Soggy Fun

This morning we woke up to rain. It wasn't raining all that hard (although it had rained most of the night) so they started out running Jumpers on the grass. Even though it wasn't the best way to do it I decided to run the course with no front crosses as I didn't want to take a chance of falling. And while I always like Wazzu to run fast, I was hoping she wouldn't go full out as I didn't want her to fall either. Dogs seem to be pretty good about knowing what they can and can't do so I wasn't too worried. Just before we started our rain the skies opened up and it started raining hard. But Wazzu was amazing! There was one place on the course where the jump was as flat as I've ever seen. As we were running and I saw her heading to that jump I thought there was no way in the world she would ever make that jump. To my complete amazement she somehow contorted her body around and did it perfectly. Most of the dogs up to this point had just gone around the jump as they couldn't make it. I was so proud of my Wazzu Puppy. One dog later they decided to stop the trial and move the course from the grass to the sand. Up to this point only about 10 dog had run. They did say if anyone wanted to run in the grass they could do so and then they'd move to the sand. In addition, Any dog that had already run and didn't Q could re-run in the sand. But any dog that chose to run in the grass now would not get a re-run. Mike and Sparkie decided they'd like to run in the grass. This course had a very difficult box and they decided to give it a try. They did really well but at the most difficult point Sparkie pulled in - just like all the others that tried had done. But it was a great run.

When they moved the course to the sand there turned out to be an additional challenge. The course was built around a large tree in the corner of the arena! This certainly made the course more challenging but especially made the box more challenging. I'm not sure but I don't think anyone got the box.

The rain continued to fall all day long so we were in the sand the entire day. But it wasn't raining nearly has hard as last year - heck, there were no puddles or rivers!

Next we had one Regular run. It was interesting too as this course was also built around the tree. This additional challenge was indeed a challenge for many dogs. Wazzu seemed to know the course even though I forgot to do crosses I had planned and I didn't seem to be in position many times. Wazzu wished I would just get out the way and let her do the course! Despite my troubles, Wazzu was brilliant and got Q3. Mike and Sparkie had no trouble with it at all and easily Q'd - in fact they were brilliant and came in 1st place by eight seconds!



The next two runs were Chances. The first one was fun and didn't seem too difficult until you factored in the tree that once again was now part of the distance challenge. Many dogs had trouble there and lost their Q in that spot. Sparkie did it flawlessly without an extra movement of any kind. As you can see, Sparkie doesn't have any problem clearing the bars even at seven years of age.



But it was too challenging for Wazzu. She handled the tree portion of the course just fine. But our downfall is layering. In this case there were two jumps only inches apart and the dogs were to take the out jump. Wazzu always wants to be close to me so she took the inner jump. Oh well, she was really happy so I couldn't do anything but laugh and make her think she was the smartest dog around (which of course she is!).

To me the next Chances run seemed more doable for Wazzu. And sure enough, she did it like she knew the numbers. She was moving fast and loved the ending as you can see in this picture as she takes air over the A-frame.



Everyone was soaked and very cold but we had one more quick run to do - Hoopers. I wasn't worried at all about this run as we've Q'd in every Hoopers run we've ever done. It's not my favorite class but it is an easy Q. Wazzu was one of the first dogs to go so I hadn't watched anyone else run. We went through the course easily and now it was just three straight jumps out. So I took off running as fast as I could when out of the corner of my eye I noticed Wazzu taking an off course hoop. Darn, I never noticed that hoop! Had I looked to see what the dog sees as I was walking the course I could have easily kept her on course. Bad mommy - good Wazzu.



Mike and Sparkie made it look really easy and came in 1st place by three seconds. Sparkie loves jumping and even though she doesn't need to jump on a Hoopers course she jumps anyway just for the fun of it.



Now it was time for the Luau! Karen always goes out for the evening dinner party and of course this year was no exception. It started out with a costume contest for both people and dogs. As always, quite a number of people really got into the contest and the outfits were absolutely fabulous! Next there was some Hawaiian style entertainment that everyone was talking about the next day. But of course the highlight was the food! There was a roasted pig, fried rice, scalloped potatoes, fresh fruit salad, a mixed potato & macaroni salad (my favorite), and numerous deserts. Everything was truly delicious. Karen really goes to a lot of work for this dinner every year and it is the highlight of the weekend. The circus tent came in very handy and was appreciated by all. Thank you so much Karen for such a wonderful evening!

I didn't actually attend the dinner this year as my legs were giving me a little trouble. But Mike went and came back later with a plate full of food for me and filled me in on all the activities. He was very impressed and had a really good time.

Aloha!

Debbie
5/27/07