Agility Match and Snow!

Ebony had her first agility match on Saturday, and it was GREAT! Although I've competed with Melissa's dogs, and Ebby and I have competed in other things like Rally and herding, this is a big deal for me since this is what I've wanted to do all along. We ran a Gamblers course, which I only wanted to do for the practice (Gamblers course is a game where you get different points for different obstacles, and you only have 30 seconds to accrue 21 points; at the 30 second mark a whistle blows and you have another X seconds to complete the "gamble" which is a distance challenge where you the handler can't cross a line marked on the ground and have to direct from the distance). We didn't come close to qualifying, but I got what I wanted, which is that she was exuberant and focused and plain old happy to be doing it. Lots of energy! Then we ran a Jumpers (fast past because it's only jumps and tunnels, no other equipment) course, which is the one I really cared about. Wow, it was fantastic! She was tuned in, had plenty of drive, and we pulled off the one or two tricky handling areas on the course. The course was Open rather than Novice, which means it was even the next level of difficulty from what we'll be doing in a real trial. The only "bad" thing was that she skipped the last jump even though she was heading right for it, but I think it was purely because she was getting too tired. The biggest thing we need to work on right now is conditioning, and I think she's ready for the big time! Looks like we're going to register for our first trial March 30 and April 1! For those who know the difference, we'll be starting in USDAA.

On a different note, we got our first snow yesterday, though it was only about an inch. The dogs thought it was the greatest thing since sliced beef. Ben, especially, had a blast in the snow, and even this morning when we got up, he dashed around in the snow on the deck, rolling in it and sliding in it and generally just kicking it all over the place. Where is the video camera when you really need it?