We're On A Roll!

This past weekend, Marge and I competed in two days of agility trials at one of our favorite trial sites.  Marge has not competed in a show since the beginning of August, so it was really nice to get back out in to the ring with her.

She must have felt the same way!  She qualified in three out of four of her runs, earning a Jumpers leg on Saturday and her 4th double-qualifying score on Sunday.  We were one measly off-course jump away from a perfect weekend.  This was one of our best weekends to date.

Maybe she ran so well because she was happy to hang out with her best friend, Spirit, for the entire weekend.  (I was happy to see Spirit, too, as well as her mom, as well as all of the friends who I tented with or near).

Both Jumpers runs, though they were qualifying, were somewhat unremarkable.  She had slow weaves in both, which I think might have to do with the fact that they were very early in the course (it usually takes Marge a few obstacles before she really gets going).  She picked up 5 MACH points in each of them.

Her last run of the weekend, Standard, was completely different.

She started out at her normal speed, but, after completing the #2 tunnel, shot right over the dog walk and never looked back.

During one part of the course (just before the weave poles), I felt REALLY far away from her and had to yell out my commands to her from probably a solid 15-20 feet away.

She also attacked the weaves in this run, jumping in to them so quickly that I am lucky she didn't pop out due to lack of collection. This eased my worries that her slow weaves earlier in the weekend were the result of her feeling sore or injured.

She still placed towards the bottom of the qualifiers (seems I am doomed in the 20 inch class when it comes to placements), but she matched her previous high and picked up 15 MACH points for her effort.  She is no Border Collie, but the fact that she's running more quickly and more accurately is very exciting.

Here's a video of our double-Q runs:


Our totals to date: 4 QQ's, 148 MACH points, 14 MXJ legs, 6 MX legs.

We'll be attending one day of a trial in Long Island this coming weekend.  I hope we can continue to build on our success, and add another double to the ones we've earned at each of our last three trials!