Wellingborough DTC Show

It's been a few weeks since we were last at a show so we were really up for a good weekend away.  We were back in our old neighbourhood of Wellingborough, so at least we knew the way to go.  We had Shadow running at grade 6, Doople at grade 4, Winnie at grade 3 and Zazu running in his first show at anysize.

The weather for the weekend was fantastic, not a cloud in the sky.  It perhaps a little too warm for the dogs but they all coped well.  We had some coats made of towels so we could keep the dogs cool.  At one point Shadow was actually cold in 25 degree heat!  Silly dog.  It was a nice relaxing weekend and we got to spend a lot of time sitting around the caravan or watching the show.

Winnie preparing for a long day

On that note, lets talk about the show.  We'll start with Shadow.  This weekend I was hoping for a few clear rounds as the last few shows having provided very many, 2 in fact from the last 16 runs!  All of our runs on Saturday were in the afternoon.  We started with combined grade 1-7 helter-skelter.  This was a good flowing course and Shadow was flying considering the heat.  We have been practising weaves a lot over the last few weeks and it showed as she shot into them.  We were placed 14th out of ~150 dogs, which I'm really pleased with.  Next up we had combined grade 4-7 jumping.  This was a fairly straightforward course with 9 weaves.  Shadow ran well, really confident in the weaves again.  We were a little wide towards the end as I tried to run round the outside of a jump to pick her.  We managed but it was a bit messy.  Still we ended up with a 15th place.  Finally we had combined grade 6-7 agility.  This was a bit trickier being 6-7, but nothing we couldn't manage ... or so I thought.  We started well and layered a couple of jumps nicely.  We were eliminated on a pull through when Shadow didn't come through the gap, and also at the end when she came out the tunnel the wrong end.

Onto Sunday.  We started first thing with pairs steeplechase running with +Susi Cooper and Doople.  This was the coolest part of the day so they both ran really well.  Doople had her best run of the weekend and we ended up in 4th place.  Next up was combined grade 5-7 agility.  This was quite a long course with a tricky weave entry which Shadow picked up brilliantly.  We also managed to get all of our contacts over the weekend.  We finished the round in 6th place only 0.8s inside the course time.  It was a very tight time which is unfair in such hot conditions.  Most clear dogs were only 3s inside the course time.  Our final run was combined grade 4-7 jumping.  We had to wait quite awhile for this and still nearly missed it as they started it 30mins before they originally stated.  Shadow was a little steady but still going well.  Two more sets of weaves performed well and more jump layering.  We ended up in the placings again with 10th.  It was a great weekend with 5 placings from 6 runs.

Doople struggled with the heat for a lot of the weekend.  We knew she would do as last year in the summer she would just trot around.  We were debating not running her over the summer this year but she was performing so well at the start of the year that we thought we'd give it a go.  Considering the heat Doople ran very well.  She wasn't quite her usual self but still ran everywhere.  She started with combined grade 1-7 helter-skelter and was running forward very well.  Unfortunately she missed the weaves.  She wasn't really concentrating on them, probably due to the heat.  Next up was the combined grade 3-5 agility.  Doople started quite well but again missed the weave entry.  She was distracted by the number which only normally happens when she's tired.  We train with cones and other things lying around and she's fin with that.  She finished with combined grade 4-7 jumping.  Again she was distracted by the number in the weaves.  After that she ran quite well, not too fast but running nonetheless.

Fortunately, Sunday started early for us with the grade 1-7 pairs running with Shadow.  Doople was running more like herself and finished with 4th place.  Next up was combined grade 3-4 agility.  Doople was running OK, despite Susi trying to get lost before the A-frame!  Doople missed her weaves again though.  Finally she had combined grade 4-7 jumping.  She was a bit slower but still running.  I left her on a jump so she missed and followed me.  She did manage to do two sets of weaves however, but generally very slow.  Doople ran better than she did this time last year but she is really affected by the heat.

Winnie was running at full height this weekend, although we are reducing her to anysize next month to help with her confidence.  We weren't too hopeful this weekend, especially with the heat.  We were actually very pleased with how she did run.  She would sometimes lose concentration and wasn't running particularly quickly, but she wasn't missing jumps and she was trying to go over them.  In some of the longer straight runs she would pick up a bit of speed.  We even managed a clear round!  Which is the first for a long long time.  Overall we were really pleased with how Winnie ran and hopefully she can start to gain her confidence back again.

For the first time at a show we have Zazu running.  He was running in anysize, although on the Saturday we ran him over medium height jumps.  And he managed a clear round!  His turns were a little wide but he was running forwards and ran lovely diagonal zig-zag and didn't miss a jump.  On Sunday we got our timing wrong so ran him over small jumps, not that it makes a difference as he flies over everything.  Susi was a little complacent on a gentle turn as we expected him to follow but he went straight on.  Not a problem, we just have to work him a bit more in the ring.  He was still turning a bit wide but we can't expect too much from his first show.  We now know what to work on.

It was an enjoyable weekend with lovely weather.  The dogs had a good time and we managed quite a few placings with Shadow.  Still pleased with the others as they performed better than we expected.  Next week onto Rugby DTC show.