Great Expectations

Well, the 2009 agility season has started off with a bang. We began practicing at Red Gate arena two weeks ago, the first real practices we have had all winter. I was very tired after the practice but Tucker and Ceilidh seemed quite excited.

Then last weekend we had out first trial, I was nervous and, of course, Ceilidh picked up on that and got quite wild over the weekend. She did make all of her contacts but weaves were another story, she popped twice at the tenth pole and once she popped halfway through the weaves. She also refused the teeter once. She did have a good Masters Jumpers but I didn't give her a very good entry to the tunnel and she went by the tunnel mouth for an off-course. Tucker, however had a spectacular weekend, five runs and five qualifying scores. The hiatus over the winter was just what he needed. We even got a qualifying score in Snooker, which is usually hard for us to achieve with only 55 seconds.

We had another practice on Wednesday evening and Tucker's little streak continued. He did the Standard course twice without a fault and got all of the mini gambles and even the main gamble we practiced with only a little help from me. Even Ceilidh had a clear round on a Masters course, a first for her. She is so sensitive to my body position and timing that there is always something that throws her off course.

We have another trial tomorrow. I still have as my goal for Ceilidh to get a Masters Q in any event other than Jumpers and now with the practice we had on Wednesday I know that is achievable. A Masters Jumpers would be nice too as that would be her Expert Bronze Jumpers title. My goal for Tucker has changed somewhat, we now are working toward his Bronze Lifetime award, we need two Standard qualifying scores and two Games qualifying scores. I hope that I don't get my expectations too high after Tucker's performance at Morning Star and a good practice by both of them.