Getting Ready for the Ring Again

I'm not going to be able to make it to agility class next week, so this Tuesday was our last chance to practice with instruction before our trial on September 18 and 19.

I ran two courses - one during class, one during a short lesson that I had with Marisa after class.

Course 1 (White Circle Numbers)
I led out past 2, called her and pushed her through the last two jumps of the serpentine.  Straightforward from there, 'til a rear cross over 7 to get her up the A-Frame.  Then a front cross in front of the A-Frame, dog on right through the weaves, rear cross over 12 to the table.

Led out halfway from the table and did a moving front cross between 14 and 15.  Dog on left to start the serpentine, then a front cross on the landing side of 19 and dog on right 'til the end.

Fun course.  I didn't run in to much trouble at all. Marge goofed off a bit on the hard rear cross to the table, and had a little bit of weave issues (but it's really a horrible set of poles - I almost want to stop training weave poles until my club gets a better set - preferably, a 24" set).

Course 2 (Black Circle Numbers)
 Led out past 2 and pushed out over 3.  Front cross between 4 and 5.  Rear cross over 7.  We ran in to some trouble on the teeter/A-Frame thing .. I was pushing her too far out and she took the tunnel.  She was starting to stress about doing the teeter a million times, so Marisa told me to move on from there.

Back cross to the table, dog on left in to weaves.  She took the 15 tunnel without a problem, to my surprise.  Had to push push push to get her over 16, and I'm pretty sure she stayed on my right through the end.

This was definitely a tougher course.  But, with the exception of my miscommunication with Marge at the tunnel, we did well.

Marisa says she looked great and that we really had nothing else to work on after running these two courses.  I tried to hang out with Marge while she ran her own dog, but Marge heard some noise in the distance that freaked her out, so I put her in the car and smooched on some adorable GSD puppies instead.

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I'm excited and nervous for this upcoming trial.  I'm excited that we're finally getting back in the ring, excited that there's a very good chance that Marge will finish her OA title.  I'm nervous because it's a new trial site, that, as far as I know, has never been used for a dog show before.  It's a park near the water, so I guess my biggest concern is boats making noise or something like that.  Oh well - I guess I'll go in to it with the same mindset that I have for my last trials.  Hope for the best, pull Marge out if something doesn't seem right.  Usually, the sounds and sights and smells of the trial block out everything else, so this likely won't be any different.. at least I hope it won't.

We'll have several of our friends and former classmates either tenting with us or next to us, which is a comfort to me, and I think to Marge, too.

We're at a really good place in terms of agility, and we'll spend the next three months trialing in the cool weather.  If not for school, this would definitely be my favorite time of year.

Taken May 2010; never posted it!