This was our last show of the summer season, mainly as my wife +Susi Cooper is due to give birth very shortly. The weather was good, a little cold at times but it held out. We were running Zazu at grade 3, Doople and Shadow at grade 6, and Winnie in anysize.
Getting ready on the start line
Doople and Zazu were running in the Embroidery Shop Final, which is a grade 1-5 competition with qualifiers through out the year. It consists of two agility rounds, one preliminary round which sets the running order for the final run. Both dogs had a lot to live up to as Shadow won the trophy two years ago. No pressure then!
Doople ran both rounds really well. A little slow in the weaves but we've been having trouble with those in training lately. We finished the first round in 4th which meant that we ran towards the end in the final. We went clear but there were faster dogs, so we finished 6th overall.
Zazu seemed to enjoy his rounds. We had trouble with the weaves as usual and got eliminated in the first round. In the final his inexperience showed and we were eliminated when he kept running. He got all of his contacts and was running down them better.
Doople sussing out the competition
On to the rest of the show.
Zazu's other run on Saturday was very good. I pulled him off a jump but he managed 12 weaves fairly quickly and his contacts. He finished 3rd with 5 faults. On Sunday he acted very funny in the jumping, deciding to wander off over a jump rather than following me. We did manage to layer a jump, the weaves and the judge at the same time, intentionally! I basically sent him on and an a different way with a jump, the weaves and the judge between me and him. His final agility run was fairly steady but good. We finished in 3rd place.
Shadow had a good day on Saturday with some tricky courses. We came 5th in the combined 5-7 jumping only a few seconds off the leaders. In the graded 6-7 agility however we came 1st! It was a good run with really tight turns. I don't think we could have run either class better. This does mean that she is now finally grade 7, the top grade. It has taken a while. There's less to talk about on Sunday, I was awful. I just couldn't put everything together. We did go clear in the jumping run which was as simple as could be for a grade 4-6.
Winnie had an anysize run on Saturday and she actually ran very well. She was charging around and really enjoying herself. We went wrong but never mind. It's the first time in quite a while that we've seen her enjoy herself that much at a show.
It was a good way to end our summer season with Shadow finally making it to grade 7. I'm not sure how many shows we'll be doing this winter but we'll hopefully keep doing some.
We had a nice quiet weekend this time. Shadow was lame and Winnie wasn't entered, so we just drove round the corner with Doople at grade 5 and Zazu at grade 3. It was great being only 20 minutes away as we could decide when we'd had enough and go home easily.
Susi and Zazu in serious preparation
Doople ran first in graded 5-7 jumping. She had a great run and really enjoying it. She was driving forward and listening well. We were a little wide out of the tunnel though. We did however end up winning the class! It's been a while since Doople won a class. She now needs only one more agility win to advance to grade 6. Her other run on Saturday was graded 5-7 agility. She again ran really well even tough it was a long course with two sets of 12 weaves and a course time of 65 seconds! Doople kept her 100% record for the day and won the class! This moves her into grade 6 now. While we were pleased to win, we're not sure how well Doople will compare against other grade 6 dogs, but we can do all of the course well.
Sunday wasn't quite as successful. In the 5-7 jumping Doople didn't have much drive, perhaps she was tired. She got going a bit towards the end. We had a refusal on one of the jumps. In the 5-7 agility was better but again lacking a little bit compared to Saturday. We messed the weave entry but were pleased overall.
Zazu only had 3-4 jumping on Saturday. He ran the course really nicely with a bit more drive than he has had in the past. He still isn't there on the weaves either. Sunday was a lovely flowing course that he going in well. I could control him from a distance while moving into position. In the agility he got all of his contacts. The dog walk end was a bit slow, but the A-frame was brilliant. I pulled him off a tunnel under the A-frame but we were OK second time.
We were really pleased with both of them over the weekend. I think it helps to have less to do and spend more time doing it. Congratulations to Doople for getting into grade 6, party time now!
On to the second part of our mad weekend, 250 miles from our Saturday show we were in Scunthorpe for the Dog Vegas show. The reason for the long distance is that both +Susi Cooper with Doople and myself with Shadow qualified for the Chase the Ace team finals, albeit with different teams. Doople was running at grade 4 and Shadow at grade 6.
Meerkat outside the B&B we were staying in
The weather was even more unpredictable than on Saturday, perhaps due to being (much) further north. It was fairly warm but with the odd thunderstorm! We travelled up on the Sunday evening as I didn't fancy the prospect of leaving at 4:00 AM. It was a nice little B&B just outside Scunthorpe complete with pigs, ferrets and meerkats!
The show was much quieter than the previous show with only 4 rings, one of which was dedicated to the finals. There were a lot of finals being held for various competitions from teams, to grade 3-5 agility, to Anything-but-Collie (ABC) jumping. The finals were held in very good spirits with people sitting around the rings watching. This is a good experience for the more novice handlers as it can be quite daunting for both dog and handler with all the people watching. They were good finals to watch with very good courses set by Alan Bray.
On Monday, Shadow was first up with graded 5-7 jumping. Shadow started very well indeed but didn't run out enough on a long run and so came in missing the jump. I tried again a she went out when I told her to. She was very excited afterwards though. Next up was the graded 5-7 agility. This had a very interesting start that caught a lot of people out. It was tyre then dog walk with a tunnel wrapped around the entrance. I tried to walk to the other side of the tunnel and call Shadow up the dog walk so that she wouldn't look at the tunnel. It failed. I tried again but stayed closer her and she went up fine. Apart from the weaves the rest of the round was lovely. I was steering her from behind down a long run with tight turns so still very pleased. Her last individual run was the graded 5-7 jumping. She seemed a little steadier but still ran well. She wasn't driving off the turns as well as she does so we lost some time. We finished clear but unplaced.
Doople started with graded 1-4 agility. It was quite a nice course, but perhaps a bit much for the grade 1-2 handlers. Doople was a little steady but listened and ran clear, eventually winning the class! That means Doople is now up to grade 5 which is brilliant, we weren't really expecting it. Next up was graded 1-4 jumping. This was a fairly straightforward course but still had some traps. Doople was her steady self but still listening and running. They had a nice clear round finishing in 2nd place. Finally was another graded 1-4 jumping. This had some straight lines, circles and slaloms. A nice fast flowing course, but not really Doople's course, to much running! She still ran well and got round clear.
Finally, at the end a long day was the teams final. This is a relay race over a simple steeplechase course but run in two parts. Dogs 1 and 3 run the first course, dogs 2 and 4 run the second course, which is the first course in reverse. The results for all heights are combined together. It's simpler than I make it sound! First up for the small teams was me and Shadow running with some of the Poodle Training Club, Julliet, Mo and Heather. We all had lovely rounds and they were all really going for it. Unfortunately there was a dropped baton at the change so we incurred some fault which was a real shame. We were still the fastest of the small teams in the end, 110s, but the faults meant that we finished 7th overall. Susi was running with friends from Northamptonshire where we used to train, Wendy Donna and Sharon. They all ran very well too and put in a good solid clear round, 113s. This meant that they finished up 3rd overall, which is great. The winners were a team of collies in 94s, 2nd place was a team of medium height dogs in 96s.
Greg with the Poodle Team
Susi with the Northants Team
It was a good fun day out, catching up with people that we haven't seen in quite a while. IT was a good result for Susi in the teams and especially for winning up to grade 5.
Easter is a good time of, especially as it brings a four-day weekend. It also means the start of outdoor shows for the year, that is under normal Spring weather conditions. This week we had Doople running at grade 3, Shadow at grade 6, Storm at grade 3 and Winnie at grade 3.
We decided that after spending most weekends last year in a tiny, old caravan that we would treat ourselves to a new caravan this year. We got a not quite so old 4-berth Bailey Pageant. We were looking forward to going but then it happened ... snow! At Easter! Not what we were expecting in the week leading up to the show. We found out from the show organisers that the show was still going ahead. The show had been moved to the indoor riding arena and camping had been moved to the car park. This made getting in and out with the caravan easy but we did have to sacrifice a garden for the dogs. Nether-the-less a big thank you to the show organises and Solihull Riding Club for keeping the show going despite the conditions.
Caravans lined up in the camping area/car park
Knowing that the conditions would be cold and miserable we stopped off on the way at +GO Outdoors Official to pick up some essential supplies, i.e. another gas bottle. This proved inspires as the heating was on for most of the weekend as the temperatures in the morning dropped as low as -4C.
First morning of camping and a nice frost covering
Anyway, enough of me babbling about the weather, we were there for agility so that's what we did. I'll start with Doople. +Susi Cooper and Doople continued their good run of form at this show. Doople's first round was a combing grade 1-3 jumping. This was a good start to the weekend with Doople running forward very well. Her next round, graded 1-3 agility, was a not quite as good. Susi pulled Doople off on a turn and then Doople missed a contact. I think that's 3 or 4 shows in a row now, tut tut! Susi realised that she missed so did put her back on the contact. This proved a good thing to do as the next run, combined grade 1-3 agility, Doople came first! An excellent result meaning that Doople is now Grade 4. After Doople's slow running last year in the Summer we weren't sure if Doople would ever win out of grade 3 but she did. The round was a little messy with Susi being a bit slow on a couple of turns but managed and won the class.
Doople in preparation
Sunday started just as cold as the previous day. Doople had graded 1-3 jumping first. Doople was running really well but unfortunately missed the weave entry. She still managed a second place even with 5 faults. The combined grade 1-3 agility followed. Doople had another really good round as she was pushing herself forward and was rewarded with a second place. They finished the day with combined grade 1-3 jumping. Doople put in another clear round but this time wasn't fast enough for a placing, but Susi and Doople continued their good running.
Monday carried on where Sunday left off. Doople had combined grade 1-3 agility first. Again this was a lovely round, culminating with a dog walk then jump to finish. The judge spent about 30 seconds deciding whether or not Doople hit the contact. I'm not sure which part of Doople he thought hit the contact but the round stayed clear and Doople finished second, only 0.1s behind first place. Next up was the combined grade 1-3 jumping. Doople managed a good round but missed the weave entry again. And finally Doople ended with graded 1-3 agility. By this point all of the dogs were starting to look fatigued. Doople was still running forward well but when asked to turn right she went left, the jumped off the dog walk contact sideways. Susi was trying to turn in front of Doople at the end of the contact but this put her off and she leaped off sideways. A very good weekend for Doople though: 1st x 1, 2nd x 2, UnPlaced Clears (UPC) x 2. Well done :)
Susi and Doople
Shadow was next up. As usual in her first round she was fired up but perhaps a little to much so. It was graded 4-7 agility, she ran off the end of the dog walk, careered across to the next jump but she should have gone the other way into the tunnel. She made it to the tunnel eventually but to the wrong end. Next up was combined grade 4-7 jumping. Shadow ran really well in this round and with a handler than runs the correct course could have finished high up the placings. I realised a fraction too late that I had gone the wrong way, doh! That's one mistake for Shadow, one for Greg. Next was combined grade 4-7 agility. A good round from Shadow that finished with a fourth place. This was only our second KC show at grade 6 so I'm quite pleased with any placings. We finished with combined grade 1-7 steeplechase. I liked this course as it was quite technical, but it was really a steeplechase course. Beggars can't be choosers and we ran really well. Shadow just isn't as fast as a lot of dogs in a straight line so we often don't stand a chance but we went clear.
It's a hard life being Zazu when your bed's too small
Sunday was one of the best days running I've had with Shadow in a long while. We started with combined grade 4-7 agility. We had a really good round with only one slightly wide turn and some brilliant running contacts. We finished third overall which is an improvement on the previous days fourth. We then had graded 4-7 jumping. This was great and we finished in first place, our first at grade 6. Only 3 more wins to go to get to grade 7! To move up most grade you need to have a 1 agility win or 3 jumping wins. From grade 6 to 7 you need to have 4 wins with at least 2 in agility rounds. Our last two rounds of the day were combined grade 4-7 jumping, in which we finished third, and the Easter Egg'ility Challenge, where we also finished third. Four placings in a day was a very good result.
Monday got off to a good start with combined grade 4-7 agility. It was a very good round where we finished second, only 0.6 seconds from first. This was followed by graded 4-7 agility where we went one better to record our second win of the weekend. We had the combined 1-7 helter-skelter next. This was another straight course but I had the opportunity to try layer a jump. This is where you keep a jump between you and dog in order for you to be in a better position (see the video towards the end). Shadow was a little hesitant whilst layering but she managed it both times so it was good training. The final round was combined grade 4-7 jumping. Shadow was starting to lose concentration by this point. We only missed the weaves and she was still running forward so I can't really complain.
We managed to hit every one of our contacts in 6 agility rounds which is amazing. Every one was a running contact and about as quick as we can manage. We ended with a large haul of rosettes: 1st x 2, 2nd x 1, 3rd x 3, 4th x 1, UPC x 2. Very good week end for Shadow.
Greg and Shadow
With Storm we had a mixed weekend. There were some really good moments and also some really bad ones, quite a few of them were handler errors so I will own up to those. The first round was graded 1-3 agility. This round was really to let off some steam. Storm was listening but her legs wouldn't stop running. In the combined grade 1-3 jumping we knocked a pole and came out of the weaves. I need to stay still on the turns to avoid knocking poles and keep up with Storm in the weaves without pushing her. Next up was the combined 1-7 steeplechase, the same course run by Shadow. We put in a very good round albeit a little messy on some of the turns. I could stay ahead of Storm all the way round without racing her so she knew what was going on. We didn't manage a placing but were only 2 seconds off the pace. The final round of the day was the combined grade 1-3 agility. This was a messy round by me. I pulled her off a jump by turning too soon, was too close to the jump and moved too soon again whilst trying to cross behind, and kept moving on the final cross behind.
Greg and Storm waiting patiently
Sunday was much the same, but with fewer clear rounds. We started with the Easter Eggility Challenge, a nice simple agility course, we got eliminated. Storm decided to turn the wrong way off the A-frame contact, that'll teach me not to stop her on the contact. Next up was graded 1-3 jumping. The start of the round shows Storm doesn't curve over the jumps very well, rather flies over then worries about turning. I need to try to turn her earlier without making her crash the jump. Then on the slalom I was in her way for the middle jump so she hesitated and took the pole down. The combined grade 1-3 jumping followed and Storm was running much tighter on the turns. At the end of the slalom I was moving off from the jump rather than controlling the turn and she took another pole. Unfortunately I made that mistake quite a few times. We finished up with combined grade 1-3 agility. We had some good tight turns, but questionable contacts and failed weaves.
Monday was our final day. We started with combined 1-7 helter-skelter. I was pleased with this round as I managed it without moving too far and let Storm do all the work. We finished clear but outside the placings. The next three rounds were pretty disastrous. By this point in the weekend Storm was mentally exhausted and wasn't really paying attention any more. We had a jumping round where she missed the start jump and the weaves, an agility round where she was just a away with the fairies, and the final agility round which was too bad, but we missed contacts and couldn't do the tyre.
Greg and Storm
Last but not least is Winnie. This was Winnie's first show at full height since her injury last year. We weren't really sure what to expect but we just wanted her to around and have fun. The agility round on Saturday was a bit too much to start with but she jump and do the A-frame. On Sunday we did jumping, she much better in this but we just kept it to straight lines to build her strength and confidence. Finally on Monday we had another agility round. This was an improvement again but we need to do more work on the tyre.
Greg and Winnie
All in all is was a good weekend with many placings. We have a lot to take away and work for the coming shows. Storm is to be spayed this week so she'll be out of action for a while now. Heres looking forward to our next show in a couple of weeks, hopefully minus the snow.
