We had a great first trial. I couldn't have asked my OllieDog for anything more!
Team Rodgers got up very early to head out to the Douglas County Fairgrounds for the Trial. We got out there about 730. Got checked in, and tried to do some deep breathing.
I was terribly nervous.
I'm glad the run order is Elite, Open, and then Novice. Oliver is in Novice..so I got to watch some other handlers first.
However the course changes between levels, and since Oliver is tiny..and the size order for today was small to tall..we were the first dog to run in the Novice group.
Our first event was Jumpers. Which is all jumps, and maybe 1 tunnel. The course was fairly easy for novices, only 2 front crosses. He stayed with me the whole time. We had a Qualifying run, and took 1st place. He came in 7 seconds under Standard Course Time(SCT). So, we are well on our way to a Novice Jumpers Title.
Our second event was Tunnelers...which is all tunnels. The course arrangement is the same for all levels. The SCT is shorter for the higher levels..making it more difficult. The name of the game here is speed. Unfortunately, Oliver didn't quite have it. He DID stay with me, and he DID do everything in perfect order..but we came in 15 seconds over SCT..so we didn't qualify. If you watch, you can see we had a bit of trouble with tunnel #7..he passed it originally, but we were able to get it..that's what ate into some of our time.
There were 2 rounds of Tunnelers, so we entered both. The second course was a bit shorter, but had some trickier handling patterns. I primed Oliver with a little hotdog treat just before we entered the ring (no treats allowed on the course or in the ring) hoping to light his fire a bit and get some more speed out of him. He was a bit quicker, and it was a smoother run for us I think...less calling him on and off tunnels..it just flowed better..I had high hopes of making time, but sadly we were 6 seconds over SCT. DAMN!! 6 stupid seconds. We're going to get them next time! We did take 2nd place again.
We earned several ribbons..here's the break down.
Novice Jumpers--Q (purple ribbon), 1st place (blue ribbon)
Novice Tunnelers 1--NQ, 2nd place (red ribbon)
Novice Tunnelers 2--NQ, 2nd place (red ribbon)
He looks so happy! I'm a proud proud mama today..Happy Mother's Day to me...and to all the other mothers out there.
Jessica (Mama to a happy Agility Star!)
Oliver is a stud! And so is his handler :) Great job you two!
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