Mind = Blown

I got home late last night from the AKC Agility National Championships in Reno, NV.

Wow. Just... wow. What an experience. Unforgettable. Amazing. Inspiring. Overwhelming. It's hard to put into words just how freaking COOL it was to be there. I'm really glad that I went to Nationals this year without a dog. It was great to go without the stress of competing, so that I could take it all in and figure out how an event of that magnitude runs, pacing, unique challenges, etc. All good information for next year ;)


I started out last Wednesday by driving from Kennewick to Boise, to meet up with Mary, who I would be traveling with. The roads were fine, but there were some suspicious-looking storm clouds about an hour out from Boise. It was like driving into the dark. Creepy. But I made it to Boise just fine :)


The next morning we got up early, starting our drive to Reno around 6 AM. We had to get to Reno by mid afternoon so Mary could check in, get her exhibitor packet/number, and so that we could unpack all our stuff in the crating area.

The drive went very smoothly. We made really good time, getting into Nevada before lunchtime!


Of course, we had to stop and play some nickel slots at the border :)


Finally, we made it to Reno! They already had the next morning's Standard Warm-up courses set in the main arena...


It didn't take long for Mary to get checked in and for us to get set up. There were already lots of dogs and people there, and the energy in the place was already pretty electric.

After walking around a bit, we went and checked into our hotel. It was SUPER nice!


The next morning, we got up and headed to the trial. Mary wasn't running the first run, so we had some time to do some shopping, watch some runs, and relax.






I bought quite a bit of stuff over the course of the weekend. Here is some of it:


After awhile, it was time for Mary to go walk her course. There were quite a few 20" dogs... 267, in fact! It took HOURS to get through the 20" class every day. OMG. After awhile, all the Border Collies just blended together, lol


Here they are setting up the Time 2 Beat course...


Mary didn't run until about three hours after her walk-through. She had a great run, but knocked a bar. Good thing it didn't count for anything, as it was just a practice run! Mary was very happy with Dani, though, and it set a good tone for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday was the first day of "real" competition. There were two rounds, one Jumpers and one Standard (without the table). Mary and Dani ran clean in both rounds! The weather was pretty awful on Saturday, with insane winds and SNOW. It was freezing!

You can see the storm clouds starting to roll in to Reno:



Here is a photo of the general walk-through for Jumpers/Round 1:



One of the coolest things about Nationals was seeing all the "big name" handlers. I think the entire USA World Team was there, and I got to see most of them run. They were pretty easy to find, as they were all wearing their red team jackets. Here's a stalkery picture I took of them on Saturday, LOL:


It was really inspiring to see so many great dogs and handlers competing all in the same place. All I could think about was how much I wanted to be there, competing with Cedar.

Here are some of the awards:


Ember's breeder was also there competing with her BC, Gyp. She would have made the finals in 20" if not for an unfortunate refusal in Round 3 :(. But she and Gyp are an amazing team! She brought Ember's mom, Tag along for the ride, even though she wasn't competing. It was fun to see her, though!


Sunday dawned early and cold. It was the last day, with Round 3, the Challenger round, and the Finals on the schedule. Round 3 was Hybrid, which was a standard course with one less contact (no Dog Walk). This was the last round for most of the dogs, excluding those eligible for the Challenger and/or Finals rounds.

Here's the Hybrid courses set in the main building:


Mary and Dani did GREAT, with a clear round on this VERY tough course. It was a great way to end their nationals experience! They were both very happy :) They ended up finishing 25th out of 237 in the 20" regular division with three clear rounds!!!!


After Hybrid was over, it was time for the Challenger round. This was for teams that didn't quite make the finals, but were close enough in the running to warrant the opportunity to win a spot in the final round. Also, those teams that won the Time 2 Beat round on Friday earned an automatic spot in the Challenger round. What a TOUGH course! I think it was more challenging than the Finals!



After the Challenger round was over, it was time for the Finals! It was positively electric in the main arena. It was really fun and exciting watching the finals rounds, especially the 12", 20" and 26" heights, which were the most competitive. The Dog Walk/Tunnel discrimination was the end of many great teams, including several handlers on the USA World Team. I think Cedar could have gotten it ;)

Here's the map:


Overall, going to Nationals was an incredible experience, and very motivating. I am still trying to process it all :) Since moving to Kennewick, I've struggled with feeling motivated to train. I haven't really found a new group to practice with up here, and it gets boring training by myself :P. However, right now, I am completely jazzed about agility! I really hope that Cedar and I can qualify for the 2013 Nationals in Tulsa, OK. I'm going to try really hard to make that happen.

After all, what could be better than experiencing Nationals as a spectator? Why, experiencing Nationals with my best girl dog, Cedezz.