Louisville Cluster and 7 more days!

 The Louisville Cluster always comes and goes so fast. I love the show. Its 4 days of agility (and obedience and I guess there was that OTHER thing, conformation going on). The shopping is amazing. I have always been in charge of workers, so it comes with a certain amount of insanity that goes along with being a volunteer coordinator. I really enjoy doing it, except when I call for workers and everyone is out shopping :)  But that's ok, it comes with the cluster.
 Moxie- Well, not our most successful cluster Q wise, but I did learn a ton about how I handle her. I tend to babysit her, and I am not quite sure why yet, but by saturday and sunday I was handling her a lot more with trust, instead of taking the easy way out. She only knocked one bar in 4 days, wasn't a total pill on her contacts, and weaved great. All in all it was a decent last prep for nationals.
 Hustle- Well, the big rings and arena blew his mind a little, but he did hold it together enough for  his OAJ. He is looking really GOOD. He's still young, and a little wild, but there are moments of brilliance in there that are exciting to watch.
 Sally- What can I say? I love her. I LOVE THIS CRAZY RED DOG. I decided to abandon the Q this week and just enjoy her every second on course. Which is pretty much my goal with her always now, but the cluster is special. She had some almosts, some wild rides, and some really funny moments. She's such a rock star, she loves the game so much and she really looked great all weekend. I am glad she ran well, stayed sound and we had a great cluster. Since next year the cluster is during AKC Nationals, I am hoping I will be there, so this may have been Sallys last cluster. It hit me when I was taking her in the ring on her last run, which was jumpers, and I actually choked up a little. I barely got the word stay out. Pretty sure I smiled the whole run, and afterwards I walked her a bit and teared up even more. (Okay, I lost it for a second.) She's just so special, and realizing that her retirement is coming faster than I would like is a hard pill to swallow. But I am going to love her every second in the ring that I can. My Sally Wags..
 On another note, it was an ODD cluster. My students really did well, and were great advertising for me! Lots of Qs and really nice runs and they are making fantastic handling choices and progress. It's really gratifying to watch. But I have learned a valuable lesson. That sometimes you just have to step back and let someone make their own mistakes and not try to guide them after a certain point. Because your best intentions sometimes get turned around and you are the bad guy. And I have learned, sadly, not to put 100% faith in anyone but yourself and your very best friends in this game because things can change in a blink. I'm still a little shocked and bewildered about the whole situation but I refuse to slander anyone that I still care about, regardless of their behavior. What I will say is, my intentions were always good and its true that the path to hell is paved with good intentions.
 Enough about THAT. Reno!!! 7 days baby! 7 days we will be on a plane, heading to RENO! Aww yeah!  I have been packing this week, so that I don't FORGET something, which makes me neurotic. My goal is to have everything packed by saturday, take it and weigh it all and load balance it, then I am set. Got Moxies thundershirt for the plane, and I have been putting it on her a little each day to get her used to it again. Have her bed and crate and everything ready to go. She's a trooper, so I have no worries. I bought an Ipad last friday and I still haven't taken it out of the box! It should be good for the trip, so we can post pictures as we go, and maybe video. We are pumped, and ready to have fun no matter what the results are. And going with April makes it all the more awesome!

Great Agility Weekend!!!

I was supposed to show 3 days at a trial in northern Indiana but decided to skip friday as we were under severe tornado threats. Unfortunately it turned out that the threats were very real. 5 miles from my home, the entire town was destroyed. It was a scary day, and incredibly sad. While I can relate to losing everything I own to a natural disaster, I cannot relate to what happened there. My heart goes out to everyone involved.
 I went to the trial saturday and sunday, and let me say I am GLAD I DID! Moxie was a STAR. She was clean both days and got 2 QQs for the weekend. Thats 3 left for next years nats, and 4 left for her MACH. Man, let me get this stuff over with so I can train and finish her running aframe! We leave for Nationals in 24 days!!!! April and I are so excited. Getting everything ready for the plane trip and the long exciting journey. And seeing a lot of skills polished with Moxie is a good sign. Still iffy on her aframe stops but at least I am patching it up to the best of my ability, and not stressing since I know we will be running them soon anyway. Sally was AWESOME even though the footing was on mats... She got a Q in Jww on sat and Q in std on Sunday. I think she needs 1 more Q for her MX now. Hustle was a straight STUD all weekend. WOW.. I am getting super excited about this dude. He only got 1 Q in open Jww, but his runs looked GOOD. He is handling like a dream and starting to get his weaves a little better. Aframes were awesome! I really connected with him on course this weekend, and I think he got a better understanding of the game as a whole. Still stuff to work on, but watch out for him when its all put together :)   He may be hitting 26 inches sooner than expected! And I had a nice moment with him, out in a field, just looking at him move and watching him look at me. He is turning into a MAN, and such a handsome, well rounded one. What a guy!
 On another note, my student Erin went with me to the trial, and watching her handling skills improve and her dogs technical skills in action made me so proud! It really is more gratifying watching your students succeed than it is succeeding yourself! Her green dog went 4 for 4 and earned her open titles and her 1st ex jww Q, and her wild man who is a total retrain for a Nov std Q with fantastic r uns all weekend. Yay for students!