SWWS UKA SHOW

So following my last post you might be surprised to read that I was at another UKA Show!

Firstly, I had already paid for it when I booked the other and secondly I have decided that I will not be running the classes; Matt will!

Matt (my OH) has watched agility from the side lines for 9 years now, I have tried to get him involved with offers of training and the odd pay on the day run, but until recently he has shyed away (not like him at all!), he would rather just make up his own course and help himself to equipment with whatever dog is out when I am trying to set up for next weeks lessons. I think a combination of needing me to tell him what to do, not wanting to 'break' my dogs and not wanting to look like a wally have put him off. But this all changed last year when I asked him to run Hex in one of my groups; we were down on numbers, she needed exercise - it just made sense. Both Hex and Matt had a blast, my tuition didn't turn out to be as scary has Matt may have feared and everybody in the group cheered him on, he asked questions, he worked hard and finally I think for the first time felt what it was like to feel a working partnership the a dog and not just any dog; his 'Princess'.

So Matt was all sorted, he can run Novice at UKA (not an overwheming 6-7 course) which having watched me for years he is capable of walking himself and of course running, but on New Year's Day Hex destroyed her feet on a long walk and was unable to train until the day before the show and even then we only did 20 minutes to cover the basics - 'finding lines', 'rear crosses' 'reverse turns/front crosses' 'weaves' 'de-cel' and timing.

Matt's first run, Hex was excited to be at a show and took her own line halfway around the course, which is a shame as she did a wing-wrap tighter than I have ever seen her do and I wanted to credit them both with that. Their second run was a steeplechase with multiple tunnels - Matt lost his route, easy mistake on that course. Third and Final run of the day and they pulled it together (nearly) - I hadn't shown Matt how to do pull throughs, or pull offs, I didn't think he'd need them in Novice, but he did! And it was executed with perfect timing, her response out of a tunnel was tight and fast, his reverse turn, whilst a little late, was tidy.... he just pulled her off jump 16 a FRACTION too soon, such a shame as I'm sure it would have been a winning run, but I am so proud of them both. Here's his last run:



Results:
Well done to
Jennine & Ruby - 3rd, Beginner's Steeplechase

The Last Show of 2012

I always have mixed feelings about Dartmoor. It is nearly always my last show of the year, so it is great to see everybody one last time, it's well organised and the venue if fab... but it is usually cold, wet and despite being an indoor show the dogs always get muddy so it serves as a reminder of why we save our agility for the Summer (what Summer? I hear you say).

I had attended the North Petherton Carnival the night prior to the show and so the drive to Okehampton was a long one and I found myself walking Hex's course over and over with not much sinking in and handling decisions not being made, just noted as options for when I get there. Needless to say that this meant that I actually only just about managed to bodge my way around the course, Hex doing a majority of the work and just having one pole down - whoops!

By the late morning/early afternoon I had, had something to eat, a can of Rio (my favorite!) and was ready to rock it with Stitch. I have spent the Summer building a bond with Stitch and have been trying to maintain a calm focus whilst queuing; often resulting in me sitting on the floor with Stitch to show him how calm and not bothered I am (yeah right!) but with Dartmoor being indoors, not only did we not have anywhere we could sit but the atmosphere was extremely intense and I was worried about how this would affect Stitch's waits and contacts. Nothing to worry about - lovely clear, straight into the lead.

Hex had just 5 faults in her jumping (another pole), but it felt messy and like I wasn't as confident on the course as I could have been, Stitch however aced the very similar medium course and won the class by over 2 seconds. I have watched the video back in slow motion and I am so pleased with how he is reading me and responding to me and the trust he has now put in me. In April when I started running him there was mixture of timing and trust issues along with a certain defiance but we have worked through this to form a great partnership and as a result, finished the season with 2 out of 2 wins. Video Below:

Part of Dartmoor Show is the 2 minute silence we hold each year as part of Remembrance Sunday. All rings come to a stop as our thoughts turn to those who have served and/or continue to serve for and defend our Country. This is always something to behold at Dartmoor because not only do all the humans stop to reflect but all the dogs silence too! Debbie informs me that there were 591 dogs entered at Dartmoor show and yet at 11am the soundtrack of excited noisy dogs which you come to expect at a show turns to utter silence, instantly. And as quickly as it stops, it starts again when the 2 minutes are up. Our dogs may not understand why we stop their show, but I think it is lovely that in their own way they put their lives and excitement on hold. Many animals serve and are lost at war, we must never forget how lucky we are to have such special creatures in our lives and that man is capable of building such a bond with these animals that both parts of the partnership would entrust their life to the other.

Results:
Stitch - 1st, 4-7 Agility
Stitch - 1st, 4-7 Jumping
Gill & Mollyanna - Clear, 4-7 Agility
Gill & Kassey - Clear, 4-7 Jumping

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