(Elma, WA) We're at a USDAA trial this weekend and since this is Boogie's first time he has to be measured. That means Mike had to get up super early to get in line.
We saw so many people this weekend that we hadn't seen in many years. I was really surprised how many of them remembered us. It was another nice weekend.
Sparkie and Boogie both have to jump much higher in USDAA than they do in NADAC. It didn't cause either of them a problem except for one time. During Sparkie's Standard run on Saturday she got hung up in the tire. It was quite the collision with Sparkie getting flipped. Fortunately she is okay but Mike said Sparkie won't be doing USDAA anymore. Just not worth the risk.
Little Boogie is game for anything. Even though there were many obstacles he hadn't seen in a long long time (well over a year), he did them all without even blinking. He qualified in every run except for one...and it was a beautiful run right up until the very end.
They were doing Gamblers. Mike had a beautiful course made up and they were in exactly the right spot when the buzzer rang. All Boogie had to do was jump, tunnel, jump - all on the other side of the line. Easy....you'd think. Boogie did the first jump, headed right for the tunnel, got his head and shoulders in the tunnel...then came to a screeching halt. Just as he was entering the tunnel a little Border Terrier girl started barking at him. He immediately came out of the tunnel and started looking in the stands for his girlfriend. No matter what Mike did, Boogie wouldn't stop searching for his girlfriend. Finally, the second buzzer went off. Oh, Boogie! But you know, you just can't help that sometimes. There are some things more important than agility...border terrier love!
Everything else on Saturday was perfect. Boogie even qualified for the Finals of the Steeplechase. What a good boy as the Steeplechase is run on a Masters level course and he is only a Starters dog - at his first trial no less.
Sunday was successful too although Mike seemed a bit disappointed at times. Sparkie ran great (she was only entered in three runs). She got Q1 in Standard and Q1 in Pairs. In Snooker she had an off course as she just couldn't believe she wasn't supposed to do the obstacle right in front of her. Here is Sparkie in her Standard run.
Boogie ran well today as well. He started the day off with a Q1 in Standard, a Q1 in Pairs and a Q1 in Snooker. He had a great pairs partner and we thought they could easily clean up. Boogie's partner did the first half fast and perfect. Boogie was really jazzed and did his half (the much more difficult half) perfectly as well. They were the "odd couple" of the group. All the other pairs were same breed partners. Boogie's partner was a super cute and super fast Pumi.
Boogie was also entered in Grand Prix. Once again this is a Masters level course, and it was extremely difficult. I saw many many good teams taking wrong courses. I figured Boogie would make a lot of errors but knew he'd have a great time anyway. Well my little boy was amazing! He did the entire course correctly! But he had his only missed contact of the weekend on this course. Oh, so close! I am so proud of the little guy. That's my boy!
In the Finals of the Steeplechase, Boogie and Mike were totally connected. Boogie went exactly where Mike sent him the entire way. And Boogie was fast! Ever since being on course with another dog (during Pairs) he was amped. As we have all done, Mike sent Boogie into the wrong end of the tunnel. He didn't realize it until the run was over. Had they done the tunnel correctly they would have had 2nd place in this very competitive group. But I didn't care. I was very proud of them both.
After it was all over we packed up and headed to Woodinville....our "home" for the next few months. Thanks Karen and Steve!
Debbie
4/10-11/10
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