Christmas Time

Last blog 28^th November.... whoops!

So what happened in December? Well as you all know Sarah broke her ankle, but she is behaving herself and resting-up and taking care of her injury so fingers crossed she will be running again by the end of 2011.

17 of us tucked into a yummy Christmas Meal at the Fox & Goose Pub. The food was really good, the company great and the plan is to go there again next year. I also had a lovely surprise in the form of a huge bouquet of purple & yellow flowers, very pretty- Thank you! : )

Many a lesson was called off due to snow and ice, leaving me feeling frustrated at letting people down... but also keeping me in the warm.

Christmas came and went. Thank you everyone for my cards and giftys. The cards decorated my room and I had a lovely day with my family and poorly boyfriend. I genuinely love Christmas, it’s my favourite time of year and could only be bettered with more Agility. This year the Christmas UKA show was cancelled due to snow BUT I was lucky enough to get a text to say that two spots had come up on an Anthony Clarke Course Analysis afternoon so Mum and I whisked those up. Hex worked like a dream out of the8 dogs there she was the only one not to get eliminated on the first course – she just had the last but one jump down (a spread). I got a lot out of the afternoon – I’d had things in my winter training plan which I wanted to cover, which apparently Hex can already do! and Anthony had me handle a section of the course a way that I NEVER would have walked it and it knocked a second off my time as Hex sped round Clear at our 2^nd go at the course, it’s given me something to think about anyway. I left feeling very proud of both Hex and Mum and Stitch.

Now to burn off the calories! I joined the SWAT lot for a walk and cakes and the Little Orchard lot for a walk and Pub visit over the holidays, although maybe the cakes and drink undid the good work of the walks. Maybe next year we’ll have an A-SIT walk?

So 2011 is now upon us. I have a lot to look forward to this year – A crackin’ young dog in Hex, an evolving Kif and more runs with my old man. A-SIT have a number of dogs coming out in 2011 and I’m looking forward to helping them develop and take their first steps in the competitive ring. O and if all goes to plan Hex babies late in the year and potentially a house move! Busy, busy, busy.... no change there then!

Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all the best for the year ahead, a happy, healthy, successful 2011.

Lesley x

I’ll leave you with some pictures from the Christmas Meal, thanks Jeannette for taking them.

Ice Ice Baby!

Well this week has been an odd and challenging week. I got to teach in the snow for the first time on Friday, on Saturday I had to cancel all my lessons with dogs jumping large and was unable to use the contact equipment until 11.30am and then today when I arrived at the field at 1pm to take Groups the ground and A-Frame were still frozen! That late in the afternoon - Crazy! So last minute course alterations had to be made.

But even with the disappointment of cancelled lessons, the challenges of adapting lessons to fit around what we could do and the freezing cold (literally!), I think everyone enjoyed themselves, particularly the Group members today who also got to join in with the piglet herding.

Achievements this week came from:

Anthony & Amy – who finished their lesson with a clear over a technical sequence which required perfect timing and who also (touch wood) seem to have mastered perfect speedy weaves! And I’m not just saying this cause Anthony was kind enough to bring me a hot chocolate in the icey cold – Well done Anthony & Thank you.

Maggie & Saffy and Rosie & Freddie – who got their first Clear Rounds over an entire course in Groups today. Great progress guys – Well done!

I know we’ve had a great week, but I would like it to warm up a bit now so that the large dogs can join in the fun!

Last KC Show of the season : (

Off we headed to Dartmoor at stupid o’clock in the morning unaware of the eventful day which was to ensue.

Sprite had a run today, I wasn’t sure how his one eye would cope with running indoors in dim lighting, but as it was the lighting wasn’t too bad. He was doing a grand job until he landed funny on a jump near the end and twisted the wrong way.... unfortunetly he then couldn’t find me again so just jumped what he could see in the meantime – whoops!

Hex had a good show, but I really must stick to my guns – I’ve spent the last 3 works working on queuing her before corners and speeding up her contacts and in the jumping I wimped out on queuing her so she didn’t see jump 3 until it was too late and demolished it. And in the agility she was doing a lovely round – her A-Frame was the quickest it has ever been, but I sent her wide after it and then as she did the dogwalk, the round felt like a winning one so I panicked and over-worked the contact. If I’d just relaxed and run it was we’d been practicing I’d like to think we would have gone home with a trophy.

Stitch was at his second show and his first indoor show. Having won up at his last show he was also put into the 4-7 COMBINED classes! Mum knows she let him down in the agility – pulling out some ‘disco moves’ instead of handling moves that Stitch might recognise ; ) But he was confident and he flying and his contacts were fantastic. Clever boy!

In the jumping though Mum was fab, I walked the course with her and she talked me through what she had planned and told me that she would be putting her new independent weaves to use so I know that (unlike me) she did stick to her plans and did a cracking clear.

Results:

Hex – 4^th Grade 4 Agility

Gail & Stitch – 2^nd Combined 4-7 Jumping

Sarah & Elliot – Concussion! There’s a link to Sarah’s blog in the top right hand corner of this page if you want to see the video of the amazing flying Sarah. Hope you’re feeling better now hun and sorry my Hex headbutted you too! : s

Despite the wet and mud the show had a great vibe to it and so many of our SWAT friends were doing well – especially Mike & Rio who won the Grade 5 agility by 3 seconds taking him up to Grade 6! What a way to end the season!

As there is only one show left for us this year (and it’s a UKA – booooo!) I hope to be updating the blog with achievements of the up and coming A-SIT members not yet in competition. I have two special mentions this week. Firstly I want to say congrats to Olly & Marley – in the last group they pulled off their first clear round over a FULL course and they only went and did the same thing this week in training. Olly is completely new to Agility and has only been training for 7 months, if he can do a clear over one of MY courses this early on, next year competing in grade 1 should be fun! My second mention is Molly & Ben, Molly is our only A-SIT junior and in just 6 lessons and with the homework she has been putting in, she has taken a shy spaniel which wanted to glue itself to the seating area into a waggy spaniel who is happily completing sequences and progressing quickly with their 2o2o contacts. Keep up the good work guys!

All Stitch-ed up at BHC Show!

Finally after much hard work and training Stitch was ready for his first show so we packed him into the van on Sunday feeling excited and with Mum feeling a wee bit nervous – Stitch was oblivious that the day would be any different.

His first run was the Graded 1-4 Agility and he was CLEAR, he ran cautiously, kind of ‘am I really allowed to play this time’ around the course, and Mum worked his contacts but he still won the class by 15 seconds! In his next two runs he was much more confident, in fact a little too confident because he wasn’t thinking about his weaves so rushed them and made mistakes. But we are still very proud of Stitch Grade 4 after only 32 seconds on grade 3!

Hex – 2^nd in Grade 4 Jumping

I let Hex down in her other classes with my crappy timing, but she was flying!

Kif - 3^rd in Grade 5 Jumping

I feel he would of had a really good place in the Combined 5-7 class, it’s was a fantastic course by Barrie James, but Kif ignore my ‘here’ and the arm telling him to jump and decided to do the weaves so we were E’d at Jump 3, but the rest of the course was a dream and worth a mention.

Sarah & Jemma came 11^th in the Combined 1-4 Jumping. Speedy Jem, Well done!

Honiton/Devon Dogs

I think I’ve come to the point in the season where things start getting worse instead of better, it’s certainly time to slow down and embrace the upcoming break.

I consistently let Kif down and Hex was just mental and kept having poles (really enjoying her first G4 show!) – I’ve said this over and over but I need to spend more time with both Hex and Kif getting my timing sorted again, they're both so different and I'm so busy teaching, I don't have time for my own guys - it's not fair to leave them in the van all day and just get them out for 30mins at the end of the day when I'm knackered. I need to sort out a new routine! But along with the motivation to sort my life out we did go home with some pretty ribbons:

Me & Kif with Mike & Rio - 3^rd 1 -7 Pairs

Hex – 5^th G4 Agility

Sprite – Clear Anysize Jumping

Jane & Boot – 7^th G3 Agility

Well done to Jo as well cleaning up in the medium classes with Fluke

It is well and truly October – the weather today was really yucky, but the dogs were fab, lets hope we don’t get this wet every weekend.

Everyone should now have an email about the Xmas Meal – let me know if you’re going to be there. And I think we are literally days away from having access to embroidered merchandise!

Where was I? - Oh yeah - Blackdown

This will learn me for leaving blogging to until the end of the week – I’m struggling to remember what went on!

I was really looking forward to Blackdown, with lots of A-SITters there and a number of SWATties there too, I thought it would be a good fun day out – only one problem – my back gave out.
I was stiff and sore after the Fun Day at the field and by Sunday I was just in pain! It was Hex’s last show as G3 so I really wanted to run it and gave it my best shot.

Sprite’s run was first thing, he did a lovely clear, only a slight deviation when I thought he was looking forward... but with only one eye, he was actually looking left – whoops! Blackdown only do clear rounds for veterans, they say that offering places encourages people to push their old dogs too hard – whatever! So he got a clear round rosette.

Poor Kif – he is so in tune with my body – so when I can’t move properly, he can’t run properly. I also missed walking one of his courses. Every time one of my dogs made a mistake, even if it was just a pole, I was making a quick dash to the finish line – I didn’t need to be running around any longer than I had to. But we did manage a 3rd in the Rescue Tunnel Fun class.

Hex cam 7th in G3 Jumping with me, but that was right at the start of the day, one of the courses was one big blast, I knew I’d never make the finish, so I asked Mum to step in – needless to say she jumped at the chance and did a very speedy clear so came 2nd in the G3 Agility. Although got a lot of stick for not ‘working’ Hex’s contacts – bad Mummy!

So A-SITters went home with the following rosettes under their arms:

Sprite
Clear – Veteran ‘Clear Round Only’ Jumping

Kif
3rd – Rescue Tunnel Fun

Hex
7th – G3 Jumping
2nd – G3 Agility (with Mum)

Emily & Alfie at their first proper KC Show
2nd – G1 Jumping

Sarah & Jemma
2nd – G2 Agility
3rd – G2 Agility

Well done everybody!

I taught my last evening lesson of the year tonight and am now going through the process of trying to find everyone regular day slots for the winter – which is proving challenging!
Also on the verge of sorting our Christmas meal (either the 12th or 13th of Dec – pencil it in!) and embroidered club wear.
Now off to bed, more lessons tomorrow then Honiton/Devon Dogs this weekend for the last camping show of the year.

A-SIT Fun Competition Day

The sun was shining! Hip hip hip hooray!

I don’t know about everybody else, but I had a great day today! It was so nice to see so many people and their dogs relaxing at the field, and very exciting to see some of the new up and coming dogs strutting their stuff and doing their Mum’s & Dad’s proud. And so many personal goals achieved too; dogs that didn’t go home with any rosettes but achieved targets like running a whole course, running in front of other dogs, NEARLY getting clear rounds – so many near misses. But this is definitely something I would like to do again next year – so we can say ‘maybe next time’!

So here are the results:

Pre-Comp Agility:

1^st – Gail & Stitch

2^nd – Anthony & Amy

Competition Agility:

1^st – Sarah.L & Ru

2^nd – Jeannette & Tess

Trophy Dogs Agility:

1^st – Sarah.C & Jemma

Clear Round – Jane & Boot

Pre Comp Jumping:

1^st – Mum & Stitch

2^nd – Sadie & Carmen

Competition Jumping:

1^st – Alex & Sonny

2^nd... Everybody else got E’d!

Trophy Dogs Jumping:

1^st – Mike & Rio

2^nd – Jane & Boot

Well done everybody! And some special thanks to Sam for judging, Mum for her help with the paper work, Sarah, Mike & Abi for their ring partying and my fella Matt for timing.

Thanks Eveyone!