Kachina Mountain Australian Shepherds

Happy Dog Agility Gale Jump2
July 27 - 29, 2007
USDAA Agility Trial

I normally look forward to this trial, but there were several things worrying me about it: extreme heat; a DAM Team Tournament (which I was not entered in, but meant there would be TONS of people there;) flying airplanes to scare the crows away in the neighboring fields and gunshots if that didn’t work, and three days of agility in a row. My worst fears were confirmed when I arrived at 6:30am (and didn’t run a dog until 3:30pm) and discovered there was NO crating available at all. Anywhere. My dogs had to crate out of the van and it was extremely hot. I was not a happy camper.

The only two runs I had on Friday were Masters Pairs and Performance Speed Jumping. Gale was teamed up with Finn and they ran clean, despite the heat. Max and Cinder not only Q’d but took 4 th place. Only one more leg for both of them for their Pairs Bronze. YAY! Patches ran her half of the pairs run clean but her partner was too slow so no Q for the old lady. Gale tried on the Steeplechase course but there were just too many fast and clean dogs that day. Sigh…she’s gotten one so I know she can do it, we just need the right course and the right dogs to crash and burn J Patches had the same situation in Perf. Speed Jumping – she was clean but not fast enough. Cinder, on the other hand, was lovely and made it into the second round.
	Saturday was blazingly hot and once again, my dogs had to live out of the van. I don’t know how many batteries I went through during the weekend powering up their crate fans but it was a lot! I only had two runs again on Saturday – Jumpers and Standard. Patches was lovely in both and Q’d in both – with a 4 th in PIII Standard! Gale picked up her umpteenth Masters Jumpers leg and Cinder won PIII Jumpers. Cinder was a naughty girlie in PIII Standard – dropped bar and self-releasing contacts – so she got quietly heeled off course. I can’t remember the last time Cin was that bad but I would MUCH rather it happen now than at Nationals! I think the reason she was so bad is that we had run in the 2 nd round of Perf. Speed Jumping (in which she took 2 nd!) and I am always pushing for broke when it is for money. Scout was there and stomped our butts…sigh…I love the dog but wish he was in a different division J Cinder just cannot keep up with those long-ass legs of his – he has about 4 inches of height on her. It was almost impossible to get up and moving Sunday morning. Because I hadn’t entered the DAM Tournamemt, I got stuck working all day on Friday and Saturday. Sitting in those horrid plastic chairs for hours is NOT good for the back! Sunday I had a full slate of classes. Patches was her usual charming self – Q’d in both PIII Snooker and PIII Jumper. Yes, Gale picked up another Masters Jumpers leg and while
she Q’d in Masters Snooker, she missed a Super Q by 2 points! AUUGHHH!! Cinder hadn’t remembered the PIII Standard from Sat. and got heeled off the course again on Sunday. We are working on it now I guess. She was lovely in PIII Jumpers (2 nd to Scout – again) and took 1 st in PIII Gamblers and earned her Performance MAD Title! YAY Bin-bin!
Overall the show was a success but it was SO hot and such a pain to crate out of the car. The gunshots and airplanes affected some of my dogs (Cinder) more than others but it was the heat that really did us in. I think next time I go to this show site in the summer, I will bring my RV so the dogs can be in air conditioning. The only good thing about crating out of the van was that set-up and take-down was really quick! I usually really like the shows at Happy Dog, I think the DAM Team made things more impacted than normal so note to self: don’t do trials when there is a DAM Team unless I need the leg!

Gale Jump

Photos by Grand Images