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

Wordless Wednesday

K9 Kup 2

This past weekend the extremely hot weather finally broke and we had a most beautiful day for the second K9 Kup. Since I was still recovering from a torn calf muscle, a friend stepped in to run Keltic even though she had her own dog to run in the same height class.

Keltic and his K9 Kup ribbons

This month along with the Standard run,  the two games were Steeplechase and Snooker.  Keltic still isn't weaving so I told Lyne to try for the entry and if he didn't get it to just move on and even if he did by chance get the entry to just move on from that as well.

First up was Steeplechase, notice where Lyne places his leash and Keltic glancing at it and almost picking it up.  Since he sees nothing in his line to do he heads off on his own course but Lyne gets him back and off they go.  I knew he would like the back part of that Steeplechase, his two favourite obstacles the A-frame and the tunnel nearly back to back. We'll have to work on coming to the hand.

Keltic at the K9 Kup

Next up was the Standard, not bad if you don't count the teeter fly-off.  Last weekend, it was his first full height teeter now his first fly-off, I think he's gaining confidence on the teeter. Tonight in our weaves class, I did put him on a low teeter and at first he didn't want to do it but one time with a few extra hot dogs and he was doing the teeter just fine again. Almost time to put my teeter in the backyard up to full height.

Last event was Snooker, Lyne was going to do red jump, tunnel, red jump, tunnel and red jump, tunnel before doing the close. I thought Keltic might have run the A-frame after the second red jump but he didn't and he also ran right by one of his favourite obstacles to go back over the first red jump....tweet... goes the whistle and the run is over. What you're seeing on the video is Lyne calling Keltic from the tunnel and doing the second red jump then Keltic running right by the tunnel to do the first red jump again. When Keltic started the course, he picked up his leash that Lyne left beside him and carried it with him over the jump but decided to drop it before doing the tunnel. At a real trial, that would have been an elimination but at K9 Kup since he didn't knock the bar, the run didn't stop there.

I think Keltic had a good time. I hope Lyne did too.

Fun Match

Keltic did a fun match on the weekend. Boy, was it hot out. We stayed for our two Standard runs and one of our two Snooker runs and then went home to our air conditioning.  Keltic, even given the heat, was quite ready to play. He had never been to this venue before but when I brought him up to the gate, he was jumping around just raring to go.

I was still recovering from a torn calf muscle so on the Standard course, I was going in with a plan just to do one obstacle at a time but Keltic had other plans.  It was also his first time at 16" so that's probably why he missed the tire. He still bounces over a lot of jumps but over a couple in the video I can see that he is jumping a little better. If it wasn't so hot outside we would do some jump grids so I could video him at 10" and at 16".

Keltic - Dogz Fun Match July 2013

In his second time on the Standard course, a friend ran him for me and my little pumpkin head did the whole course for her, well except for the weaves but he doesn't know how to do those yet.  So this weekend, Lyne will try and run him at the Kanine Kup. If he doesn't run off leash than she can run him for exhibit on leash at least that way he can get more experience with a different handler, equipment and venue.

In Snooker, I practiced calling him by obstacles and got him between two jumps, wasn't too much of a challenge as I was calling him to his favourite obstacle the A-frame.  I put him over the second red and managed to call him off the tunnel to do the A-frame again but we weren't as lucky over the third red, that tunnel was just too enticing.  Then we just worked on tunnel, tire until our time was up as he was having difficulty with the 16" tire.

Overall he did very well given the heat and the fact that he hasn't jumped 16" that much.  I'd like to start thinking about entering him in trials but I'm going to wait until he's weaving.

Canada Cup - The Finale

When I got up Sunday morning, my calf was rock-hard and really really stiff, I hoped it would limber up as I used it but I kind of knew in my heart I wasn't going to be able to run.

I arrived at Royackers to find out that Beckett had qualified for the Jumpers final as well. He had qualified in 7th place an even better finish than we had for Steeplechase, the running order below is posted in reverse order. I found Susan Royackers and told her that we had to scratch, everyone asked me, "won't he run for someone else" but there was no one there that we had even tried to have him run with them.

I picked up course maps anyway and went and got the dogs settled in their crates in the screen tent.  I'm not ashamed to say that when the other 16" finalists started their walk through for Steeplechase, I had tears in my eyes.

I'm sure Beckett would have done well in this Steeplechase, we may not have been the fastest but we might have had a chance for the podium but now we don't know. I did video the other bi-black sheltie, Jazz and her handler, they had an excellent run.

The last final we would have been in was Jumpers, again when I looked at the course map, I felt that Beckett would have done just fine, he threadles well, has a good around, only the last line of jumps might have given us a bit of a problem if I hadn't been able to keep up with him.

Again I videoed Jazz, her handler even handled the jumps after the second tunnel like I would have.

After the finals were done they set up for the awards ceremony but first they had a competitors' raffle. Each of the competitor's names were put in a bag and when your name was drawn, you went an drew a number from another bag and that was the number of the prize you won. There were tunnels, big gift baskets, and lots of other great items, we won a sport umbrella.  We also won a prize in a raffle to help another handler and her dog go to the Paragility Games in Hungary.

Adrian Royackers and the Canada Cup Judges

16 " Winners - Steeplechase

16" Winners - Jumpers

 The Steeplechase winners got a nice big black and white ribbon, oh how we would have liked to get one of those.

So we've already put the dates for next year's Canada Cup into our calendar and we'll try again to qualify for the finals. Who knows maybe even Keltic might be ready to give it a try.