That's right, two ribbons.
Today was the Montecello trial at Port Jervis. To say it was a nice venue wouldn't do it justice. It was an enormous, stadium-style indoor riding ring. It was big enough for three agility rings, practice jumps, the check-in booth, and more. There was limited crating in the surrounding aisles reserved for volunteer workers. I was ring crew for Open Standard, so we got a spot next to one of the rings.
Sadie's first run was jumpers. She's been working so incredibly well lately that I had high hopes for getting her title, but knew that she tends to be goofy for her first run of the day. She did a fantastic job, though knocked two bars and lost her Q. What was far better than a Q, though, was how she ran. She was fast, she was focused, and she was happy. I've never seen her finish a run before with such a big Labrador grin.
Thanks to Mrs. Trainer for filming!
See the two rear crosses at the end? Only the first one was planned!
The second was supposed to be a front, but she was moving faster than expected.
Our next challenge was FAST. It was a tricky course. The start line was on the left and finish was on the right, but the send bonus went from right to left. Sadie did an excellent job following me through our winding course (which even included the weaves) and hit her A-frame contact. We almost missed the send when she came galloping back to me after a turn, but I managed not to step over the boundary and sent her back to the jump. Once she saw the line, it was no problem. We finished with 61 points, less 6 points for being over time. That makes 55 points for the Q and second place! Once again, she had that goofy grin as I leashed her and ran for her treats.
Last but not least was standard. The course had a tricky start, with a tire to teeter to weaves S-shaped sequence. Sadie took it like a champ, hit her weaves on the first try, and flew through the rest of the course. It was after she hit her A-frame contact that I realized she was clean, but tried not to let it affect my handling. We finished clean and 24 seconds under standard course time, for first place. We both ran out with idiot grins on that one!
Thanks to Mr. Trainer for filming!
Check out her contacts... they hit yellow!
Though we didn't get her jumpers title, I think we had a hugely successful day. I would count our wins as follows:
- First FAST Q ever
- First STD Q ever
- Ran happy
- Ran fast
- Ran clean (for the most part)
- Hit every rear cross
- Took the weaves like a pro
- Didn't snark at, or give a funny look to, even a single dog
And not to forget the little guy - he came along and hung out with us. I didn't have as much time to walk him around as I'd have liked, but he seemed fairly subdued anyway. He was very good, didn't try to lunge through the crate much, and was fairly respectful of other dogs' personal space. I'm glad he's getting used to the trial environment. He's so young and high drive, stressing out due to location/situation changes will be the last thing I need when he starts trialing. It'll be enough to get through his first-run nerves!
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