ADCV Easter Trial

Finally -first trial for the year, first trial in almost 5 months in fact. It was good to finally get one 'under our belt' so to speak and nice to do it in a familiar venue as it was our club trial.

After having missed 2 trials already this year, one due to a twisted ankle and one being cancelled due to extreme heat, it felt great to be finally back out there.
Overall I was happy with Atilla's runs - we managed a Q in Masters Jumping (5th place on a lovely course with quite a few passes) and another in Strategic Pairs Excellent with Jack (3rd place)
I have tried to highlight the positives of the weekend for me as well as the negatives as I'm very much a 'list chick' - and the positives definitely outnumber the negatives.

For me these were -
*All our startlines. Minimal signs of stress with me moving away and this has occasionally been an issue with him. Managed 4 obstacles out with 5 metres + lateral distance on one of our Open runs. (I know it was 5 metres as the line was marked for the distance challenge.)
*My recovery after I momentarily forgot the course - usually I panic when this happens and then it's all over. This was on the course I actually qualified on and although my indecision after he came out of the tunnel cost me time, I was really happy that I managed to hold it together for a good finish.
*The speed that he ran the gamble at on Sat. (even though his speed made it more difficult for me to get into position and we got a runby the middle jump) and the number of points we managed to accumulate in the opening.
*Me nailing a really difficult front cross into the weaves on Sat. Timing and position actually came together and the difference in the tightness of his turn was mind blowing.
*In general Atilla's focus was good - only once did he show signs of shutting down as he is sometimes prone to do, and this was on a difficult jumping course with tight angles and lots of lead leg changes. (Plus my handling on that section was crap, don't blame him for disconnecting)
*My body position at the end of the dogwalk on our Open agility run on Sun. I actually remembered to use a positional cue and it paid off.
*I am also proud of both our passes as we have worked hard over the summer break, especially with jumping.

Some holes I need to work on -
*My (lack of) course analysis. Cost me another Masters Jumping pass on a run that was way better than the one we qualified on. Right near the end of the course as he exited the tunnel and me thinking ' we've got it'....... too bad about that off course tyre that never even entered my head that he might take it as I didn't bother getting down at the end of the tunnel to look at it from his viewpoint during the walk through - bad handler !!!!!
*My timing and positioning on some of my front crosses. Slow, slow, slow.
*Inconsistent speed over some sections of a couple of courses.
*And a brand new one just to keep me on my toes - 10th Pole Syndrome !
This has never been an issue for me as Atilla is a pretty good weaving dog, not super fast but averages around 3 seconds on a set of 12 poles which is not too shabby. And never pops out once he is in. For some reason on the weekend he totally lost his rhythm and footwork. Almost falling over himself at one stage and stopping - apart from one run he popped out at the 10th pole every time, costing us a Masters agility pass and an Open agility pass. A total mystery.
I am going to take him to the muscle therapist as soon as I can get an appointment just to make sure there is no physical problem. After that - well I guess I need a plan. I am thinking of going back to opening the channel a bit to see if that helps with his footwork and doing some more proofing. It certainly won't hurt Cruz to do this as well.

So, as well as retraining my contacts (only missed one on the weekend - a dogwalk in gamblers so it didn't matter) I now have a 'weave problem' to sort out as well.
Not doing any weaving with him until I get him checked out and after that we will see.

Over the next couple of weeks I also want to try and write a fitness plan for both the kelpies now that I have some time off work - maybe I should write one for their handler too !