Reflections

(Gillette, WY/Rawlins, UT) The 2007 NADAC Championships are over and everyone has cleared out of Gillette, WY. They’ve even already taken down the “Welcome NADAC Championship” messages off the marquis. The highways are now dotted with cars and RV’s full of agility folks scattering in all directions. Everyone is thinking over the events of the past five days. These memories range from exhilaration to deep disappointment and everything in between. All these memories are so fresh in our minds now. Some will slowly disappear from our memory banks while others will stay vividly in our minds for years to come.

Since many of these memories will disappear from my mind very shortly I’m sure, I’d better share some of them before they are no longer in existence.

One of the things we did each morning right after the two National Anthems was to sing an agility song. They were pretty cute so I thought I’d share them with you. We were accompanied by an accordion which was played by 82 year old Paul Kirk (who ran agility at the Championships). His wife, Mary Finley, wrote the words which were then put to the tune of some famous songs we all know.

The first day we sang: Dog Agility which was done to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Once your heart has seen the joy in an agility dog’s eye,
When she’s sailing over every jump and climbing to the sky,
You will know it is addictive for it makes you very high.
So, come give it a try.

Chorus:
Dog agility, forever!
Dog agility, forever!
Dog agility, forever!
Let’s run the course once more.

May you run until you’re ancient, may you gamble ‘till you die.
May it never even cross your mind to every wonder why.
It is fun for everyone and keeps your spirits very high.
So, come give it a try.

(Chorus)

In comparison all other sports are nothing but a bore.
Dog agility will take you where you’ve never been before.
It can strike at any time of life and lasts forevermore.
So, set the course once more.

(Chorus)

This seemed to get everyone going pretty good in the morning. The chorus was always especially loud. We sang this a couple different mornings.

One day we sang: Oh, My Good Dog (sang to the tune of Clementine – which starts out Oh my darling, oh my darling)

Chorus:
Oh my good dog, such a good dog,
Runs the courses so divine.
If she only had a handler,
That was equally as fine.

Oh my good dog, did the gamble
Did the gamble just in time.
But we lost a Q that morning
When my foot went o’er the line.

(chorus)

To the tunnel or the contact?
There’s a choice which way to go.
But I never gave a signal:
How’s a dog supposed to know.

(chorus)

So we tried our luck in Jumpers
Just to see how we would do,
But alas, I lost the course there
And we skipped a jump or two,

(chorus)

So, we muffed it. Yes, we muffed it.
Oh, we muffed it once again.
And instead of qualifying
It’s a Q that might have been.

(chorus)


You can’t help but smile when singing these fun songs.

There was a Kelpie at the Championships that looked just like my friend, Shari’s, Kelpie. The dog was really good! So of course when I saw the lady and her dog out in the field, I had to go over and visit. She said her dog is from some line out of Wisconsin. All I know is that this dog was fast and smooth – very impressive. I think we’re going to be hearing a lot from this team in the next few years.

Each Regular course was set to test different skills. One tested your weaving skills as there two sets of weaves. One tested your handling skills as the course was tighter than most and had a lot of off course potentials. Another was wide open – this was to see how well you could handle from behind as there was no way to keep up with your dog at all. Another really had a lot of discriminations. So as you can see you have to be very well rounded and have all the skills to do well at Championships. And you have to have a little bit of luck on your side as well.

Last year distance was a factor in every single run. This year however distance really wasn’t a factor at all unless you had entered Super Stakes. There was a distance line on all the regular courses and they were a little farther away than on a normal weekend. But I don’t think I saw one dog have a problem with the distance. There certainly may have been some – but I didn’t see any. I only saw one course where I thought the distance portion of the course was any kind of test at all. To my surprise, Wazzu did it perfectly and never looked at the off course layer jump.

I'm not totally sure what I think about the mulligan option that was part of the Championships this year. I found that it really added a lot of stress to the event. Do I use it on this run or save it? Do I want to use it early or save it for later? Many people I talked to found that it added another point of stress. Also, it kind of seems like at the Championships that all runs should count. If you mess up then that should be part of your score. I will admit that on normal weekends I have often said I'd like a mulligan. Overall I think it definitely added a new dimension - I'm just not sure if I really want it to be a part of the Championships. I really have mixed emotions on that.

One thing that was really fun was that my friend Pat was there with her husband Bob and two of their five dogs, Will and Quinn. It was so fun to watch their runs. They did extremely well – Will got a 1st place in Weavers and won by quite a margin which is very unusual at the Championships. And Quinn was pretty consistent and came close to making the finals. Pat was so nice and tried to make sure people didn’t stand in front of me so I could see some of the action. We had an opportunity to visit more than we usually do at a normal trial which made it even more special.

Just like previous years, it seemed that our most vocal supporter was Debbie Pierce. When Wazzu and I would finish a run we’d always get a lot of support from the crowd, which Wazzu ate up big time! One thing I could always count on was to hear Debbie congratulating us as we crossed the finish line. Bart and Debbie are both so nice – and their dogs are great too! The agility community really is full of super nice people and Debbie and Bart certainly fit into that category!

We got to spend some time visiting with Billie who owns Boogie’s half-brother and great uncle. They both made the finals – I had a blast watching them (and dreaming). They did so great. Billie was very nice to give us some information and pointers. We’ve known Billie a long time and she has been so nice to us from the very first time we met her, which was at the Championships a number of years ago.

That’s another thing that is great about the Championships – you get to meet so many nice people. Some of them you may only see once a year at the Championships but it’s like having a big family reunion each year when we gather where ever the Championships happen to be held. And there are so many cool dogs. Each dog has their own story, and all are very interesting in their own way. It’s amazing what some of these dogs have gone through or are going through. One gal I met a number of years ago runs a deaf Bull Terrier. Now that is challenge – but they do very well out there together and it is quite an inspiration. I could go on and on listing all the neat people and dogs we meet each year but this post would go on for pages and pages.

Even if you come away from the Championships with no ribbons, you certainly don’t come away empty handed. And if you wait a day or two after the event is over you can sit back and reflect on the experience and realize that everyone that goes to the Championships is a winner. After all, it takes a lot just to qualify for the Championships. We’re excited for next year already – wherever it may be.

Today, Monday, we left Gillette and made our way to Rawlins, WY. From what I saw there isn’t much there. And it is COLD! Even Mike agreed it is cold. I had to wear a stocking cap and gloves…and of course a coat to take the dogs out for a walk, although I don’t have a heavy coat as we expect to be in relatively warm places year-round.

Between Gillette and Rawlins, it was even snowing – very big flakes. Fortunately the snow wasn’t sticking to the road. I’m thinking it’s a good thing we’re headed south!

After walking the dogs, we barricaded ourselves into the RV by putting pillows in front of the windows and stuffed pillows and blankets by the door trying to block all the cold air that comes in. RV’s still aren’t made with very good insulation which is one reason we need to stay in warm parts of the country year round.

Mike made a nice big batch of chili, we got Sparkie all tucked in under many layers of blankets, I made some hot chocolate and got under the super neat blanket mom and dad got me for my birthday, we turned on Monday Night Football and we were all quite content for the rest of the evening.

Debbie
9/24/07