AKC trial today, Saturday June 27,09 JWW

FINALLY we had another trial. I was signed up for an AKC trial, and of course it was about a hundred degrees, so I thought I was going to die. We still do not have our teeter performance safe...so we were just signed up for jumpers, Breeze and I that is. OK FIRST LET ME SAY THIS LOOKS LIKE A WALK IN THE PARK, BUT THE ANGELES ON THESE JUMPS AND THE WEAVES WERE KILLER, I do not always say this but this one was a lot harder course running it then it looked like on paper. Well, I left Breeze at obstacle 1 and just went to the other side of the jump and released her as I started running, I threw her in the jump and slid laterally to the landing side of jump 3, so textbook, gorgeous start. I had to give her just a third of jump 3 to catch how jump 4 was angled sort of back of the line you naturally wanted to turn and point toward. Still doing fine Breeze took the part of the jump I gave her and continued on. Jump 4 is gorgeous, jump 5 she is moving out laterally and reading everything really wonderfully, 6 and 7 I am starting to fall behind and then I get an attack of the nerves, right about as Breeze is looking backwards worrying because I am behind. The jump right before the weaves is at an odd angle and the weaves are at a horrible angle and I knew I needed to get there to do a front cross and I still would have got there but Breeze got worried and sailed around the jump in front of the weaves. No worries, I am having a nervous attack but we have breeze back on track and she just starts yelling at me, whirling and totally turned around looking at me, which leaves the weaves....way out of her sight, LOL. So I finally get her settled down and she does the weaves, right as she comes out with the angle of the next jump I really had to push her line to get her out there but no problem, we are almost pros, or maybe novice runners, LOL, so then it is a bit choppy at the big turn with the rear cross and the right command at jump 12 but we get it and I am thinking we are going to pull this one off, and all of a sudden it was like Breeze hit a brick wall. She just stopped turned around and started sniffing and would not leave. I guess a lot of dogs were sniffing there but I had not seen that and Breeze, NEVER sniffs, Chloe and Lizzie, they are sniffers but not Breeze. aghghghg. So I have to really rouse her to get her off the spot and then she is not paying attention and slices the last jump at a very bad angle and hit both bars and the stantion. OUCH, she walked off the course limping ;-(.

Tracy, Breezes dads person went out and checked because she thought there might have been a gopher but she did not see a gopher but there was some feathers and it looked like a bird had been caught there recently????

Well, maybe next time, but it sure did not help that it must have been 184 degrees by the time we got to run and we had been sitting for so long, that is not good for my nerves, let me tell you. I wish I had a video but everyone I know was running right before or right after me, it is funny because it seems everyone I know with experienced dogs is starting over in performance so they are having to run novice too, so no one I could force to video, LOL.

In two weeks we have a JWW AKC run under cover in a horse arena in Pomona on Saturday and then our first USDAA, which means more measurements, ugghghghg, but that one we are signed up for a gamblers and then a snookers run-that is at a different venue but it is under a cover too, in a horse arena. Then I think we are going to take it easy until it gets a bit cooler.

THE GREAT PART OF OUR PROGRESS OR my progress is that I am getting much more comfortable and it does not bother me to have people watch me, I do not feel like they are judging as much and I am feeling much more comfortable acknowledging the good parts we are doing and knowing our mistakes are just areas we are learning. It makes it a lot more fun to be trialing and feels a lot better. I am not as nervous the night before and I do not think I would be that nervous if I was not having to sit around all day for my turn, but even going out there I am not as nervous, although gosh in the middle of that run today, it really hit me like a ton of bricks and I really did not expect it in the middle of the run, but it is getting better!