2023 AKC Agility Invitational
I’d thought last year was the last year Zhora and I would travel to Florida for the Invitational.
Then she got invited again, and I thought “why the fuck not?”.
So we went. Ruth and Orbit came with us to show. The drive down was a doddle.
In all the years I’ve gone to the Invitational thanks to the awesome dogs I have and have had the honor of running with, I have never had a dog have a perfect weekend. There’s always been one little thing that costs us a Q.
Not this year.
At 11 years old, Zhora managed to lay down FIVE OUT OF FIVE clean runs. She was pretty over it by the last round, and needed some cheerleading. Jumpers has never been her favorite, and you do TWO Jumpers courses at the Invitational, you start and finish with them. At the time I wondered if she was sore, but watching the videos, I think she was just tired and rolling her eyes at another Jumpers course. She was bright and sparkly in the courses with contacts (Standard and Hybrid), so while I came home feeling guilty for making her finish her weaves in the last round because I was worried she was uncomfortable, I don’t think that was the case.
That Sunday Jumpers course, the last of the weekend, was the only time I think I have ever asked Zhora to do agility “for me” like that, and I didn’t like that feeling at all. I have always seen agility as absolutely a team sport, and my dogs absolutely do get to have opinions about what they do and don’t do. It goes against my basic philosophy to “insist”, but once in a blue moon maybe it’s ok.
She finished 35th out of 175 dogs. and was the 15th out of 66 bred by exhibitor dogs.
I couldn’t be more proud of her. She has been an amazing and professional partner (in addition to just being a great pet and lovely dog to live with), she has always given 110%, and I feel like we both laid it down this time. She will go back into semi retirement now, she’ll still run until I feel like she doesn’t want to anymore, but she’ll do one day a weekend or so.
Zhora Friday Time 2 Beat:
Zhora Saturday Round 1 Jumpers:
Zhora Saturday Round 2 Standard:
Zhora Sunday Round 3 Hybrid:
Zhora Sunday Round 4 Jumpers:
.
The drive back….was something.
I glanced at the forecast and saw there was a storm pending, but it looked like we’d outrun it.
We didn’t.
Partway through Virginia the road signs started warning about winter storms and a need to be prepared. The skies up ahead started looking threatening and I started getting a bit worried.
Then, halfway up a mountain in West Virginia the snow appeared and literally we went from dry roads and normal visibility to 20 feet or so of visibility and so much snow I was finding the road using the rumble strips. If we hadn’t been behind a truck so I could follow its wheelmarks, I don’t know what we’d have done.
And then when we got to the top of the mountain, back to dry roads. But that was enough, we stopped for the night in Clarksburg.
Despite my doomscrolling about the weather, we made a later start the next morning and the roads and weather were absolutely fine the whole way home.
I am so very, very proud of my amazing Zhora. She’s a consummate professional working dog. She travels well, she tolerates changes in temperature, climate, location, you name it, with grace. She tolerates hotels, cars, loud and oppressive environments, other dogs, people, and lots of crate time, with equanimity. She’s amazing.
