We just got back today from the AAC Nationals in Ottawa this past weekend.
It was a pretty interesting weekend - the weather was hot & muggy on Fri & Saturday, then we woke up Sunday to rain.
Thursday we did a warm up run & after all our teeter practice, (which went well), Boo didn't like the teeter, so we practiced it a few times. Unfortunately, we couldn't take toys or treats into the ring. (well, some did, but that's another story)
Friday we just did one Steeplechase run - Boo ran clean & placed 2nd; I was pleased with that since I know he doesn't like to run in the humidity.
Saturday, our first run was jumpers & we had a refusal when I didn't pull him in quickly enough to the tunnel, so he approached a wrong course jump, but he ran pretty well. Our second run was Gamblers, which has been our most difficult game to date. He ran really awesome, got the mini gamble twice & got the final gamble & placed first! Pretty good for a little velcro dog I thought! Our last run was the standard & it had a very tricky opening. It was a tunnel/ DW discrimination & just when I thought he had the DW he scooted into the tunnel - not a great start... he then missed a weave pole entry, which doesn't happen too often; anyhow we placed somewhere at the end of the class in that one. I was surprised to see that we were in 3rd place in the aggregate after day 1, even with the bad standard round.
Sunday, our first run was gamblers & it started to pour just before we ran. Boo did the first couple of obstacles, then ran into a tunnel & sat down - he finally came out & got 32 points, but the final gamble included the dreaded teeter, so he bailed, which didn't surprise me.
This is Boo after his first run!
Our second run was standard & he was clean until he ran right through the weave poles like he didn't see them, so we had 5 faults. Not too bad, since it started to pour again right before the little guys ran. We finally had a clean run in jumpers, but he wasn't moving very fast, so we placed 4th.
In the end, we placed 7th overall, not as good as last year, but respectable. We were very happy that our friends Amanda & Wicca placed 2nd overall since they are such an awesome team & really deserved it. I found the courses quite difficult compared to what we're used to, but I guess that's what Nationals should be!
This was our benching area on Sunday, after the rains - oh look - it's Shannen in a HAT!
1 comment:
ou should be very proud of your little dog penny- for a little "velcro" dog he worked that first gamble great, and got the minis! even with his little bobbles he actually was running- which is more than you thought he would do in the weather.
boo is a fabulous little dog- and you've done a great job, with a not very easy dog. keep working,
and yes, I agree that the courses were tough this year!
Post a Comment