Harrogate Agility Training Society Show

This is just a nice little unaffiliated show run at the NAWS venue by HATS to raise some funds for their club. There were about 110 dogs in all, with classes in agility and jumping for all grades and pre-competition too.

My day started on a dodgy note - straight in the ring with Bryn for Grade 3 large Jumping - now you can't go straight into the ring with him; you have to potter about the rings for about half an hour to get him over his excitement of being at a show with all these potential friends to play with.... So, after he had lapped the ring four times (yes, really!) he was ready to focus on some work. Unfortunately, I had stepped into a shaft of sunlight, blinded myself, and triggered the migraine I had been controlling all week. So we set off on the mostly left handed course, with me unable to see anything on my left side! Not surprisingly he knocked down a pole. Second run at jumping - same thing again, just I could see even less, and it was a different pole. And he was trying to work well on a very nice course.

Next up was Amber in Grade 6/7 small/medium jumping. Luckily I could see by now! A good Grade 6 type course, with some handling early and middling, but a huge run on a straight line down the centre to finish, and Amber doesn't usually like straight lines, so my hopes were not too high. First run - a pole down early, so we went into training mode, with lots of sits and restarts, breaking the course down into sections - then the cloth tunnel came unpegged as she went through it, so we got a re-run! This time she rolled a pole later in the course, so more training from there on, but we were both a lot better. Then for our second (well, by now, third) run - and it was almost perfection - no poles down, better handling, good lines - I was well chuffed!! AND she did the run for home every time without a look backwards! WE WON THE CLASS!!!!

Didn't run Amber in the agility as she had already done 3 long runs, so it was back to Bryn again for Grade 3 large Agility. First run, I pushed him quite hard but still made sure he nailed his contacts and saw the weave entry, and he got a reasonable clear round, and was lying second at the end of run 1. The second run, I pushed him still harder, instant release contacts, beautiful independent weaves, and he was definitely going faster and shaping better into his tuns, until he took out a pole on a curve, after which I began holding his contacts etc. I think he spotted his lead which the lead-person had dropped at the side of the course rather than put on the table like before, because as we came back round the same bit for the finish, he shot off to grab it. Never mind - he still came THIRD!!

I always feel guilty about Corker at shows, but once I had done my stint scribing I took him out for some walks and ball throwing in the sunshine. It was a really warm, sunny Spring day with most of us in tee shirts, and we both enjoyed wandering around the fields looking at the horses. Let's hope the rest of the summer lives up to this early promise.