Trial and Workshop

It's been awhile since I have had a chance to sit down and write. Busy,busy,busy has been the past few weeks.

We went to the USDAA trial in Brighton, CO two weeks ago. Killy got one Q in P2 Jumpers and 1st Place! It was an awesome way to end the weekend. I was really happy with the rest of the runs even though we didn't Q. Gamblers-A really awesome gamble. It was the smoothest gamble, just beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough opening points:( Standard, both runs were really nice. No Off courses! Yeah! Thank You Stacy for helping us, my handling is improving. We didn't qualify in standard due to table faults and an aframe contact. So, just training. I can work on those things. Pairs, Killy ran clean, but my partner had an off course, so no Q there. Snooker was heartbreaking. A beautiful run, but a knocked bar in the close took us out. Overall, a really great weekend.

Went to Stacy's this week to work on handling, handling and more handling and boy did I need it. It was really nice to be able to be there three days in a row and see the improvment and the understanding on my end grow. My plan was to run Killy, but as it turned out it was a good thing that Lacey was there as well. Killy ripped his pads on all 4 feet the first day. Poor thing, he is such a tenderfoot. We were outside since the building wasn't quite finished yet. So, Lacey stepped up and I ran her the next two days. I didn't have many expectations running Lacey. I have pretty much stopped training her and competing with her. Well, did I eat those words! Lacey was awesome! Fast, tight turning...WOW! Okay, now I have decided to start running her again. She didn't bark at me at all! It was all in the handling, now that my handling is improving, her barking is going away. We both are not as frustrated. I do need to work her contacts since I didn't really train them from a distance or with any crosses. So, I am going to do that and then start competing with her again.

Lacey will be running in Jumpers and Snooker in June. Killy will be running PVP and then I need to decide what else to enter him in. We decided at the workshop to work a running aframe. It makes the most sense. When I drive forward he has a beautiful aframe and stretching over the yellow. So, my goal for the next month is to work a running aframe with him....once his little footies heal:)

Lesson with Stacey

We had the opportunity to work with Stacey Peardot-Goudy last week and this week. The main thing I learned with Killy right now is I move way too much. Any little movement right now in his training sends him somewhere (and not always where we want to go). Sometimes, I have to stand still and get his head and then move.

It's a very hard thing for me to do, it feels like I should be moving-always:) Even when my brain says-don't move, wait for his head, I feel my feet or my body just slightly shift and boom-off course.

I guess I have to practice more zen agility-calm, don't move, be patient, let the cross happen:)

Killy's Contacts & Weaves

Went out the other day and timed his contacts & weaves. I did two runs on each contact and the weaves and averaged the two times. I did not push him at all, I sent him and let him do his own performance. I am pretty happy with the times, especially knowing I did not push him at all. If I pushed him, the times would have been even lower.

Here are his times right now: Dogwalk-2.60 Sec. , Teeter-1.5 Sec., A-Frame-2.0 Sec., Weaves-2.5 Sec.