This weekend we headed back to Rhode Island for another NADAC trial. Our 1st time doing 2 days at this venue. It was great fun. My personal goal for the weekend was to trust my dog and run like we do in training: looking ahead to the next obstacle, trusting she will take the one in front of her. No micromanaging. I worked really hard to be the handler she likes me to be. I think I succeeded pretty well with my goal. I was so happy with our runs. Though our Q rate was lower than in past trials, our speed was so much better! We Qed in BOTH elite jumpers runs with seconds to spare!! Our weave practice with the modified raised bases also started to pay off, as her weaves over the weekend as a whole were significantly faster and more confident performance.
A fellow competitor also gave me an incredibly nice comment. She came up to me and told me how she had been watching our last run, and she loved my attitude and approach. How happy my dog was to run for me. And that “I wished I could run for you! You made it so much fun!”
My mum and gram decided to come watch on Saturday. It was wonderful to have their support. They seemed to enjoy the trial. And my husband decided to stay the day on Sunday to watch, set bars and video tape. His favorite run of our day was our Elite Chances run. He enjoyed the training at the dog walk tunnel discrimination. I would have preferred if my in flow ‘get out’ cue had been understood, rather than having to stop and redirect, but I was pleased with her response to the stop and redirect.
After not being physically able to compete at trials for the past number of years, having the chance for agility to be back in my life is awesome. I love this sport and the chance to get out and have such fun with my dog.
