Regionals 2008

6" Specials AB/NWT Regional CHAMPION!!!!!

We arrived early afternoon on Firday- we had only entered one Steeplechase round as a warm up. Wicca was pretty rotten. She landed on two bars, and didn't stick her a-frame contact. twice. I used the time in the ring to fix it- and I figured we were eliminated for the finals. Oh Well. It was a good warm up. I was a bit rattled with how badly she did though!

Saturday - Hot, Hot, Hot. Like, Reallllly Hot.

Gamble 1 - 44 points and got the gamble! I was very happy to have the gamble first after friday, and was even happier when I saw the gamble itself. We got the mini twice, and she listened beautifully. No knocked bars either!

Gamble 2 - 52 points in the opening- but rushed the gamble and she pulled in over the last jump. It was a good gamble though- lots of great dogs struggled with it. I normally am not a gamble rusher but for whatever reason handled it like crap at the end :o) Still I was very pleased,. The mini gambles were lots of fun- and I got them in each twice- although only got points for three as I forgot to step back over the line. It was pretty funny to watch as most everyone had the same plan and it was like some weird dance out there to get back and forth over the line.

Standard 1- Clean. It was the most amazing run I've ever had with my dog. No bars. No flubs. Nothing. She was beautiful, I handled it well. And in the end it won us the Regionals! It was not an easy course and I had worried about forgetting where I was going. I kind of almost did but pulled it together just in time. I watched the video this morning and it gave me goosebumps. My dog sure is fast!

.

Jumpers 1 - This was our not so stellar run of the weekend. I mishandled the beginning and the run was kind of choppy. We had a bar, and an off course. I was pretty bummed about it as the mistakes were all mine- even the bar. But the rest of the day was so great I didn't let it bug me for long.

Sunday- rain, cold, rain...buckets, and buckets of rain. It was pretty nasty.

Jumpers 2- Great Run. We ran this course in 28 seconds. 1.5 seconds slower than a worlds dog. We had one bar- which was her fault and a half a bar that the judge didn't see go down. I managed to keep my head and get my dog around the course. It was so fast I could hardly remember it when I was finished.

Standard 2- This was a fun course- and again I used a Lead Out Pivot at the start, and a rear cross to the weaves. She responded really well to this even though it was shallow. We had one bar and otherwise it was a great run.

I really wanted to win my class this year. Wicca is a great dog and we have really come a long way as a team. Sarah kept telling me that I had probably won but I just couldn't be sure...

Somehow we had made it to the Steeplechase finals on Sunday afternoon. They were short of dogs to make it even with the vets I think. :o) Wicca and I did great. It was not your typical steeplechase and was definitely on the complicated side. We had one bar, and a flub at the weaves. I thought she had committed but she blew past and I had to resend her. We still managed to place Second in her division though!

The closing ceremonies were awesome. There was lots of clapping and cheering for everyone- even for those who didn't qualify. Agility is nice like that.
Wicca's class was the first to be called. I knew in my gut that we had done it but it wasn't until her name was called that it sunk in. We had done a GREAT thing. I almost cried. Almost. We earned 477 points over the weekend and I couldn't be prouder of us. I worked hard all year- but not nearly as hard as my little dog. She really earned that title this year.

Here are the courses- I think you can click on them to make them bigger...
Saturday

Sunday


Sarah is one of my closest friends and is my training buddy. We train together always- pushing, helping, commenting. She really is the person who made me try harder and train better. Her own dogs kicked some serious ass this year as well. Gyppie- who had never been to regionals before placed 3rd out of a ton of dogs. She had AMAZING runs and Sarah did a great job thinking on her feet with her. Kaleb almost melted in the sun on Saturday but came back in full force on Sunday- placing third in a very competitive class and 1st in the Steeplechase finals. And little Jane who is nine years old placed third behind a Worlds dog, and a dog with a pink mohawk. Jane ran her heart out and truly is a phenomenal little dog. You can read about their runs on her own blog but here is a picture with us and our goodies

What a weekend!!!