Catching Up - January USDAA Trial

Well, we have a trial coming up this weekend and I'd like to catch up with the two missed trials before posting about that one, so here's your first installment of a trial overview! I actually covered this one in detail at my other blog here and here, but I'll do a quick recap so as to keep them all in one place.

This was a USDAA trial in mid-January, and the first Agility trial we ever attended. It was a great opportunity to practice before our upcoming AKC trials (which I'm focusing on as that is the predominant organization in this area), and we got to run lots of different courses.

As with most Agility trials, this one took place over the weekend, and we had 3 runs on Saturday (Standard, Gambler, and Jumpers) and 3 more on Sunday (Standard, Pairs Relay, and Snooker). We were of course running at Starters level.

Saturday was off to an interesting start with Philip knocking off the very first jump bar (immediate NQ in Agility) in the Standard run. On top of that, the course was set up much tighter that I'm used to, so I had trouble getting him to the correct obstacles. No worries though - good practice run for the both of us :) Next up was the Gambler run and Philip did very well, he even got the gamble portion right on the second try. Unfortunately we ran out of time though, so this was an NQ as well. Last run of the day was Jumpers and Philip passed with flying colors - no faults at all, and our first Q!

Sunday went a bit easier in the morning, with me knowing what I'll need at the trial, and not having to get up quite as early. First run was Standard again and Philip did great earning us another Q. He even mastered the weave poles on that run - slowly, but surely! Next run was Pairs, and our partner in crime was a Rat Terrier Willis. Philip and Willis had gotten to know each other earlier in the weekend, so we were a bit worried they would want to play rather than run the course, but thankfully they behaved. Willis had the first half, and Philip second. It was a good run, but we went a bit over time, so NQ for the both of us. Last up was Snooker, and that was the funniest run I've ever had with Philip so far. He took matters in his own paws and I had to change my plan on the fly, but we miraculously managed to get through the whole thing anyway, earning our 3rd and final Q of the weekend.

All in all it was a super fun weekend, and I was quite happy to get 3 Qs out of 6. I was certainly not ready for such a busy weekend, but it was so much fun that I'd do it all over again. So much so that I think we'll continue attending USDAA trials when they appear in this area (usually only twice a year).