Carbon Defies Gravity to Win SKC Jumpers!!

Well, this Pood just wowed me with her efforts this past weekend!!! SKC (Singapore Kennel Club) had two trials in one day -- one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Her first Jumpers run was SO fast and fun and precise -- she was on fire!!! -- but I ran the wrong course (totally missed a tunnel) so we did not Q. This loss made me sad as Carbon was awesome, really wonderful, and the mistake was totally my fault -- she did exactly what I asked her to do, but I asked for the wrong thing! A humbling reminder to relax and PAY ATTENTION at all times on the course.

Our team members Darren and Sparkie won it, though, so I had some consolation as they REALLY did have a wonderful run and deserved their win.

Our Agility run in the morning was correct -- slow but steady, and still within SCT so we did Q (but no official placing - we actually came in 5th by points).

Our Agility run in the afternoon was...well, it had gotten quite hot, and I took Carbon out too early...I knew it too. She was very hot, and after the first 3 obstacles tried to run into the shade to lie down! I called her back and she finished but the 'refusal' cost us time and earned us faults, so no Q.

I walked her for a few minutes so she could cool off a bit, took her back to our tent, iced her down, and put her back in her pen to rest. I kept her quiet till it was time to run again.

It rained just a little as they were setting up the course for Jumpers....hmmmm...Carbon the Princess doesn't like being wet!!! so I took her out JUST before her run, hoping she would not notice the rain....we went in, ran, and she was super! Not quite as 'on fire' as in the morning, but great, and solid, and no errors -- and she won the class of 12. Won a B.A.T. (big-assed trophy) too. Darren and I are sharing it since he won it in the morning and I won it in the afternoon! So when I have it I will take her photo with it and post it here.

It was a very satisfying day!! GO POOD.

So, next is USDAA in mid-September. We will limit our runs to Starters Standard, Jumpers and Relay on Saturday, and P2 Standard and Jumpers on Sunday. We really want those P2 Q's.

More to come after USDAA.

The Next Weekend....

So after the bloodbath that was the USDAA trial I decided that I had ignored my instincts (and her signals) and had pushed Carbon too hard and asked too much of her during a two-day trial on a VERY hot Singapore weekend. The SKC trial on the following weekend was a chance to recover our dignity and we both tried hard to do just that.

SKC offers just two runs -- Agility and Jumpers. In Agility she did a good job but had a flyoff from the A-frame, so no Q and no placing but otherwise a respectable run. Jumpers run was fine -- a very simple and straightforward course, and she did very well, placing third and Q.

Here's what judge Cheryl Bedggood said -- "A lovely steady approach to the course with some excellent handling is what it takes and this team showed us that today. With a clear round in the time of 22.27, this team attained a well deserved 3rd place in the class and were a pleasure to judge. Well done and congratulations on this excellent effort!"

See how much happier she looks?



Then just last weekend another SKC trial -- more on that in the next post....

A Very Tired Poodle

Carbon had a USDAA agility trial back in April. It was a hot weekend, and the first day ran late, which meant that she had two runs on Saturday and then two more pushed forward to Sunday. So on Sunday she had the two 'leftover' runs, plus the two that were originally scheduled for Sunday, plus a Grand Prix run (please don't laugh).

The two runs she got in on Saturday were Starters Jumpers and Gambler. She was jumping 26" with miles to spare, but had a couple of mistakes. And in Gamblers, I just really got screwed up and while she did complete the Gamble we did not have enough points to Q.

But she is such a pretty jumper!! Looky here.

Sunday she had Starters Standard and Snooker. Not impressive. Poor contacts, and slow as molasses in the weaves. Then P2 Jumpers. Yuck. P2 Standard. Yuck again. Grand Prix was last. We were pathetic.

The last two pictures here capture the tone of the day beautifully.

I realized I had gotten caught up in the competitive spirit and overworked my dog. I vowed to be more conscious of her comfort and ability for the next trial, an SKC (Singapore Kennel Club) event the following weekend. See my next post for details on that.

All these photos are taken by, and used with permission of,