We went to the RVA DTS Indoor show held at Houghton Hall Equestrian and Alpaca Centre, near Huntingdon. We have been there a few times and hadn't seen any alpacas. So I was pleased when we turned up and saw herds of alpacas in the fields, it's the little things that count! The weather held out in the morning but the heavens opened in the afternoon and it poured with rain. Fortunately, the show was indoors so we didn't get too wet, only running to and from the van with the dogs.
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| Susi and Shadow waiting inside out of the rain for the next class. |
The order of the classes at the show was a bit strange as all the grade 1-2's were first, then grade 3's etc. This meant that Doople had 3 runs, then Storm had her 3 runs followed by Shadow's 3 runs. Usually they are all mixed together so that the runs for each dog are spread throughout the day. This didn't cause any problems, but Shadow wasn't very pleased about being left in the van all day when the others kept going out to have their go. She very much believes that she should be first!
Doople was the first up with grade 3 agility. She ran well and was really pushing forwards. Unfortunately, she missed a dog walk contact ... again! I hope this isn't becoming a habit but she has done this a few times now. Her time was very respectable though and would have put her in 4th place. Her next class was grade 3 jumping. Again, this was a good round with Doople running forward well. +Susi Cooper made a mistake at the start with the slalom so they were eliminated. Second time through was much better so we just need to practise those more. Doople finished with grade 1-3 steeplechase, which is fast flowing course without any weaves or contact equipment. They tend to favour very fast dogs so we don't tend to do too well. Doople ran round as fast as she could and ended up 8th, which is really pleasing.
Susi and Doople
Storm was up next. We weren't expecting too much from Strom as we haven't trained for a while. She gets a bit excited and tends to just run! We started with the grade 3 agility and she was actually very well controlled. We had a good see-saw and dog walk, the A-frame wasn't as good but it'll do for now. She did mess up the weaves a couple of times but this was mainly due to excitement. Needless to say we were eliminated. The grade 1-3 steeplechase was next. We started with 5 offset jumps which is trickier than it sounds. I could stay ahead of Storm the whole way around with too much running and Storm responded really well. We ended up 7th out of 181, so not too bad. We had about a 20 minute break then went into the grade 3 jumping. This was one of those rounds that is best to forget! There some good points, like getting the weaves first time, but generally she was just not listening too well! I need to remember to put her away in between runs to let her calm down and rest, even if it's only for 20 minutes.
Greg and Storm
Last but not least is Shadow. She was not impressed at being left in the van all day so I wasn't expecting much from her first round. And I was right! First up was grade 6-7 jumping with a nice controlled pull-trough slalom to start. We did manage 3 jumps before being eliminated so better than previous shows! Next up we had the grade 4-7 steeplechase, so she could have a blast and just run flat out. We ended coming 8th which is quite respectable. We finished with grade 6-7 agility. This was tricky but fun. We were doing well, missed a dog-walk contact, didn't get faulted on it, promptly got eliminated on the next jump, doh! I tried to turn her the wrong way and she ended up back jumping. It wasn't the way I walked it so I'm not sure why I did it that way.
Greg and Shadow
Not a bad first show back after 6 weeks. We only managed clear rounds in the steeplechase but each dog did get a placing. Our next show is at Bretford over Easter for 4 days. I'm not sure it's a good idea with the weather we have been having recently but we've just bought a new caravan and it has heating! So all will be fine ... as long as it doesn't snow.
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| Storm waiting patiently in the queue |
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