Saturday, April 9, 2016

Molly April AKC Agility

Today we had some April snow (!!!!) in Pennsylvania, but that did not stop Molly and I from attending our AKC Agility trial.

Molly was only entered in FAST and JWW today.   We have been reworking her A-frame, going back to a stopped contact (long story.), so avoiding the A-frame in trial situations.   No Standard.

Molly's attitude and engagement was spot on at this trial site!  We have been here one time before.  She was a bit squeaky and chattery when we arrived, she always is at trials and especially at louder and busier AKC trials.  She calmed down into offered focus via "LAT" rather quickly.   We did an acclimation walk through the building before our FAST run.

FAST went nicely!   The Send was a double jump to the backside of another jump, and then back over the double.  Molly and I collected some points, earned the Send Bonus and then ended our run.   Unfortunately we needed 60 points to qualify, even with the Send Bonus and since I skipped the 9 point A-frame on our way to the finish jump...and also skipped the 10 point weaves in our opening, we were short 6 points.  Oh well.   I'm proud of myself for sticking with criteria of not doing the A-frame even when that meant an NQ on a perfectly good run.   Not easy for me to do!  That was the first time we had ever earned an Excellent Send bonus and a "personal Q" is good enough for me.

It was hours until our JWW run.  The weather kept switching from miserably cold drizzle to rain to snow , cycling through until it finally settled on snow.  After our walk through I wanted to let Molly poop and stretch her legs.   She wouldn't poop!  Molly never holds out on pooping at a trial, and she usually poops at least 3 or 4 times in a trial day.   At 1 in the afternoon, she had only pooped at 7am, so I knew she had to go!   Over the next hour as our turn in the ring grew closer and closer we took three trips outside, walking further and further from the trial site to new favorable locations until at last Princess Molly pooped in the cold snowy weather.  Sheesh!  Pooping is one of those

Our JWW run was not a Q...qualifying in AKC is hard for us.  I NQd us right in the beginning by not pulling Molly hard enough off of a dummy jump.  That put me behind where I wanted to be for our next line, and we earned a refusal on the weave poles.   We missed a jump and ended the run with a wrong course.  Oh well!   Honestly I wasn't all too upset about the run - we kept it flowing.   I was really thrilled with my front cross at the pinwheel in the back - I really got myself into position and didn't lag around as I usually do.  Unfortunately that set me up to not be able to rear cross the third to last jump, and we may not have gotten that wrong course if I had rear'd it instead of trying to pull her off the wrong course.   But at that point, it did not matter and I was more interested in challenging my front cross skills!

No comments:

Post a Comment