UKA - Still not for me

Every couple of years I go back to a UKA Show to see if I like them any better than the last time I went.

I must say that the SWWS UKA Show I went to a couple of weeks ago was the best one I have been to, but it still just can't compare to a KC Show. These are the pros and cons as I see them:

UKA Pros:
- Training in the ring. Whether it's taking a toy in the ring in a competition environment for specific-instant-reward,or re-working contacts and re-working waits
- Nursery Classes enabling 16mth old dogs to have a go in a competition on 'young dog friendly' courses and equipment.
- 4 runs a day
- Lovely rosettes
- Measuring at every show
- Normally at least one ring indoors
- Cash prizes when you get to the big Finals!

UKA Cons:
- Unable to work out when your run is due to entries being taken on the day. 20 dogs somehow took over an hour to run in one ring! That ring ran on so late that they had to bring the last classes indoors as they lost the light outdoors!
- No formal presentations, just names read out - come and get it off this pile of rosettes on the table. No chance to shake anybody's hand or thank the judge in person. One of the best things about judging is giving out the prizes so I don't like this from a competitor or judges point of view.
- 4 Jump heights. Rather controversially, I don't believe a 4th jump height is required for UKA or KC. When I started Agility our dogs used to jump 2ft 6", we had a collie who would have measured Medium/Midi under the new regulations and she used to jump 2ft 6" - did this slow her down, yes, obviously because she was not built for the sport but she enjoyed what she did and did it to the best of her ability. My point is that if a  person wants to take up 100m hurdles and they have short legs, they are never going to make the Olympics; they can still train and set their personal goals and strive for their personal best, but nobody is going to lower the hurdles for them  and cater the sport so that they can do better and go further in it.
Stitch has been measured twice as under 430mm at KC and therefore is Medium by their standards, at the UKA show this week he measured 434mm and therefore out of Midi and into the Standard height (I'm not sure how that is, but I know a number of KC Medium dogs who have had the same problem), I will not jump him at standard height because he has hip dysplasia and I think the extra 4inches he'd have to jump for the sake of 4mm in height is an unnecessary strain for him. If he had measured Large at KC he would also not be competing, but I will not be demanding a 5th jump height to cater to him at UKA or would I agree with a 4th height at KC. Hex actually measures 'Standard' in UKA, but I jump her at the next height up 'Maxi' because that is what she jumps at KC. Yes, jumping her at Standard would give her a competitive edge (and would mean I wouldn't be trumped in each of my runs by Pat '4 wins' Conibere. teehee) but she can jump Maxi comfortably and regularly does, so why change that?
4 Jump heights also means more 'faffing' as they change the jump heights and some classes go with no dogs being placed because with the smaller class sizes there is more of a chance of everybody being eliminated - this happened in at least 2 classes at the SWWS Show.
- Smaller classes actually mean larger queues in some cases. If there are only 20 dogs in the class, everybody thinks it is okay to turn up at once regardless of their running order.
- With the amount of classes, rings and height variations and surprise entries there is an element of 'organised chaos' which puts me on edge. Maybe this is how people feel when they first start KC Shows, maybe it's because I have more than one dog to run (or did have until Stitch was measured), maybe it's just me?
- Confusing website and annoying entry process.

Looking at those lists, the pros do outweigh the cons, particularly if you have a young dog, but for me the madness and rush just isn't worth the hassle of having my name read out and my rosette chucked on the table  for me to pick up and I know Agility is about the dogs and the fun they have, but they're not having a good time when I'm rushing to get them warmed up and to a ring and they get stressed in the long queues. Hex actually ended up being knee'd in the head by somebody as they ran through our queue to get to the ring next door in a panic that they had missed their run, I was relatively near the front of our long queue and she was stupidly running through the queue and in front of it to get to her ring where there were no dogs.

I have entered Hex in the January SWWS Show as it is just 6miles from our house. But I won't be running her, Matt will. As I don't do UKA's my dogs are in Novice, which means Matt should be able to walk ad handle the easier courses which he can't do in G6-7 KC Classes.

UKA Shows just aren't for me... until maybe Voodoo needs some ring experience and then maybe, just maybe, I'll give them another chance.

Results:
Hex - 3rd, Novice Jumping
Hex - Clear, Steeplechase 1 (even with a huge loop which I would have marked as a 5r)
Stitch - 3 out of 4 Clears but 'NFC' (Not For Competition) as I ran him at Midi height.

A-SIT Fun Day

Well I am sitting at home now knowing that all is packed away (except the gazebo and windbreak which are still drying) and that the A-SIT Fun Day is officially over. All that is left are the soggy results sheets and a couple of spare clear round rosettes.

We usually hold a Fun Day at the start of the Agility season and one at the end, but having lost Sprite in March I was only just about able to function through my usual day to day tasks and was not myself at all, which meant that we only had room for the one this year and this was it! So it was more important to me than ever that the day was a success and I feel that In every way possible it was...apart from the weather which I just can't help! And of course it's just our luck that Saturday the day prior to the competition the weather was glorious and today was fine also!

Obviously I am extremely happy with and for the people who went home with rosettes but I am also feeling all glowy for the people who came for different reasons. A number of people were trying out a competition for the very first time (very brave in the weather we had!) and are now looking more seriously at trying the real deal, some were using the day as a 'training day' to apply things they have practiced in a new environment and of course Matt just wanted to play with Hex!

I was so worried about the weather effecting the day, sick with nerves when I arrived at the field to set up and a tension headache building throughout the day as I worried if people were enjoying themselves or wishing they had never bothered. I needn't have worried as I have had nothing but positive feedback and smiles and thank yous! And I in turn have to thank my Mum for all of her help, Judging and for donating the Trophies for the pre-comp classes, my Dad for catering, Matt for timing, the numerous people who stepped in to scribe and 'relieve' Matt (just for you Derek!), Gill for the use of her fencing for the exercise area, everybody who brought yummy scrummy food - o my goodness what a feast! But also thanks to every single person who attended and kept the mood fun and positive.

So here are the results (along with the times)!

Pre-Comp Agility:
1st - Jennine & Ruby (26.91)
2nd - Wendy & Molly (30.51)
3rd - Karen & Barney (30.69)
Clear Rounds: Sophie & Daisy (33.48) and Martin & Seamus (37.33)

Competition Agility:
1st - Rosie & Freddie (49.26 seconds)
2nd - Molly & Ben (53.95 seconds)

Trophy Dogs Agility:
1st - Sarah & Ru (28.13)
2nd - Gill & Mollyanna (31.20)
Clear Rounds: Gill & Kassey (32.80)

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Pre-Comp Jumping:
1st - Jennine & Ruby (23.83)
2nd - Sadie & Max (30.64)
3rd - Rosemary & Toonie (31.41)
Clear Rounds: Wendy & Molly (37.37) and Sam & Eric (39.88)

Competition Jumping:
1st - Molly & Ben (47.37 with 5F)
Everybody else got eliminated so well done Molly!

Trophy Dogs Jumping:
1st - Sarah & Ru (29.79)
2nd - Gill & Mollyanna (29.81)
Clear Rounds: Anthony & Amy (30.07) and Gill & Kassey (36.51)

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Pre-Comp Steeplechase:
1st - Sadie & Max (35.09)
2nd - Karen & Barney (36.65)
3rd - Sam & Eric (48.38)

Competition Steeplechase:
1st - Stu & Skye (24.70)
2nd - Malcolm & Molly (30.75)
Clear Rounds: Rosie & Freddie (59.74)

Trophy Dogs Steeplechase:
1st - Sarah & Narla (27.27)
2nd - Alex & Sonny (31.61)
Clear Rounds: Sarah & Ru (32.81) and Malcolm & Dylan (33.47)

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And finally there was a very special rosette for the Best A-SIT Member!

1st - Sarah & Ru (25pts)
2nd - Sadie & Max (21pts)
3rd - Jennine & Ruby (20pts)

Points were awarded as follows:
1st = 10pts, 2nd = 9pts, 3rd = 8pts, Clear = 5pts, 5f = 2pts, 10f = 1pt

Make a Wish

As an instructor you don't wish for your clients to go out winning everything in sight, what you wish for is happy clients and happy dogs. In the long run you want the dogs to meet their potential and individual personal goals set by their handlers, short term you just want both parts of the partnership to perform how they do in training.

This week a number of A-SIT members took their first steps outside of training and entered the Make A Wish Clear Round Day. A no-pressure event as the runs were only judged on whether you went clear or not, not on how fast you were or whether your clear was any better than anyone else's.

I am SO proud of the members who attended, for taking this big step, supporting a worthy cause (the money raised went towards the Make A Wish Charity) and doing themselves proud.

Well Done to:

Karen & Barney - 3x Clears at their first outing!!!
Sadie & Max - 2x Clears at their first outing
Claire & Sam - 1 Clear at their first outing
Molly & Ben - 1 Clear - their very well deserved first
Ant & Amy - 1 Clear

£378.00 was raised.   :o)

@ BHC Show the following day:

Stitch - 2nd, G5-7 Agility
Stitch - 2nd, 1-7 Steeple Chase
Stitch - 4th, 1-7 Jumping
Stu & Skye - 4th, G3 Agility - At their First Show!!
Anthony & Amy - 4th, G1-2 Agility
Sarah & Narla - 15th, G3 Jumping
Sarah & Ru - Clear, G3 Jumping
Gill & Mollyanna - Clear, 1-7 Jumping
Gill & Kassey - Clear

September Results

No wonder September wizzed by, we had a show every weekend but the last! 2 Day shows were available each weekend, but I decided not to over do it and took some of them as one dayers especially after the busy August I had.

Well done to the following (and do let me know if I've missed anybody out!):

@ Prestbury:
Stitch - 1st, G5-7 Jumping

Wendy & Ryley - 1st, G3 Jumping

Sarah & Ru - 2nd, G2 Agility

Sarah & Ru - 8th, 1-2 Agility

Gill & Mollyanna - 3rd, 1-4 Jumping

Ant & Amy - 7th, G1 Jumping

@ Gillingham:

Sarah & Ru - 3rd, G2

Gill & Mollyanna - 5th, 1-3 Agility

Stu & Ru - Clear 

Hex - Clear, G6 Jumping

@ Blackdown

Stitch - 1st, 5-7 Jumping

Stitch - 2nd, 5-7 Jumping

Stitch - 2nd, 6-7 Agility

Gill & Mollyanna - 1st, 1-3 Agility! Taking them to Grade 4!

Gill & Mollyanna - Clear, 3-4 Jumping

Sarah & Ru - 1st, G2 Agility! Taking them and the rest of the Lindsey Pack to Grade 3!

Sarah & Ru - 3rd, 1-2 Jumping 

Sarah & Narla - 1st, G2 Jumping

Ant & Amy - 4th, G1 Agility

@ Honiton/South Devon

Stitch - 1st, 4-7 Agility! Taking us to Grade 7 and Champ Classes!
Stitch - 1st, 4-7 Jumping

Stitch - 1st, 4-7 Jumping

Stitch - 2nd, 6-7 Agility

Wendy & Ryley - 1st, 1-3 Agility! Taking them to Grade 4!

Wendy & Ryley - 3rd, Grade 3 Agility

Julie & George - 1st, 1-3 Agility

Gill & Mollyanna - 2nd, 1-3 Jumping

Gill & Mollyanna - 4th, 1-3 Jumping

Ant & Amy - 2nd, 1-2 Agility (so, so close to that win!)

Ant & Amy - Clear, 1-2 Jumping

Hex - 5th, 6-7 Agility

Hex - 7th, 4-7 Agility

Gill & Kassey - Clear, 4-7 Jumping

Gill & Kassey - Clear, 4-7 Jumping

TAG

Oh my goodness I have fallen well and truly behind!

I wanted to make sure that I left plenty of time to blog the week long show TAG as it was quite eventful but now it's all a distant fuzzy memory! So i'm going to keep it short.

Highlight for me had to be Hex winning her first G6 Agility! She has come so close recently, it was really nice to get one under our belt. Stitch won a number 8 Jumping Classes so that was good and I got a trip to Alton Towers on the day off and a fat Chinese the night before. So smiles all round (except for during Nemesis Sub Terror!)  : )

Voodoo did go AWOL at 11pm at night on the 2nd night, that was really scary, but Jo caught him down by the rings thank goodness! I also hit a really bad patch mid week, Stitch was continuing to break his 'waits' and self release his contacts, unless we had been eliminating. Either he knew he'd been eliminated or I was acting differently... it appeared to be the later, in which case I was letting him down. I did get quite upset, not because I wasn't winning, but because I just wanted to reproduce what I could in training. It had been nearly a year since Stitch had last one an Agility round and that was all we needed to go G7 and I knew that he was more than capable of doing it. It's not a nice feeling to know that you've let your dog down, I wasn't looking forward to the runs and found myself back in a negative spiral  The pressure was getting to me and I was really tired. But I was at the show with SWAT and my friends picked me back up.

It was at this show that I decided that the G7 win would be worth nothing unless he was ready for Champ classes, which as he was, he most definitely was not! So I started putting Stitch back on every wait he broke, not releasing him unless he was in the position I left him in. I was also putting him back on his contacts  regardless of whether I was clear to the point and holding the contacts he did correctly. I was determined to fix what had been broken and put it behind us.

It was my first time attending TAG Show and it was a very last minute decision to go, but despite the weather and the stress, it was a good show and I think you'll find me back there next year!

Results:

@ TAG
Stitch = 8 x 1st Places
Hex = 1 x 1st, 1 x 4th, 2 x 5ths, 3 x 6ths

@ Dartmoor
Ant & Amy - 3rd, G1 Jumping

KC International Festival

So for a while there it looked like the weather was going to cost us another event! Kelmarsh Hall was a mud bath and an extremely last minute decision was made to relocate the show to Rockingham Castle. Tony Griffin tells me that before the Monday before the show (which was due to start on Friday), the Kennel Club weren't even aware that the venue existed!

I am so impressed with the KCs ability to relocate such a huge show at such short notice, I actually preferred the venue and the set up, but I think a lot of that was helped by the AMAZING camping spot which we were allocated on arrival - just a stones throw from the shower block, toilet block, water supply and Ring 15!

The weather was beautiful so it was easily enjoyable even though Stitch was giving me a lot of 'up yours' moments and Hex was having a lot of near misses (I will get around to uploading and publishing the videos eventually). I just couldn't believe what Hex was throwing my way, she was more than exceeding my expectations on some courses which were way above what we have been training at. Unfortunately, she clipped a pole here, a long jump there and couldn't quite hold it together for a whole run, but I was absolutely buzzing taking her down to the rings and enjoyed every second in the ring with her. There was one course set by a foreign judge which nobody could get round, Hex got around all of the difficult bits only for me to fluff a turn off a seesaw and leave her wondering where the next obstacle was - ARGH!!!! Idiot! But it did leave me with a 'we can do anything now' kind of feeling. Unlike Stitch who was giving me the opposite feeling as his waits and contacts got worse and he continued to ignore every 'here' command I threw him; much preferring to take his own line.

We were camping along side Jo who qualified for the British Open with Meddler, so it was nice to get involved in one of the big events even if it was grooming for Jo and not running myself. Unfortunately Jo narrowing missed out on spot at Crufts but I feel she did herself proud and Meddi certainly enjoyed herself! And we enjoyed the evening Disco even though it finished at 10.30pm - what's that about?!

Results:
Stitch - 2nd, 6-7 Jumping
Stitch - 6th, 6-7 Jumping
Hex - Clear, British Open Jumping

SWAT 'Summer' Show

Last year I couldn't go to the SWAT Summer show but I had heard great things about it and was looking forward to it this year. Especially after so many of our shows this year have been cancelled, I feel like we're nearing the end of the season and I have hardly just begun!

I was down to judge on the Tuesday and help the rest of the week and I've got to say that I was really proud to be a part of the show. There was a nice enclosed exercise area, nice size rings, lots of smiley faces,  rosettes and trophies which stand out and everything was well organised.

The decision was made to cancel Sunday afternoon to protect the ground for the rest of the week I thought this was a brave decision but definitely the right one. It was bucketing it down and with more rain forecast and the judges and helpers already soaked through, I think it was only the spaniels and other mud-larks enjoying themselves.


Monday came and went with a little rain and with some good results for the Club which are listed below and then came Tuesday; Judgment day... I mean my day to judge.

I had the following classes:
Large 1-2 Agility
Medium 1-4 Agility
Small 1-4 Agility
Large 1-3 Jumping

I had set my usual sort of courses; courses where the best partnership will win, not just the fastest dog. I like a course which can be successfully run 2-3 different ways so the handler has choices and therefore has to make the best one for them and their dog and then pull it off when it counts!

Above is my Agility course(s), the black No17 indicates changing it from an optional tunnel entrance for the 1-2's to a selected entrance for the 1-4s.

Unfortunately there was one dampener on the day; following many recent discussions on the forum and facebook about toys in the ring I had a feeling that something would come up and so had re-read the rule book, not once like I usually do before judging, but THREE times. Sure enough I was approached before one of my classes to see if a boy could run with his dog with a toy in the ring, I was told I could eliminate him but that he would like to run as part of the class. I explained that I knew there was not a rule in the rule book to say that he couldn't do this, however it did put me in a difficult situation as I didn't believe it was right and I could NOT eliminate him because then I would be the one breaking the rules and  making my class a 'special' class. I went to the Secretaries tent for clarification on where I stood and was told that what ever my decision I would be backed up and that they agreed that it is Custom and Practice not to take a training aid in the ring, I was also informed that the 'toy' was actually a velcro treat bag and had therefore at some point had food in it and that the person in question had been putting judges in this difficult situation the whole show and being quite rude and confrontational when she didn't get her own way! - Great!
So I made my decision - as I couldn't eliminate him for running with it, but neither did I agree that he should be allowed to, I decided he could run at the end of the class when it had closed. I would stay in the ring to 'judge' him, but it would not be for competition. I thought this was more than fair - as promised I got a lip full from his mother, but I stayed calm, stood my ground and had my Ring Manager at hand to put me back in the ring where I belonged to start my class.
This lady whoever she is should be ashamed of herself, she claims the toy is to help the dog and boys confidence, but really she is just making a spectacle of them and by ranting and raving by the rings she is knocking their confidence and not doing her 'cause' any favours by alienating judges and fellow competitors.

Anyways that was a blip on an otherwise enjoyable day. I was pleased with how my courses ran and had lots of nice feedback. The Farrmhouse Cider I'd brought my ring party went down well... in fact a little too well! The Somerset Cider talk came out 'when yer ready, in yer own time (my lover)' and at one point I was waiting for the next dog on the line and my entire ring party were under the Gazebo with the Giggles. All in good fun - just glad I didn't touch the stuff until after I'd finished!

The following day I was back in the ring competing, had my dog's pictures taken for their photo-frame trophies and then headed home for a sleep before the KC Festival!

Results:
Wendy & Ryley - 1st, 1-3 Jumping
Wendy & Ryley - 3rd, 3-5 Jumping
Sarah & Elliot - 1st, G1-2 Jumping
Ant & Amy  - 3rd, G1-2 Agility
Ant & Amy - 7th, C1-2 Jumpng
Alex & Sonny - 3rd, 1-2 Agility
Alex & Sonny - 3rd, 1-2 Jumping
Gill & Mollyanna - 3rd, 1-4 Agility
Gill & Kassey - Clear, 1-4 Agility
Sarah & Jemma - Clear, Anysize Jumping
Gail & Stitch - 1st, 1-7 Jumping
Gail & Stitch - Clear, 4-7 Jumping
Stitch - 2nd, 4-7 Agility
Stitch - 2nd, 1-7 Jumping
Hex - 2nd, 6-7 Agility
Hex - 3rd, 6-7 Agility
Hex - 3rd, 6-7 Agility
Hex - 6th, 1-7 Jumping
Hex - 10th, 1-7 Jumping

WOW! Well done everyone!