This blog is an extension of Spoiled Rotten Keeshonds, but will only cover Agility only.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

4-Day New Years Trial

Jada: Yeah, it's been a few weeks since our 4-day trial, but this is the first time we've been able to pry Joni's fingers from the keyboard and catch up on our blog! It was also pretty tiring doing this, but SO much fun - and that's all that counts!
Overall, I had a pretty good trial. I did 16 runs, and had 14 Q's and 3 new agility titles!

This was also Tyssen's first trial! He was only doing one run a day, but he had 3 Q's - and got his very first agility title! Way to go Ty-baby! I was really proud of him! I'll let him tell you about his runs in a little bit.

It was a busy week or two leading up to the trial. Joni had us down at the Club practicing alot. Silly, but she realized after she signed Ty up for the trial that he's only jumped 12" and had to jump 16" at the trial. Oops. So that was a good reason to work extra with him some. He can jump 16" easily, but he sure put on a show a few times that he couldn't do it without dropping a bar. He'll do anything for those extra treats and practice!

But then again....maybe Ty isn't pretending he doesn't know what he's doing! We went to practice a few days before the trial and he was a big ol' fruitloop! What an idiot he was! I was cringing with embarrassment watching that debacle out there. It wasn't that he'd forgotten....he was just a total flake! Joni was not very happy with this. In fact, she drove us over there the next day to practice again. This time Ty's brain was fully functioning and he did pretty great.

Thursday, December 31
Jada: Finally - we're at the trial on Thursday! It started later on the first day, so we didn't have to get there until 10am or so. Joni got Tyssen measured for his height card and we were ready to go.

First up was Full House. I ran this pretty well - got 42 points in 32.89 seconds (only needed 25 points) and a 1st place. This is how the rest of the class looked (level 4)

1st: 42 points / 32.89 (ME!)
2nd: 41 points / 33.74
3rd: 32 points / 26.52
4th: 32 points / 37.76

There were a few other dogs with more points - 45 and 49 - but they were in other classes or levels.

Next up on Thursday was Wildcard. I screwed up a few times in this earlier, so I'm just now on my last leg in Level 3 for this. No pressure! The course time was 33 seconds and I ran it in 16.83 seconds for 2nd place. 1st place was 16.33 seconds....lost 1st place by half a second. Oh well....we're moving up to level 4!
Here's my stats for this course:

Course time: 33 Seconds
Yards: 75
Our Time: 16.83
Yards per second: 4.456 (13.368 feet per second)
Obstacles per second: 0.594

Snooker was next...which I did horrible on. I just wasn't thinking...and I back jumped the second red jump. I have no excuse....;-(

Jumpers was next. Pretty standard Jumpers course....except I dropped a bar. I have no idea how that happened! I think I've only dropped one bar at a trial ever! But it happens, I guess. It did drop me to 3rd place because of the fault. I would have had 1st place since I had the fastest time.

1st: 30.65
2nd: 32.68
3rd: 26.74 (MINE)

Yep. That sucks.

Course time: 33 seconds
Yards: 122
18 Obstacles
My time: 26.74
Yards per second: 4.562 (13.68 feet per second)
Obstacles per second: 0.673

And how's this for one days work....3 titles in one day! I finished up my CL3-H title with that Wildcard Q, which also completed my Level 3 title. I also finished my CL4-F title with my Full House Q. Now I have a few more titles to add to my name here!

Tyssen's up for Jumpers next - his VERY FIRST RUN EVER at a trial!
I'll give up the keyboard and let him tell you about his run.

Tyssen: Hey - Tyssen here! This was SOOO fun! I knew Jada was having fun out there, but I had no idea how MUCH fun this would be!
Okay, I know I worried Joni a bit before the trial, but honestly, she's just way too damn easy to mess with. I act goofy and she just freaks a bit. I know what I'm doing.....I just like to have a bit of fun! But when it came right down to it - I did the job at the trial! So we get out there and Joni is giving me little bits of treats almost nonstop to keep my attention on her, which was good. I'm pretty easily distracted by all those other dog butts around me - all those pretty girl dogs to woo. It's just too hard to pay attention to jumping when there's a new dog to check out! C'mon - I'm only a teenage boy dog!

So off we go. I love to run as fast as I can, but I also like to look around while I'm running. So sometimes I miss an obstacle.Sorry, but it's just so fun having the wind blow thru my hair that - never mind. It sounds silly to even write it, so I won't. I blew by one jump halfway thru the course and we had to stop to go back and do it. Then I ran past a jump towards the end that I swear wasn't there the first time I ran by. Joni stopped suddenly and made me come back. I ran forward again (apparently on the other side of this newly appeared jump) and she had to stop again and get me back. OH! THAT JUMP! Was that there before? Fine - I jumped it and we moved on. Boy, they expect you to see EVERYTHING out there on the course, don't they? But we Q'd! I got 2nd place, which I guess I wouldn't have if we didn't have to stop a few times. Guess it made all my stats come down some, didn't it?

Course time: 46 seconds
Yards: 112
16 Obstacles
My time: 35.26
Yards per second: 3.176
Obstacles per second: 0.454

Yeah....I'm way faster than Jada and she has faster Yards Per Second? Guess I'll have to work on that. No way can I have her beat me!

Now for the 2nd day - Friday, January 1st.
Tyssen: I'm up first this morning - my very first Full House ever!

So we get out there and off we start running. I suspect Joni had a plan for me for this, but I knew I could make it better, so I did!
Jada had already let me know that in this game was not a numbered course - Joni just made it up on her own. Cool! Gotta hand it to her, though, she recovered quickly from the few surprise twists I threw in there! She definitely can think on her feet! But there was at least one surprise out there for me. I started to take another jump and DAMN - it was a friggin wall! No way was this was a jump! I know it had to look funny the way I put the brakes on and skidded to a screeching stop right in front of it. Jada told me later that this was a panel jump and it's just like a regular jump. ??? Guess Joni will show me what to do on that some other time! It was all over pretty quick - pretty much just a blur to me now, though. I Q'd and got first place! I had 31 points (only needed 19) in 34.48 seconds! It was the most points in my entire Level 1! And even better - this got me my very first agility title since I Q'd in Jumpers yesterday. So now I can add that "CL1-F" title behind my name! VERY COOL!

Now for Jada's Fullhouse and the rest of her day:

Jada: Fullhouse was kinda screwed up for us. I have no idea what I did on this...they screwed up the score here by mis-adding it so I'm not sure what I got. I did Q, though. But until Joni looks at the video I don't know how many points I really got. But the Q is all that matters, right?

Next up was Standard. This is my 3rd of the 8 I need for Level 4. I got 1st place in this one. It was also the start of a little friendly rivalry for time between me and a Sheltie named Kovu. As the weekend progressed we were always really close to each others times, so it was kinda fun to see who beat who each time.

1st: 39.75 (MINE!)
2nd: 40.57
3rd: 42.85
4th: 62.30

My time was the fastest in Level 4....and the 2nd fastest overall of Levels 4/5 that ran the same course. The fastest time was Kovu...at 35.35.

The course stats:
Course time: 70 seconds
Yards: 164
18 Obstacles
My time: 39.75
Yards per second: 4.126 (12.378 feet per second)
Obstacles per second: 0.453

Wildcard was next - finally in Level 4 in this! Got 2nd place in this one....

1st place: 21.32 (Kovu - sheltie)
2nd plae: 21.91 (MINE)
3rd place: 23.63
4th: 24.10

The 2 fastest times in Level 3-4-5-C were the 1st/2nd place times above.

Next up was Jackpot. Whew - not a Traditional Jackpot! Which meant we had a chance! Only needed 44 points for this....24 in the opening, 20 in the closing. We got 73 points adn 1st place! I was having so much fun collecting points! This was the highest score in the entire level 4 - and the 3rd highest off all levels.

1st highest: 76 points (Kovu / Sheltie)
2nd highest: 74 points (Charm / Rat Terrier)
3rd highest: 73 points - MINE

You'd think we'd be tired after two days of trials...but we were all pretty good so far, even Joni!


3rd Day - Saturday, January 2nd
Jada: We started off the day with Jackpot....groan.....a Traditional Jackpot. Which, of course, I blew entirely. All I had to do inside the line by myself was the tire, a tunnel (but it was on the other side of an easy jump C'mon!) and then the table. Sure....it sounds so easy seeing it in print, doesn't it! Joni tried to get me a few chances of practice by taking me over during the opening to make me do the tunnel rather than the jump. I took the jump the first time, and the tunnel the second time. But when it REALLY counted - during the Gamble - I opted to take the jump. I know....I heard Joni practically screaming "TUNNEL" to me over and over but I couldn't take my eyes off the jump - my eyes were just laser-locked onto it and no amount of screaming and yelling was going to make me stop! Big NQ here!

Ty's up next with his first Standard run.

Tyssen: Boy, I was raring to go this morning! I could hardly wait to get out there and tear that course up! I know I could beat Jada's times here! I could tell that Joni was getting a bit worried at the beginning....she kept her hand on my head before we started. I think she sensed that the millisecond she took her hand off my head I was OUTA THERE before she could even stand up straight..and she was right. Okay...so I was a bit too eager! I took off so fast I dropped the bar on the jump right in front of me - the opening obstacle. ARRRRGGGGHHH. I knew that was the stupidest thing to do, but it happened and there was no taking it back. I just had to run my little ass off and make up for it. I came really really close to missing a contact on the dog ramp, but it seems the judge thinks I got a toenail in. But I screwed up again. Joni did a front cross in front of the tunnel and I took my eyes off the next obstacle after the tunnel to watch her make this great blind front cross...and dropped the bar on that jump. One bar is okay but two will get me nothing but a big fat NQ.
Oh, and I also decided to go check out the folks keeping score right next to the last obstacle. Just being polite - and it only took a couple of seconds! Probably not a good idea in retrospect.

Course time: 66 seconds
Yards: 128
15 Obstacles
Time:31.22 (3rd place)
Yards per second: 4.1 (12.3 feet per second)
Obstacles per second: 0.48


Jada: Okay...now it's time for my Standard course. We got 1st place in this with a time of 47.61.

1st place: 47.61 (MINE)
2nd: 52.06 (Tucker - wheaten terrier)
3rd: 53.34 (English springer spaniel)
4th: 57.42 (English springer spaniel)

We were the fastest of all Level 4 dogs and 2nd fastest of 4-5-C level. Naturally.....the fastest dog was Kovu with a time of 47.57 in Level 5. We were SO close - only 4/10 of a second slower!

Course time: 75 seconds
Yards: 164
20 Obstacles
My time: 47.61
Yards per second: 3.445 (10.335 feet per second - kinda slow!)
Obstacles per second: 0.42

Colors was next. We got 1st place in this one also. We weren't the fastest in the Level with our 16.05 time - the fastest was 15.67 (an Australian Shepherd), but we were right up there with the fastest in Level 3-4-5C
1st fastest: 15.67 (Aussie - Level 4)
2nd fastest: 16.03 (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrieiver - Level 5)
3rd fastest: 16.05 (MINE! Level 4)
4th fastest: 16.07 (Smooth Fox Terrier - Level 3)
5th fastest: 16.2 (Charm - Rat Terrier - Level 3)

I think the 7th fastest was Kovu, my speed demon nemesis, with a time of 16.59. We won that one!

Jumpers was the last course of the day.....this long long long day.....I got this one with a 1st place and was the fastest dog in Level 3-4-5-C.

1st place: 27.24 (MINE
2nd: 28.96 (Kovu - sheltie)
3rd: 30.32
4th: 31.62

My stats were also way up in this one:
Course time: 48 Seconds
Yards: 148
18 Obstacles
My time: 27.24
Yards per second: 5.433 (almost 16.3 feet per second!)
Obstacles per second: 0.661


Sunday, January 3rd
Jada: The last day of the trial. I was getting a bit tired on the 4th day, but still was eager to run! Joni still seemed pretty peppy also, must to my astonishment. I thought she'd be dragging her ass by yesterday afternoon, but she's hanging in there. She's actually getting the least amount of sleep of all of us, but that's her decision....

First up was Jumpers again - my 4th leg out of 5 for Level 5. Maybe I am more tired than I thought, since I got a fault and was a bit slower this morning than yesterday's Jumpers. I got 5th place on this one, but mostly because I dropped a bar - again! Not sure why I'm doing this suddenly. This is my 2nd dropped bar this trial. I still had an okay time....was the 4th fastest time overall of Levels 3-4-5-C, but that 5 point fault cost me what would have been 2nd place. My time was 27.7.....
All levels fastest:
1st - 24.41 (Border Collie)
2nd: 27.15 (English Springer Spaniel)
3rd: 27.60
4th: 27.7 (MINE)
5th: 27.87

Course time: 38 Seconds
Yards: 132
18 Obstacles
My Time: 27.7 seconds
Yards per second: 4.76 (14.3 feet per second)
Obstacles per second: 0.65

Standard was next....got 1st place in that with a time of 40.02. Kovu beat me by a little bit time-wise on that with a time of 39.36, but another sheltie (Abby Steele) beat all the times with a 37.56. Smokin' fast!
Course time: 74 Seconds
Yards: 177
19 Obstacles
My Time: 40.02 seconds
Yards per second: 4.423 (13..27 feet per second)
Obstacles per second: 0.475


Tyssen: I was determined to not make the same mistakes today as I did yesterday! I promised to pay attention and look very closely at ALL the obstacles on the course! And it worked! I got 1st place in my Standard run and NO FAULTS! Too bad I blew it yesterday or I would have had my Standard title also..but I'll get that next trial! I did pass up one jump accidently, but Joni got me back and I picked it up without losing too much time. This is SOOOO much fun! I can't wait till the next trial!

Overall, I had the fastest time in all of Level 1. They say it was a tough course. Only 4 Q'd out of 11 running it in Level 1.

Course time: 70 Seconds
Yards: 140
15 Obstacles
My Time: 36.03 seconds
Yards per second: 3.886 (11.658 feet per second)
Obstacles per second: 0.416

Guess I'm done for the weekend.

Jada: On to Colors next. I thought we were flying thru this, but we were only flying fast enough for a 4th place. But I Q'd and that was my last Level 4 colors leg.
1st: 14.86
2nd: 15.07
3rd: 15.5
4th: 16.05 (MINE)

Kovu really beat me on this one with a time of 14.5 - the fastest of all the dogs running.

Course time: 32 Seconds
Yards: 79
10 Obstacles
My Time: 16.05 seconds
Yards per second: 4.922 (14.76 feet per second)
Obstacles per second: 0.623

This was fun to watch.....Joni ran another dog in Level 2 Colors - a Sheltie named Keegan. Now he is LIGHTNING FAST!
Keegan ran this 76 yard/10 obstacle Colors course with a course time of 38 seconds in.....9.92 seconds for a 1st place win (no faults). That comes to 7.661 yards per second - or 23 FEET PER SECOND! He sure was fun to watch!

Last course of the trial - Snooker. Seems kinda cruel to put such a tough thinking game as the 16 course of a long trial, doesn't it?

Joni really struggled with planning this course. She had some goofy course in her head that she admits she hated, but she couldn't think of another course to do. So she walked this one...and walked and walked and walked it. Then they started running it and she saw a better course people were running and she almost changed our minds. But the last time she changed the course we really blew it. So she want back to our planned course. But seconds before we walked onto the course, she changed her mind and decided to run the course she'd seen others run - without having walked it at all. Uh oh.....this was making ME nervous! They always say NEVER DO THIS! But we did it - got three 7's in the opening and went on and finished the closing successfully. Damn, she makes me nervous sometimes! We got 2nd place on this....only from a time issue since we had the maximum amount of points you could get. Joni didn't stick around long enough to see how many seconds we got 2nd place by - doesn't really matter. We were all more interested in getting home and crashing!

So.....until our next trial - just lots of classes and fun! Our next trial is March 6-7 and then April 24-25. Then 2 weeks after that we have an AKC trial on May 8-9. Not sure what we're doing after that......