Judge Windle Ewing (who it turns out knows Debbie Spence, my first agility teacher from back in Texas) designed some seriously tricky courses for us this weekend. He was the judge under whom we earned our first double double Q last year. It was ALMOST a repeat this year, but then an absolute heartbreaker of a standard NQ today happened. I reminded myself right after that this is just agility, we aren’t curing cancer and world peace does not depend on it.
Zhora earned QQ’s # 29 and 30, halfway to MACH2 already! Nina ran beautifully. It was fun. We are off for two weekends now and we need it.
Nina Friday Time 2 Beat (Q, first place, 10 points):
Zhora Friday Standard (part 1 of QQ #29, second place, 28 points):
Zhora Friday Jumpers (part 2 of QQ # 29, third place, 12 points):
Zhora Saturday Time 2 Beat (Q, second place, 8 points):
Nina Saturday Time 2 Beat (Q, first place, 10 points):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #30, third place, 15 points):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (Q, second place, 17 points):
Zhora Sunday Standard (part 2 of QQ #30, second place, 20 points, holy moly this course….only 2 8″ dogs qualified):
Nina Sunday Standard (HEARTBREAKER, on a double Q no less, the LAST BAR of the LAST JUMP….OMG…):
OMG I might just have a new favorite judge! Pam Johnson designed courses that Nina would have designed if Pam hadn’t done it first (and if Nina could use Clean Run Course Designer…), flowy, fast, RLH (that’s Run Like Hell), no need for pesky deceleration, just speed. They were LOVELY courses, with one single exception, the opening of yesterday’s Standard course, which gave most of us fits because of handler errors that were all too easy to make. Nina was SO CLOSE to a double, knocking the LAST POSSIBLE BAR today, which was at least partly my fault, since I didn’t decelerate where I had told myself to.
Nina was a Standard specialist last weekend, and a Jumpers specialist this weekend. She is running beautifully, faster than she ever has, got all her contacts, just JOFT (that’s Just One Little Thing, where “little” is now replaced with an f bomb….). She just needs TWO doubles to qualify for Nationals….just two….
Zhora was a rock star, earning two Time 2 Beat Q’s and double Q # 28 today plus a Jumpers from yesterday.
There were very few 8″ dogs, so I only had a few between them, so I was puffing!
I decided to post the good, the bad and the ugly this time.
Nina Saturday Jumpers (Q, first place, 21 points, 5.532 YPS):
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (Q, second place, 17 points, 4.893 YPS):
Zhora Saturday Time 2 Beat (Q, second place, 9 points):
Nina Saturday Standard (wow…I just did not handle that tunnel/aframe properly at all, needed to pull way over to show her the line):
Zhora Saturday Standard (aaaaand then I did exactly the same thing with Zhora….):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (Part 1 of QQ #28, Q, second place, 17 points again, how weird is that, they both got exactly the same points yesterday and today! 4.671 YPS):
Zhora Sunday Time 2 Beat (Q, first place, 10 points):
Nina Sunday Standard (ONE FREAKING BAR!):
Zhora Sunday Standard (Part 2 of QQ #28, first place, 25 points, 3.627 YPS, I did NOT like this dogwalk entry, and I did not handle it as carefully as I could have, so she slipped and I had a bit of an EEK moment):
Getting back into the swing of things. New judge to us, John Defilippi, loved his courses, fast and challenging, and he is very nice, has a generous wheel, and is very generous with his calls (the agility gods truly do giveth and taketh away, since the judge gave Nina and I a gift on her dogwalk contact yesterday, but then she took a wrong course…). Zhora picked up double Q’s #26 and 27, plus two Time 2 Beat legs. She also had a wonderful Premier Jumpers run today but stepped on the metal weave pole base and slipped so she popped and earned an R for the NQ. I am seeing that when I am very clear about where she is going so she can see her lines well, she is running faster and faster, but when I am unclear or when a course is really twisty turny, she slows down. Both Zhora and Nina earned personal best points totals and YPS in Friday’s standard course, and in today’s standard run Nina had the fastest time of all the 8″ and 12″ dogs, and was within a couple of seconds of the really fast 20 and 24″ dogs! When it works, it really works.
Nina Friday Standard (first place, personal best 34 points, 4.241 YPS…IN STANDARD!):
Zhora Friday Standard (part 2 of QQ #26, third place, personal best 31 points, 4.028 YPS!):
Zhora Friday Time 2 Beat (first place, 10 points):
Zhora Friday Jumpers (part 2 of QQ #26, third place, 17 points):
Zhora Saturday Time 2 Beat (8 points and our only Q on Saturday):
Zhora Sunday Premier (NQ but nice run):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #27, third place, 15 points):
Nina Sunday Standard (first place, 32 points, 4.11 YPS):
Zhora Sunday Standard (part 2 of QQ #27, 26 points):
Another wonderful trial put on by HABOC! Judge Pam Sturtz, my first time trialing under her, designed some really tricky courses, but really fun to run, she was really nice to show to. Some tough challenges and some low Q rates, but you really felt your skills were getting a workout, and you need that once in a while! Zhora put up QQ # 25, and earned her second Open FAST leg and another 10 points toward her Time to Beat 2 title. Nina had a NQ weekend, although her jumpers NQ today was one I was very glad I videoed (thanks Sue!) because I could see clearly that I caused her to knock the ONE AND ONLY BAR. Zhora was 5/6 on the weekend, just a weird and uncharacteristic R at the weaves yesterday. There were almost no 8″ dogs, so I only had four or so dogs between them, so I was TIRED.
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (NQ, weird weave R, but even Zhora can’t be perfect I guess):
Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ, obvs, but nice run):
Zhora Saturday Standard (Q, first place, 30 points, love to see her really digging in and running):
Nina Saturday Standard (NQ but such a nice run, good job of getting ahead of her in the weaves and supporting it properly):
Zhora Open FAST (Q, 71 points):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (part 1 of QQ #25, second place, 14 points, and she saves the Q in the weaves when she keeps going after a bad entry!):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (I drop my arm and turn my shoulder as she jumps the blue non-wing and cause the bar down, but look at that front cross after the weaves!):
Zhora Sunday Time 2 Beat (Q, 10 points, first place, some experimenting, her distance work is really coming along, getting ahead of her in the weaves is not ready for prime time, although I didn’t support as I should):
Zhora Sunday Standard (part 2 of QQ #25, first place, only dog to Q in her height, 27 points):
Zhora had her second perfect weekend in a row (other than an NQ in Premier), earning double Q’s #23 and 24, plus a placement in one run (some of the fastest 8″ dogs in the country run here so that was pretty cool!). Nina had some great runs but only pulled off a Master FAST Q. Judges Mary Mullen and Laura Kuterbach designed some deceptively tricky courses for us!
Saturday Nina Master FAST (Q, third place, 63 points):
Saturday Zhora Open FAST (Q, first place, 70 points):
Saturday Zhora Master Standard (part 1 of QQ #23, 27 points):
Well, so Zhora had nearly three months off (her last trial was the weekend she got her MACH, which was May 7), and wow, she came back with a bang! She had a perfect weekend, earning double Q’s #21 and 22 towards MACH2, plus a Premier double Q! Nina ran wonderfully with a Jumpers Q on Saturday and a Standard Q on Sunday. We also had a major disconnect today that almost ended up with one of us getting hurt – I was prepared to take the fall to avoid stepping on her but fortunately neither happened! As much as I wish I was raising puppies right now, it sure was nice to get back to running the Z dog, not bad for a trial I entered on the last open day on a whim, because I love running under judge Lavonda Herring! We are taking it easy for a while, one trial in August only.
Nina Saturday Jumpers (Q, first place and 20 points):
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (Q, third place and 18 points, part 1 of QQ #21):
Zhora Saturday Premier Standard (Q, first place):
Zhora Saturday Standard (Q, second place and 25 points, part 2 of QQ #21):
Nina Sunday Premier Jumpers (NQ):
Zhora Sunday Premier Jumpers (Q, first place):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (Q, first place and 14 points, part 1 of QQ #22):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (EEK!):
Nina Sunday Standard (Q, first place, 30 points):
Zhora Sunday Standard (only last half got videoed unfortunately, Q, third place and 23 points, part 2 of QQ #22 and end of the perfect weekend!):
Just Nina and I running this weekend, although Zhora came along for the ride and to see her human peeps and play with her canine peeps! I really miss running her, can’t wait for her first trial back coming up soon!
Nina had some gorgeous runs this weekend, even though we only squeaked out one Q, we were really in sync and the mojo was really working. Our Jumpers NQ today was one of the best runs I think we have had, just one lousy bar away from a Q.
Nina Saturday Jumpers (NQ but really nice run):
Nina Saturday Standard (Q, second place, 32 points, 4.24 yards per second):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (NQ but really nice run, 5.2 yards per second):
Even our favorite judge Mary Mullen couldn’t help us get a double Q this weekend!
Nina and I were there just two days (Zhora is in season so she stayed home), and came home with one Standard Q and three fun practice runs! It was Nina’s ninth (!) birthday on Saturday.
Nina Saturday Standard (Q, second place, 31 points):
Well, this was about the best weekend ever! After a pretty fraught couple of days with some very sad news about my beloved aunt, Zhora earned double Q #19 on Friday (at which point I called Jim and said “James Battista, PACK YOUR BAGS!”), and then yesterday she earned her MACH! She picked up double Q’s 18, 19 and the magic 20 in three trial days in a row. Talk about an emotional rollercoaster!
I have to say a word about my friends and agility peeps, just about every single person there was amazing to me, and my close friends, well…a gorgeous plaque from Sue Verbocy, and a new crate tag from Zap and Sherry (both say MACH Zhora and both were made AHEAD OF TIME, which somehow didn’t jinx us, by my awesomely talented friend Suzanne at Giftware by Felcor), cards, chocolate…I couldn’t ask for a more generous, wonderful, supportive, awesome group of people. I love you all, thank you so, so, so very much for everything, you made this just the best. And thank you to my awesome husband Jim Battista, for putting up with being an agility widower, and for driving down and getting up at o dark thirty to come with me and be there, it meant so much to me that you were there.
Zhora modeling the gorgeous plaque from Sue
Zhora’s new crate tag from Zap and Sherry
During our Standard run for the MACH, the whole place was so quiet (for an agility venue), you could have heard a pin drop, and then the place exploded. I was happy that once I stepped to the line, I followed my dear friend Sue Verbocy’s advice and looked at Zhora, smiled, told her I love her, and then just ran my course. It really wasn’t until I saw her go into the right end of the final tunnel that it hit me that she’d done it! I mishandled the chute with her and was out of position (“if she knocks the triple, it’s on you”, I remember thinking to myself, after thinking “what the F&*% are you doing on this side of the chute!??!”), but she just sailed through.
This was the Hamburg All Breed Obedience Club (HABOC) trial, we always love HABOC’s trials, they take excellent care of their workers, and their ribbons are second to none. I used to teach at HABOC so that made it extra special to get Zhora’s MACH at their trial. The original judge, Michele Fletcher, broke her ankle (heal soon Michele!), so Oksana Syrkin kindly stepped in to judge for us, using Michele’s courses. The courses were fun but quite tricky, but Zhora just rocked them. Oksana told me when we were getting the MACH pictures taken that she’d just earned her first MACH a few months ago. Everyone talks about your first MACH like they talk about losing your virginity: about how special it is; how you always remember it; how there’s nothing like the first one; etc. And now I am in a position to say that it’s all true. I burst into tears as soon as Zhora took the correct end of the tunnel at the end, and then HABOC president Ellen Schopp handed me the ribbon and MACH bar, and then went back to her ring crew job of fluffing the chute…which I didn’t see, and sent Zhora into the chute as part of our celebration lap (Zhora loves the chute), thank goodness Ellen was on the ball and jumped back so Zhora didn’t run into her! Zhora was SO happy, she knew everyone was thrilled with her. She got a whole donut (she LOVES donuts), and our friend Barb Teplesky gave her some steak, and later she got a hamburger. Afterwards, I took her to the beach with her dog friends Jackson and Lexy (Zap and Sherry’s Corgis), and her boyfriends Blaze and Zest (Sue Verbocy’s Vizslas), so she could celebrate in a way that was meaningful to her. I went out for dinner afterwards with my dear friends, there was a song (ABOUT WHICH WE WILL NOT SPEAK, IT WAS SUE’S FAULT!), and I generally just had the best. day. ever.
I am so privileged to have this amazing dog who is so happy to play this game with me. Like her mother Nina, Zhora’s work ethic and sheer joy at getting to play with me is priceless, and I try very hard to never forget how fortunate I am to have these awesome little dogs.
Zhora is now MACH Alkemi Blade Runner MX MXB MXJ MJB NF T2B, and she is my first home-bred champion at three and a half years old!
In other news, Nina picked up another Premier double Q (on the same day, no less!) and a Standard Q. She had some gorgeous runs, but the Q’s were elusive. That said, she now just needs 2 more double Q’s (and can use one more Premier double Q if she gets one) and a few points for 2017 Nationals. Running Nina, who turns 9 this month, is an exhilarating ride every single time, and I love every single run.
Nina Friday Premier Standard (Q and first place):
Zhora Friday Premier Standard (Q and second place):
Zhora Friday Standard (part 1 of QQ #19, first place and 30 points, thanks for videoing Clark!):
Zhora Friday Jumpers (part 2 of QQ #19, second place and 15 points):
Nina Friday Premier Jumpers (Q and first place):
Zhora Saturday Jumpers (part one of MACH, second place and 17 points):
MACH run! Zhora Saturday Standard (second place, 29 points and oh yeah, MACH ZHORA!!!):
Another video:
Nina Sunday Standard (Q, second place and 33 points):
Well this weekend started off a bit slow, but it finished as about the best agility weekend to date! Judges Sherry Jefferson and Janet Budzynski designed some lovely courses for us.
Nina earned TWO double Q’s in one weekend for the first time ever.
Zhora and Nina BOTH double Q’d today for only the second double double Q Sunday they’ve had.
Zhora ran really slowly in Jumpers today, even though she qualified, she was very slow, and I think it was because she’d burned her pads, running on that turf. Nina did that ages ago when we were running NADAC at this site, but she adapts her running style pretty fast to suit the footing, Zhora had a couple of bad slips and I am pretty sure she has sore feet. She worked through it though, good baby! They will be spoiled tonight!
Nina Friday Premier Standard (first place):
Nina Saturday Standard (QQ #13, second place, 29 points):
Nina Saturday Jumpers (QQ #13, second place, 20 points, I felt so connected with her this run):
Zhora Saturday Standard (third place, 24 points):
Zhora Saturday Premier Standard (NQ because I didn’t reconnect with her after the blind cross, nice run though):
Nina Sunday Standard (QQ #14, first place, 33 points):
Zhora Sunday Standard (QQ #18, second place, 27 points):
Nina Sunday Jumpers (QQ #14, first place, 17 points):
Zhora Sunday Jumpers (QQ #18, third place, 10 points, slow but brave, definitely looks to me like her feet are tender, poor baby):
Colby Friday Jumpers (what a nice run, he and Nichole are really starting to come together as a team!):
