It seems like an ancient memory, but back in September we packed up the car and went to St. Louis to visit family and compete in the agility portion of the English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association national meeting. The competition was held at Purina Farms in Gray Summit, Mo.
I was so excited to see all the springer spaniels that I had a confused start to the first agility run of the day. The weave poles were not so great. Let’s take a look:
The second run of the day in Standard Agility was almost picture perfect. Key word here is “almost.” You will recall that in Excellent Class agility a single error disqualifies you. Take a look at this beautiful run. Unfortunately, I knocked a bar near the end. Here is the standard class run:
After the competition we went to see Abigail, Scott and Miles who came out to cheer us on and then had the whole family out for a delicious lunch and walk in the woods.
Scott, Miles and Abigail show us around Scott's office
My first run of the day was in Excellent A Standard Agility. I made two big mistakes, but at least everyone thought my weave poles and jumps were beautiful. In this agility run Joe made the same error as our agility teacher and pulled me off my entry to the tunnel. Later I blew past the chute under the A-Frame. It is an unusual combination and one I had not practiced. Now that I have seen it, I’m sure I won’t make the same mistake again. Here is the run:
My second run was in Excellent B Jumpers with Weaves. All was going well until I looked right instead of left. Joe panicked and sent me over the wrong jump. Still, it was a beautiful run. Watch me soar over the jumps at the end!
Contact obstacles in AKC agility include the A-Frame, Dog Walk, Seesaw (or teeter) and the Pause Table. They are called “contact” because you must touch them in the prescribed way during your standard class agility run. (Contact obstacles are not used in Jumpers with Weaves.) On the A-Frame you must ascend one panel and descend the other and touch the yellow “contact zone” with any part of one foot prior to exiting the obstacle. On the dog walk you must tough the “contact zone” with one foot on both the up and the down sides. The teeter works the same way, with the added caveat that you have to touch the down zone after the plank has touched the ground and prior to exiting the obstacle with all four paws. In my first run of the day I forgot everything I know about contact obstacles. Unfortunately, the judge in today’s agility trial did not forget these rules and so I was far from qualifying. It is not pretty, but let’s take a look:
My second run in Jumpers with Weaves was far better. It was clean and fast. I won a “Q” for this run and 9 points. Only 732 more to go. We were all very happy. Here is my Jumpers run:
Day three starts fresh and I was ready. My first run of the day was in Excellent B Jumpers with Weaves. That is the top class and no errors are allowed. I was focused and fast and got my first “Q” or qualifying run of the weekend. This is my first “Q” in Excellent B and that means I can start earning points toward my Master Agility Champion, or MACH, title. In this run I earned 9 points toward the 750 I need. I’ll talk more about points later. Now, let’s take a look:
My second run was in Standard Class Agility. Frankly, it was not so pretty. I ran a big “off course” with several wrong jumps and missed my weave poles. Nothing to brag about in this run, but Joe is to blame for the weave poles – I just did what he told me. Take a look:
My third run was minutes later in FAST Class and it was a beautiful one. I did a great send from fifteen feet away over the triple, through the tunnel and over the teeter. Look at me go! I qualified (no errors and a successful send) and took home a blue ribbon for first place. Here I go:
The day ended with another practice run in the new AKC agility test event, Time to Beat. Here it is:
Special thanks to our agility instructor, Anne Riba, for her encouragement and advice!
Day two of the Blitzen Agility Trial in McCook, IL was an early one. After a lovely walk along the lake with a pretty sunrise we headed out at about 6:30 a.m. At least there is no traffic at that hour.
Our first run was in Jumpers with Weaves. I felt I was ready, but those daarn weave poles messed me up. This foreshadowed a bad weave poles day. The rest of my run was beautiful. Take a look:
Our second run was in FAST Class. In FAST my handler designs the course I am supposed to run. I was very distracted from the start. After missing my weave pole entry at the beginning, I still felt I could design a better course than Joe and I tried to do so. Unfortunately I am not as good a designer as I thought I was. Next time I plan to pay attention to Joe’s plan. Here is the FAST Class run:
Our third run was in Standard Class. I was focused and ready. At Joe’s signal I took off like a rocket into the tunnel. My pause table was perfect (all the practice paid off). My dog walk and jumps were clean and fast, but those darn weave poles did me in again. Here is the run:
As a bonus, we got an additional run in a new event being tested by the AKC. It is called, “Time to Beat” and formerly called, “Run and Done.” I hope they keep looking for a new name. Our bad weave pole day continued, but there is the run:
Friday at McCook started off well with three great (but not great enough) agility runs. Our first run was in Jumpers with Weaves. Joe’s strategy was right on the money, but unfortunately his execution was off by about two feet. I was required to enter the tunnel on the right side. Joe did a nice front cross in an attempt to block the tunnel left side, but he ended up showing me the perfect entrance to the left side, which I took without hesitation. It’s too bad, because the rest of the run was beautiful. Here is my Jumpers with Weaves run:
In our second run, agility Standard Class, the fault was mine. There is only a second of lost focus between winning and not qualifying. I spent that second looking at the bar setter sitting in the back right corner before sailing right past the entrance to the weave poles. Again, except for one critical error, this, too, was a beautiful run. Here is my second agility run:
The third agility run was in FAST Class. In Excellent FAST Class you need to have your handler send you from a distance through a series of obstacles. I followed Joe’s signal a bit too closely and did not make it. Let’s take a look:
The AKC let’s you list your titles after your name. Once you become a champion you can list your champion title in front of your name. The title for an agility champion is MACH (or Master Agility Champion).
I compete in three AKC agility events: Standard Agility, Jumpers with Weaves and Fifteen and Send Time (FAST). At the McCook trial, I received two new titles. I had my third qualifying run in Excellent A Jumpers and my third qualifying run in Open FAST.
As you receive titles at each level you can add them after your name. The higher title will supersede the preceding title in all AKC records.
The titles for Standard Class are in Novice (NA), Open (OA), Excellent A (AX) and Excellent B (MX).
The titles for Jumpers with Weaves are in Novice (NAJ), Open (OAJ), Excellent A (AXJ) and Excellent B (MXJ).
The titles for FAST class are in Novice (NF), Open (OF), Excellent A (AF) and Excellent B (MXF).
You need 3 qualifying runs to to recive a title for Novice, Open and Excellent A classes. You need 10 qualifying runs for an Excellent B title.
I’m glad the open agility fast title is not called OAF.
At our agility class, our teacher Anne Riba suggested that we could break new ground by blogging live from an agility trial. So, here we are. It is Sunday morning in McCook, IL and we are at the McCook Athletic & Exposition Center (or MAX) where they offer free wireless access in an air conditioned indoor facility with artificial turf. This is an all breed AKC Trail sponsored by the Great Lakes Belgian Tervuren Club and the Golden Retriever Club of Illinois.
We took a day off from C-Line on Friday so we could compete on all three days. They will have to make the plastic name badge holders without us.
Our first run on Friday was in the Jumpers with Weaves Agility Class. While I jumped and weaved, my first jump was on top of the jump instead of over it. Let’s take a look.
In our second run of the day we were in Excellent A Standard Agility Class. We had an excellent, blue ribbon run and my partner, Joe Hopper, and I took first place.
Here is the Standard Agility run:
In our second day we started off with a run in Excellent A Standard Class. It was not a good day for the table as I did not want to go up there. And once I was up I did not want to stay there. Did I confuse the number, “Three” with the word “Free?” Perhaps, perhaps not. I’m not saying. Now it is time for Paul to start shopping for a table so we can practice at home. (On the table you must stay for a count of five in either a sit or down as specified by the judge).
Here is the Standard Agility run.
Minutes later it was off to Jumpers with Weaves. Going into the competition in Jumpers with Weaves I had two out of three legs of my Excellent A title. I had a nice run and came in second place. This allows me to move up into Excellent B. Excellent B is the top class so now I will compete with the fastest border collies. A quick review on agility classes: You start in Novice (A for first time dogs and handlers, B if you have won a title or if your person has). From Novice you move to Open Class. From Open Class it is onto Excellent A and finally to Excellent B. In Excellent B there is no place to go, but you start acquiring points toward a Master Agility Champion title (or MACH). My next run will be in Excellent B where a qualifying run earns points. More on that when it happens.
From Jumpers I went on to FAST Class. My run was clean (and fast) and I took first place. Here is the run:
Sunday starts a new day and I started with Standard Class Excellent A. I took an off course and once again suggested that Paul really needs to get a table on order. Here is a look at my first run of the day:
My second run was in FAST class. It was a surprise because we don’t usually run fast class until the end of the day. I was the only dog to qualify so I got 1st place. Since this was my third “Q” in FAST Class (and my third first place in open fast class), I received my title and now move in to Excellent.
Now I am officially an excellent dog in all events (and ways). Take a look at my run:
The final run was in Jumpers. It was my first run in Excellent B. It was great right up until the end when I missed the tunnel. I can’t wait to try again next time! Here is the final run:
You have probably noticed that I have not had a post since winning my five blue ribbons in agility in January. Now I am pleased to announce that at the McCormick IKC dog show in February I won another four blue ribbons in the agility competition, plus I had a qualifying run (a run where I did everything correctly, but where I did not place in the top three).
It was three days of fun at the huge McCormick Convention Center in downtown Chicago. Six thousand dogs and lots of people to primp them, play with them and admire them. The McCormick dog show is a “benched” show which means the dogs are there all day with their people and available to answer questions (the people mostly answer, but several of the dogs had plenty to say).
The people near us had a sign asking that their dogs not be petted without permission. The dogs clearly did not make the sign. If they did, the sign would have said, “PET ME!” Note that the signs were nicely laminated with C-Line Cleer Adheer laminating film.
Over the three days I had nine agility runs – three in Standard Class, three runs in Jumpers with Weaves and three runs in FAST Class. I have videos of my best seven. Regarding the other two, let’s just say I hate yappy dogs. Their people should give them more treats. You can’t bark while you are eating a treat.
Friday’s Agility Runs
My first run was in the Novice Class. As a review, you start in Novice. Once you have successfully completed three qualifying runs under two different judges you get your Novice title and you can move to Open. From Open, once you have successfully completed three qualifying runs under two different judges you get your Open title and you can move to Excellent. I’ll talk more about Excellent Class when I get there!
The run above was really picture perfect and allowed me to earn my Novice title in Standard Class agility. (more…)
It was indeed a blue ribbon weekend as I competed in my second agility trial and won an amazing five blue ribbons for first place finishes. This agility trial, held in McCook, Illinois featured three different competitions: Jumpers With Weaves, Standard and FAST Class. We ran all three on both Saturday and Sunday.
Here Paul congratulates me on winning my ribbons:
Lancelot is awarded 5 blue ribbons
At the risk of boring you, here is a look at the five agility runs:
