Yesterday, Cedar and I went to a local USDAA agility trial, put on by one of our local clubs, Boise Agility Runners and Climbers. I've never competed in, or even been to a USDAA trial before. It was a blast! I totally want to do more USDAA in the future, but probably not every weekend as I prefer jumping her at 20" rather than 22".
We competed in Standard, Pairs, Snooker and Jumpers. Although we only got one Q--in an AWESOME pairs run--we laid down some really great runs with only a few errors.
The highlight of the trial, for me, was the fact that Cedar got her weaves on the first try in Standard--ALL TWELVE POLES!!! WAHOO!!! The rest of that run was really great, but a knocked bar kept us from a Q. Throughout the trial, all her contacts were fabulous--fast and accurate with great 2o2o position. She listened well and we had a blast together.
Pairs was SO fun. We ran with a friend and her super fast Border Collie, Trendi. Both of us completed our portion of the course with no errors and in record time-- our run was only 32 seconds, including time for handing off the baton! We had the fastest pairs time out of anyone in all three levels on that day. How fun!
Snooker started off great, but a stupid handler error caused Cedar to back jump and we got the whistle. Ugh!
Jumpers.... well, there were some great parts. ;) We rocked a difficult opening sequence into a serpentine, but ran into trouble towards the end. Cedar was, I think, intimidated by the HUGE 22" triple jump, and decided to take an off-course tunnel instead--even if she literally had to go through my legs to get to it. She was quite determined! :-P But we had a great time finishing that course, and it was the first time that I've really ran for the "joy of it" in a trial. No stress, no expectations, just fun with my dog watching her fly.
This was the first trial I've done since being out of school, and I definitely felt a difference in my mental AND physical stamina. I was able to relax and enjoy the day much more than I have been able to at past trials. Neither Cedar or I were stressed out, and we were really just running for the fun of it. And it showed.
As much fun as I've had in trials so far, I think I had the most fun at this one :)
Hooray! I love the image of Cedar running through your legs to do something easier. Funny girl.
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