International skills with the Maze meister today and he was superb! Definitely feeling good and ready to rock this weekend!
SoBe is on hiatus until tomorrow as she had a bit of surgery last week... Needless to say she is driving me insane as she watches me take dog after dog to the building and she is not one of them!! I promised her tomorrow!
Danger is doing super and I have actually bit the bullet and entered him in a couple of classes at the USDAA trial in June in Minnesota, it will be great ring experience at the very least, and, huge enjoyment for the spectators I am sure! I will keep you all posted on how it goes.
Well, I am of course trying to get back to a regular sleep cycle, however, not quite there yet, so... Good Night all!
Although Geoff and I came home with a massive sunburn, it was well worth it considering it was a by-product of a wonderful afternoon in a private lagoon swimming under waterfalls and drinking wine!
This was on Friday after 2 fabulous days of teaching, and 4 days of playing on the big island of Hawaii. Geoff and I spent 2 days in Kona, touring the Kona Brewery, going Parasailing, and, just hanging out.
We followed these days with a kayak trip down a sugar cane factory irrigation ditch and a lovely horseback ride in the mountains.
After all of this relaxation I needed a rest :-) Saturday and Sunday I was once again wearing the instructor hat and as always thoroughly enjoyed my students!
The hospitality was amazing, the landscape and weather to die for and the fabulous guest cottage that we stayed in, was, well... fabulous :-)
Now, back to reality!
We got home yesterday morning after an overnight flight so I cannot say I was worth much yesterday other than to clean up the house and the yard a bit :-) I did manage to get a little training done with Danger and Maze before I went to bed!
Maze and I head to Minneapolis this weekend for the AKC World team tryouts we are so ready!! I am truly excited and seriously looking forward to the weekend! Not only do we get to compete with some of the best dogs around but I get to see some people that I have not seen in quite some time and visit, that is a bonus!
I worked on some International skills with the Maze meister today and he was superb! Definitely feeling good and ready to rock this weekend!
SoBe is on hiatus until tomorrow as she had a bit of surgery last week... Needless to say she is driving me insane as she watches me take dog after dog to the building and she is not one of them!! I promised her tomorrow!
Danger is doing super and I have actually bit the bullet and entered him in a couple of classes at the USDAA trial in June in Minnesota, it will be great ring experience at the very least, and, huge enjoyment for the spectators I am sure! I will keep you all posted on how it goes.
Well, I am of course trying to get back to a regular sleep cycle, however, not quite there yet, so... Good Night all!
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