Journey takes the double jump.
Journey is so attentive to me and to my directions. He is just amazing me. The pictures are by Joe Camp as usual, and as usual, they are exceptional. Sometimes I think getting action shots of my boy like these are one of the best incentives for doing this sport.
We arrived at the Longview barn at about 7:30 AM on Saturday morning. Our first event was the Jumper's class. Journey nailed it with a 1st place Q, clean run. That is his first Q in Level 3.
I had stopped by the barn at the fairgrounds and set up our mat, my chair and Journey's soft crate, on Friday afternoon. We normally share our mat with one or two friends. Martha was there with the Zzz's and Janet with Shamu.
Janet & Shamu
Although I used to have black dogs, I am not good at photographing them. Photographing white dogs is so easy compared to photographing dark ones.
That is one of the Z's. Sorry, but I don't know which one it is .... I don't even know which end it is!
I am going to see if I can find one of the ones Martha has taken of them. She won't mind. She will probably prefer it to the dozen I took, that all look about as bad as the one above.
All I could find was a Christmas card, but it is almost Christmas, and I did want to post a picture of the cute little Zzz's & Martha.
The Jackpot event went well until Journey got to the second to last obstacle. He came out of a tunnel and right in front of him was the table (which stops the clock and ends his run). I guess when he saw it he just thought he was finished, so he took the table, and then he was finished. No big deal, but no "Q" for that event
Journey coming out of the tunnel.
Next event was Colors, Level 2, another 1st place Q, which gave Journey another title and moved him up to Level 3 in Colors.
Our last event was Standard, Level 3. Journey got another 1st place Q - so Saturdays score was 3 for 4 events.
(I hate it when the picture is configured so that I cannot cut me out of the picture.)
Rain, wind, and getting dark; we got home about 6:30 PM. Very tired, except for Quest and Pirate who were rested and ready to play. Journey ate dinner and then went to bed. I did my best to play with the other guys for a little while until I fell asleep.
5:30 is early! and dark, I found out. Light rain showers, and a very cloudy sky. Martha did not make it for the first event. I didn't know if Janet was coming or not. She was not entered, but thought she might stop by. Joe prints some of the best pictures when he gets home on Saturday night, then brings them to the trial on Sunday. It is an honor system. If you choose to keep the photo of your dog, you just leave your $5 in the box. If you prefer, you can look at all the pictures he took of your dog and you can have him put the ones you want on a disk. Well, there was one of Shamu that was so gorgeous I decided to get it for Janet, as she did not make it to the fairgrounds on Sunday.
Shamu in his blue ribbon run, getting his first Q in CPE, I believe.
Journey in the weave poles.
Weave poles have always been Journey's favorite obstacle.
The sun came out bright around noon. The sky was so blue and everything fresh from the rain. It ended up being a gorgeous day.
Coming out of the tunnel, ready for directions.
Journey also had four events on Sunday. Standard, Level 3; Wildcard, Level 2 (he should have been in Level 3 - I entered him in the wrong class). Snooker Level 2, and FullHouse, Level 2. Journey got 1st place Q's in all four events. The Q he got in Fullhouse gave him another new title and move up to Level 3.
Coming off the teeter.
Coming down the A-frame.
So the total for the weekend was seven 1st place Q's out of 8 events. Two new titles and moveups into Level 3. He now only needs one more Q in Jackpot Level 2 and one more Q in Snooker, Level 2 and he will then be in Level 3 for all events. He already has 2 Q's in Standard, Level 3 and one in Jumpers Level 3 so we are moving up pretty fast.
When I decided to give agility a try again, after my back problems, I thought we could possibly do Level 1 and maybe get into Level 2, even if we could not qualify. Things are working out better than I thought and my back has actually improved a bit. I have not improved as much as my teammate, but for sure more than I ever expected, considering my age and my back handicap.
I was so impressed with CPE Judge Mary Beam, of Ohio. She is such a caring and helpful Judge. She seemed to have endless patience and such a wonderful ability to offer so much encouragement to the beginners. I suspect many competitors will stay in competition, who might have dropped out, without her encouragement. It was a pleasure to hear her kind comments. She is certainly a wonderful Judge, in my opinion. She cares about the dogs and their owners or handlers. She cares that they have a good experience at the trial and she cares for their feelings. I have seen some Judges that seem to have forgotten what it is like to be brand new at this, and afraid of making mistakes.
