Day Two, Season Three

We went back to the hotel shortly after my Jumpers runs with Marge and Arrow.  I was initially nervous about how Marge would fare, but she actually really enjoyed the experience.  She thought the hallways and staircases were the coolest thing ever, and settled right in in the room after a few minutes of jitters.  I'm sure it helped that there were other dogs around.

I put a blanket down on one of the beds and let her go to town on a chew.  She remained on the bed pretty much all night and had herself a long, deep sleep.  I would not hesitate to stay with her in a hotel again.

The next morning, we got up really early so that we could get to the trial early (which meant time for obsessive walkthroughs -- woohoo!).  Our Jumpers run was first.  The course was more difficult than the day before and a lot of people were complaining about it, but I didn't think it was too bad.

Marge ran it like a pro!  She even worked through my lousy late front cross and a bad rear cross to the weaves.  We qualified for 6 MACH points and our 4th MXJ leg.




Arrow had her turn next in Jumpers.  Although everybody that watched said it wasn't that bad, I felt like we crashed and burned a little bit.  By moving forward just a couple of steps, I sent her off course over the jump next to the tunnel.  Then, she took down three bars.  Not sure what that was about.  She clearly enjoyed herself, though!





My last run of the day was Excellent Standard.  With a double-Q on the line, I felt pretty good about our chances.  Unfortunately, one wrong course ended that idea... BUT, there was so much good in the run that I didn't even care about the QQ.




For starters, she did the teeter even after I sent her off course, getting on it from a weird angle and riding it all the way down to the bottom (a huge deal, considering if she's even the least bit stressed or confused, her teeter performance is the first thing to go). She also did the table, even with the auto table count that I swore scared the pants off of her a year and a half ago at a 2-day, outdoor trial. (I'm still not convinced she's unafraid of the auto table count; I do think the loudness of the trial site helped her deal with it better, though). Her contacts weren't wonderful, but she was speedy and really running well.

Shortly after Standard (and after watching my friend and instructor get a MACH 5 on her Novice A dog!), we headed home. We were all pooped. We stopped for one little picture with our several-hundred-dollar little green ribbon from the weekend.

I thought it was a great way to start the trialing season.  Marge had a great weekend for many different reasons - the agility was great and she also enjoyed herself hanging out at the trial site and hotel... a little vacation for her, if you will.  We'll be back out in two weeks, for one day, at this same trial site.  Hope our sync continues!