Tuesday, August 24, 2010

West Lakes

West Lakes is one of my favourite shows, set next to the beach dunes on the Cumbrian coast with a panorama of lakeland hills behind the camping area.The journey there is a bit daunting however, and this year was worse than most.....
I always go a day early - Thursday - so that I can take my time, enjoy the scenery, and help set up the show on Friday. So off I went at 9.30am Thursday - very little traffic on the motorways so I even stopped for coffee at a service area en route...so glad that I did! Eventually turned off the M6 onto the A590 and hit a very long tail back from roadworks, but nothing could spoil my good mood, and eventually we were past and turning off at Greenodd onto the A5902.
Now, this is a very narrow road at the start, with no pavements and dry stone walls on both sides, and quite twisty. I had gone about 3 miles, just past Penny Bridge, when I rounded a corner carefully to see that the wall on the nearside had colapsed and there was a rock the size of a football about a metre into the road........and an articulated wagon coming towards me on the other side of the road at quite a fast speed!!! Instant decision - hit the wagon or the rock???? The rock won - BAM! BAM! two nearside tyres burst on impact. I limped about 20 metres further on to be clear of the corner and pulled as close to the nearside wall as I could and put on the hazards. I couldn't see, when I got out, if it was just the tyres that were damaged or the actual wheels as well....but there didn't seem to be any damage under the vehicle thank goodness. Fabulous service from the insurers who had a recovery vehicle to me in just over an hour, and the passing policeman who checked that I and the dogs were fine, and confirmed that we weren't in any way obstructing traffic etc.
Off to Ulverston to ATS Tyres, who said that only the tyres were damaged - thank goodness - and that they had replacements in stock - yippee!!!! So, at 5.30pm, in the starting rain, I finally arrived at the show venue and set up.
Overnight a fierce storm hit the coast with torrential rain and strong gales. In blustery conditions we set up the show rings and I set my course, pegging every jump, as I was judging on Saturday. Sadly, the dogs didn't get much of a walk on Thursday or Friday - then faced another long day on Saturday while I was judging.
And the clouds vanished and the sun shone brightly all day, and I got burned, standing in the middle of the ring. I had pitched the courses at the top end of each combination, and was worried if I had overdone it (I still think the Grade 4/5 large was a bit too tough) but I've had so many complimentary comments since that maybe it was a nice change for people to have a bit of a challenge instead of courses always being set to allow for the lowest Grade?
Saturday evening I enjoyed a lovely walk with the dogs along the beach... and norty Bryn got a good run going backwards and forwards between a couple of horse riders and me....baddog Bryn!!! They didn't seem to be too bothered though.......
Sunday was another hot day and Bryn was on fast, accurate form. Sadly I was tired and rubbish. I kept finding myself in the wrong place, and on his best run I actually sent him over the wrong fence. Long time since I have done that. :( Badhandler!!
A bit of a lie in Monday - listening to the rain again. A quick wet walk for the dogs, then pack up and hit the road. I have to admit to being relieved to get home safely and without any more incidents...and to the excellent news that my close friend had been allowed to go home from hospital! Brilliant!!

Hare 'n Hounds


What a show! As usual, H&H was amazingly relaxed and friendly, and this one is in a fabulous farm venue near Barnard Castle. Arrived Thursday lunchtime to a ringside reserved plot - thanks Chris!! - and helped in the drizzle to set the rings and put the feet on the hurdles etc. Good fun!
Friday dawned. Spent a lot of time with 'Chelle and family at their stall - Bryn thinks he's in heaven with all their dogs around and not a cattle dog in sight! He was a really good boy - first he got a Clear in Agility giving him the last 2 points he needed for his Agility Warrant (Bronze) so he is now Bryning Truly Special at Yettontop A.W.(B) That's all my dogs with letters after their names now - Lol! he then went on to get a 7th in agility - yay!!
Saturday the weather was even better and so was he. More Clear Rounds and also a 2nd Place and a trophy in Agility (He was leading the class for 3 hours but was just pipped by the penultimate dog by half a second.) Best of all (sort of) was Bryn and Wendy's Geordie winning the costume section of the Fancy Dress Pairs - "The Lost Samurai - Canin-ja Warriors" Lots of booze for me that night - and my chicken tea for supper for the dogs! Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices....
Sunday Bryn and I took a rest from agility - unintended, but Bryn clearly showed that 11 classes in the previous two days required a breather before starting again..... Monday we were back on form with a stunning 29 second agility run giving us 4th place - I just held his A-scale contact for a fraction too long to be higher placed.
And amidst all this he also had enough points to go up to Grade 5 whenever I want in the future. I'll see how he goes over the winter indoors, and make any decision about moving him up after that.
I drove home buzzing!!! Only came down to earth on Tuesday afternoon when I got the news that a close friend had been taken into hospital for immediate spinal surgery.......

Monday, August 02, 2010

Dog Vegas at Grantham

It was only at 9pm on Thursday night that I realised that I was supposed to have driven down to the show earlier in the day, as competition started at 8.30am on Friday morning - not Saturday!! Panic!! I had been planning to go shopping for food and fuel on Friday morning then drive in a leisurely way to Grantham and take my time setting up the camper and garden etc etc etc.... Thank heavens for 24 hour supermarkets and garages! A late night and very early morning start, and, with the help of some friends, I was camped on my spot, garden up, and courses walked before 8am!!
Friday saw some nice clear rounds from Bryn, but nothing spectacular as I held the contacts to retrain myself not to release too early. It has taken far too much work to get such brilliant contacts from Bryn to allow my timing to ruin them.
A really early night on Friday - in bed by 8.30pm as I was so shattered, and so were the dogs. Got up again at about 11 to let the dogs out for a late night toilet break and....couldn't open the camper door! I hadn't heard the rain - the canopy had filled and been pulled down at one side against the door. More panic as I wondered if it was broken - how would I drive home with a broken canopy on the side? Anyway, one good push, and torrent of water and all was well. I made sure that I lowered one end before I returned to bed so that any further water would run off.
Saturday was a disappointing day. Bryn was rolling at least one pole in each class, and my handling was less than perfect. Was there something I was doing wrong? Was he hiding an injury? Was it just the wet grass on top of the concrete hard ground? The Saturday courses were all dumbed down - boring - except the final one which was pitched at about Grade 5 and great fun to run.
Sunday showed a much better Bryn and a worse me. Despite some of the most interesting courses I have seen for some time, I just couldn't raise my game at all......until our last run of the day. Graded 4 to 7 Agility, set at about Grade 7 according to the top handlers (and my opinion as well) and certainly more difficult than the same judge's 5 to 7 Agility that preceded it. Apart from a hesitation from Bryn at the penultimate fence (he was tempted to leave the ring and chase the equipment wagon that was driving past), and a couple of slightly wide turns, we went clear and came 3rd!! Over the moon, I packed up and drove home. Just 5 more points to go to his Agility Warrant as well......wonder if we can do that in the next couple of shows? Hope so.