C'ATChC'ing Up!

We've been away on our holidays so we've got some catching up to do.  I'll post about our vacation activities later but this post is about the agility trials we did while we were Down East.

First up was the Little River "Not the Nationals" trial. The trial started on Friday with two Steeplechase, we didn't Q in either of them. My leg was still bothering me a little go I couldn't run all out. On the Saturday and Sunday, they have 2 Standards, 2 Gamblers and 2 Jumpers just like at Nationals and they score the runs two ways, one for your qualifying score and one for points like at Nationals.

Beckett and Keltic down by the Little River

The runs over the weekend were challenging and Beckett ran well but because of my leg, I was a bit tentative with my running so I kept getting behind him and incurring refusals when he started to spin. In our first Gamble, I planned quite a conservative course so I could get enough opening points but I wouldn't have to run too much. The first time we took the double jump, you can hear the judge call 0, that's because Beckett managed to jump between the uprights of the double rather than doing both bars. Pretty impressed he didn't knock any bars down doing that. Any way, we got the main gamble and had enough points for a qualifying score which gave us our Masters Gamblers title and our Agility Trial Champion of Canada title.

Beckett with the judge and me.

The link to the YouTube video of Beckett's ATChC Run

We also had done well enough in the first two Steeplechase runs that we qualified for the Steeplechase challenge so our third Steeplechase was not only for a Q but also for a money prize. Good thing there are no refusals on Steeplechase. We Q'd and came in third among the mini Regular dogs winning a $20 prize.

Sunday, we didn't Q any of our events but our Jumpers run was beautiful. We didn't Q because I had one moment where I forgot the course for just a second and in that second Beckett spun before a jump and we had one refusal for that run. We did do well enough over the weekend to win first place for mini Regular dogs at the Not the Nationals. We won a nice light blue rosette for that.

The next weekend we were at the Little River agility trial. It started on Friday in the pouring rain with a Standard and a Steeplechase. We Q'd the steeplechase, the judge said he could see Beckett's paw print on the A-frame just barely in the yellow contact zone.  The next day it cleared up but was quite windy.  Again we Q'd in the Steeplechase. We had a beautiful Standard run but Beckett decided to leap from the A-frame and then spin in front of the tire incurring 10 faults. The A-frame was the third last obstacle and the tire was the last obstacle of the course. 

Riverside venue looking towards the warm up jumps.

On Sunday,  it was a Standard, a Jumpers and the Steeplechase Cash Cup.  We didn't Q in either the Standard or the Jumpers but because we had Q'd in both Steeplechase we moved on to the Cash Cup.  There weren't many Regular dogs so Beckett had to compete against the open (big) dogs. We were up first. We weren't fast but we were clean and in the end that was what clinched it, Beckett won the Cash Cup for Regular dogs. We won a $200 cash prize. The Cash Cup is not an AAC sanctioned event so there was no chance of a Q, you were just running for the prize.

My family had come out to watch on Sunday and they arrived in time for lunch and to see the Cash Cup.  It was nice that they were able to see how well Beckett can run.

My nieces with Beckett and Keltic

It was a  good thing we won that $200 as my new screen tent didn't survive the winds, one of the pole sleeves ripped and one of the shock corded poles split.  

Beckett with his ribbons