Thursday afternoon and evening, and Friday, at North Beach, Rush was wonderful for me and the dogs. The tide was out when we arrived, and the camp site fairly empty, so we walked the beach from end to end, playing in the rock pools and chasing the waves. The camper ended up with most of the beach sand inside! A lovely relaxing couple of days. The new IKC Working Party monthly meeting was held Thursday evening - it's going to be interesting watching how things progress on the agility front at the IKC now that there is a formal channel for communication with the ever increasing number of competitors.....
Friday lunchtime I moved to the National Show Centre at Cloghran, ready for Swords Championship show the next day. I really don't think that breed shows can continue to host agility as the sport has outgrown them, and they really have no idea/understanding of agility's needs. A big arena was marked out - right in front of the main steps into the building, in the middle of what would become the carpark, and with a ditch running diagonally through the middle of it! The equipment - still dirty from its last use - was dumped in the ring and that was it. When the judge arrived to set her course for the next day there was absolutely no-one to help her - but dozens of people to set up and ornament the Best in Show ring 50 yards away! It's just not the way to treat judges.
The next day - still no-one to help. It was left to agility people to set up and run the ring. There was no-one to direct carparking either, and this became a health and safety problem for the ring later, with cars parked no more than 6 feet from the ring entrance and exit, and an ad hoc roadway so close to one side of the ring that one car actually touched the ring rope going past. I complained officially to the Show Manager/Club Chairman, who was dismissive and rude in his attitude, and to the Club President, who was far more concerned and authorized us to block off the roadway before anyone or any dog got injured or killed. A letter will be going this week to back my verbal complaint. One handler also fell in the ditch and sprained his wrist, so another letter might be going their way as well.
Thanks to Jessica and Judith, both my dogs were measured before they were needed for their runs!
The courses were very flowing (steeplechase was the word used by most competitors to describe them). Amber ran all her classes just as a test of her fitness, and was okay - all right, she was Crazy Frog in top flight!! Bryn really started to power, which was lovely! No clear rounds, but not his fault - I tripped in the ditch in one run; pulled him out of the weaves in his best run; turned him too tight on his third run so pulled off a pole. The weather was hot and sunny - a lovely day among good friends!
Working Trials Club of Ireland Agility Show the next day at Tymon Park. I stopped overnight at Camac Valley Caravan Park just off the N7, nearer to the show for the next day. (Lovely, lovely shower after a hot day of agility!) Now this club know how to run a show. The nature of the showground, their training ground, is such that it can't be set up the night before but everything has to be done in the morning. Club members were there in force to rally round - build a ring and the first course, put up a marquee, get all the tickets and catalogues issued, get the show on the road. Again, very flowing courses, but with the addition of quite a few pullthroughs. I really must teach Bryn to do pullthroughs some time...... Amber was a little stiff after Saturday, so I decided not to run her in the morning agility classes, and see how she was for the jumping class in the afternoon. Well, she managed all the sendaway parts surprisingly, but argued furiously about the rest. She ended up with a very slow clear round, and her first point in her new Record Book!!
Bryn was lovely. First class, he wasn't powering at all, and seemed a bit diffident, not understanding the pullthrough at all, so I nursed him round with a couple of poles down. Then he went up a couple of gears and went clear in his next agility and jumping rounds - 2nd in the agility!! So more points for his new Record Book too!!
The camper was still being a bit reluctant to start, but we got back to the Caravan Site safely, and settled down for our last night in Ireland. Very sad.
So, the final day. A long walk in the park next door for the dogs, then breakfast for us all and a shower for me, before packing up to leave for the 1.30pm ferry at 11.00am. Except that the camper wouldn't start at all.....PANIC!!!!....ring the recovery people....they can't get anyone to me before 12 which would mean missing the ferry....and they were only prepared to take the camper to the nearest garage and me (with 3 dogs??!!) to a hotel if necessary. I went into the site office to find the number for the ferry port so as to change my booking. Which is when my knight in shining armour - the Manager - came to the rescue. He got the camper started, and with strict instructions not to switch off the engine until we were on the ferry, he sent me on my way. It was an extremely hot day and the engine nearly overheated waiting to board the ferry because I couldn't switch it off - nor could I take the dogs far for a walk as I need to keep an eye on the camper with the engine still running and the keys inside.....
The time came to disembark.....would the camper start?? Reluctantly, but it did! Poor dogs - instead of stopping to give them a run at a country park as usual, I kept my foot down and drove directly home, arriving at 7.30pm. Stress levels were so high!
My wonderful local garage came up trumps and fitted me in the next morning - by the afternoon the camper had a new starter motor and was ready for its travels again. What an end to a lovely week away!!
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