Well, we have had a very long year! Finishing up our house, and moving in, has taken some serious energy. It's been interesting, and mostly stressful! Anyone who says having a new house is exciting has no real clue what they are talking about! Never again! I am thankful for everything being almost finished, and being somewhat settled in finally.
My training barn is almost finished, which is EXTREMELY exciting for me. We have electricity, which was a huge thing, and we have half of our flooring put in. Right now, we are running on lime dust, but eventually we will be bringing in screened dirt. But first, doors! Who knew doors were so incredibly expensive? I sure didn't! It's all finally coming together though, and that makes me breath a lot easier.
I am amazed at how many people in the Southern Indiana area needed a place to train. I guess the old adage "build it and they will come" rings true. I love it so much, because I love to teach. Teaching and learning have always been high on my list of fun things to do. I am trying hard to keep learning new things to pass on to my students, both in books and dvds, and private lessons with one of the best handlers in the country.
Right now I have such a fantastic group of students who continually amaze me and make me proud. They have taken everything I have taught them, and practiced it! It puts a lot of pressure on me to be consistent, and correct! I appreciate that from them. I enjoy the challenge of always trying to challenge them! I have handlers in my starters/novice level that can do excellent/masters level challenges without blinking an eye. Thank you so much guys, for being the best students I could have ever hoped for. I can't wait until you are all kicking my butt in excellent!
The dogs...
Well, Moxie has had a fabulous year and she is becoming the performance dog I knew she always could be. She has earned 3 QQs towards AKC nationals so far, with 200 points. We are officially halfway there. She needs one more standard leg for her MX, and 4 more for her MXJ. She pretty much blew through excellent B after earning her AX/AXJ. She is also qualified to run in USDAA Nationals in DAM team and Steeplechase. She ran her first ISC courses in a trial in March, and she was amazing as always. I am so excited about her future.
Sally... My girl Sally, what else can I say? She always puts forth 200% on every course. She earned her MX in May, which was a big accomplishment for us. I decided to run her Performance in USDAA, and she gets to jump 16 inches! Can you say ohmygosh? My timing is a little off, since 16 inches is below her wither height and she gets to run every course at full extension. Okay, she did that anyway but now she really doesn't have to collect. She loves it. She is qualified for all 3 classes at USDAA Nationals in October. I can't even express how much it means to me to get Sally to a National event. AND it's USDAA, which is a total blast. She has had a great summer, and she is really solid now. Unfortunately, she still knocks a bar each run, which eliminates her. So I decided seeking that MXJ just wasn't worth it. She works her butt off, and we NQ over one bar. I also refuse to jump grid her at almost 9 years old, and with confirmed hip arthritis. With all this in mind, I made the very tough decision to move her to Preferred in AKC, and jump her 16. We get to start over again in NOVICE... Can you imagine Sally again in Novice? I sure hope we get through it fast, because there is a LOT of space in a Novice course, and she can certainly get away from me fast out there. It should be interesting!
Hustle... Well, he's the man, of course. Goofy, sweet, loving. I am really getting close to this little guy. We started jumping him with some motion, and he is doing very well. I also started to raise his Aframe, and I am still letting him run it. We shall see if I decide to keep running contacts, but for now, he looks really good! I also introduced the teeter, low with a pillow at the bang end. He could care less, and he races across the teeter to get to the food target on the other end. I am having a lot of fun with him, because he is down for anything as long as there is food involved.
All in all, we have survived the move, and the constant flux in our lives, and now I am hoping for a blissfully boring fall and winter! Maybe I can get down to some real training with my dogs now!
