I have this thing. I like collecting (title) ribbons for agility clubs in the area.
We've got;
2x4 Agility
Paws'N'Effect (old ribbons, need the new)
Calgary Agility Association (old ribbons, need the new)
Fionavar K9 (old and new)
Training Troop
Flashing Canines (old and new)
Hyper Hounds
Go Dogs Go (only a Q ribbon with them, not a title)
Dynamo Dog Sports (only a Q, not a title)
Baxter actually earned his Expert Jumpers Silver title at Top Spot's last trial, but since it was sponsored by Fionavar, no new ribbon.
Not only was I excited about the venue (super close to my house with a stand of mature poplar trees with a carrigana hedge for shade to bench under) but both boys could also be up for titles! (Thus, ribbons from the new club!!)
Both boys ran really well this weekend and despite the massive hail storm at the end of the day on Saturday, weather was great. I had an absolutely fantastic time at this trial. I'm super happy with how consistent my dogs are performing and how much Spencer and I have come together as a team.
Baxter is loving Veteran's. It's taken a lot of the challenge out of qualifying since sometimes he'd be over time by a couple of seconds since he's "energy efficient" especially in the heat. He Q'd 7/8, with that one NQ (actually an E) my fault for not handling like I walked on Challenge. He did however get the Gamble, and also threadled on a part in Snooker that I was testing to see if we could do. What a good Fluff!
He was loving the 2 Jumpers runs we finished up with on Sunday. That last run was ALL about collection. I think I did 8 front crosses and a reverse spin? So much fun!! Jumpers is totally Baxter's game We've got 30 Q's in Jumpers alone now.
Spencer was the best baby black dog in the world this weekend going 5/6. Back to his "usual" 3 runs each day since he doesn't seem to do well with more than that. Sat he was happy and fast on his first run in Gamble - got the points but not the main, I think my handling may have been ambiguous. Then he Q'd in both Standard courses. Not super fast, but it was a little warm by that point in time and Spencer doesn't do heat. What Spencer did do though, was chutes. Without worrying! No chute refusals, yay.
Sunday he was smoking in Steeplechase. Little off on his Challenge, but was 1 of only 3 dogs out of 20 or 25 dogs to qualify! Then last run of the day he was back and had a fantastic Jumpers run where he was actually driving to the obstacles again and was a couple of seconds faster than Baxter giving me 4.6 yps!
With the 2 Standards on Saturday with the bonus of an actual Challenge Q on Sunday my baby bug pulled off his Expert Bronze Standard title. That finished his Bronze Award of Merit with a Q to spare!
Funny Story:
In 2013 a good friend of mine left Regionals early, or at least before the completion of the awards. I stayed for ribbons and *thought* she was called as qualifying for Nationals so picked up a Q ribbon for her. Either I didn't hear right, or they were called when they shouldn't have been, but after checking results the next day turns out they didn't qualify. I felt terrible.
This weekend she and her boy earned their ATChC! I asked her if she knew if he had gotten any of the Awards of Merit as well, since I did not know when Baxter earned his until someone else told me. So I looked at the AAC dog stats page for her and yep, he did have his 10 Standard. I really didn't look at his Games though, since I was busy thinking about Baxter needing Standards to finish his Merit titles. I assured her he had his Bronze Award of Merit as well, so she hauled home 4 big, pretty ribbons.
Then I started second guessing myself on the way home when I couldn't check the AAC site. Her boy had to finish his MGDC (Masters Gamble title) and MSDC (Masters Snooker title) to earn the ATChC, so he only had 8 of those games. OMG did he have enough of the other games (you need 25) to earn the Merit title?! Did I just do it again?!? - Nope I get home, check and breath a sigh of relief. Thank doG!
Then on Sunday, I do it again, but with my own dog this time. Again, thinking about how Baxter just needs one more Standard for his Silver Merit, I knew Spencer needed 2 standards and was entered in 3. So when he got the Standards I put his name down and picked the ribbon up. Perfect! ... except then I was remembering how I was talking about how Spencer doesn't do full trials, how I pick and choose what to enter him in based on the titles I'm aiming for. So unlike Baxter, he doesn't have a slew of extraneous Games titles/legs, and he just finished his ATChC in Nov. OH. MY. GOD. Did my own dog actually have enough games titles to finish his Bronze?! Yes. He did. Barely! 28 Games Q's before this trial - 30 with the 2 Games Q's he picked up at it. Wow. Just wow.
That's what I get for not counting.
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