An Early Spring Saturday

So maybe it's not officially Spring yet, but it sure felt like it on Saturday!

The Stump Kids and I celebrated by spending it outside as much as possible.

First we hit up a show 'n go at Goose Creek Dog Sports, which was exactly what we needed to get back into the swing of a trial. We haven't gone to an agility trial since November and we're hitting the Louisville Cluster next weekend. Not to mention AKC Nationals are just a few weeks away!

And boy were both girls pumped to do some agility! After a month of injuries (LaMesa's leg spring, Dally's ripped toenail), they've only been doing dog walks and not much else for quick recovery. LaMesa made her presence known by lots of barking, plus a nip on my butt when we were heading to the ring gate…oh, and her infamous face planting into the A-frame. (When she's really amped and she's not really working with me but just running, she tends to take off high onto the A-frame, which results, most of the time, in a face plant.) As always, she recovered and handled two difficult courses very well (minus some handler errors).

Dally didn't look too rusty, which is good…but boy was I! There were a few times where I didn't drop my shoulder enough to bring her in (I have to exaggerate some of the movements for more elaborate moves with Dally), and didn't handle a wrap correctly. This is what I've been worried about--how rusty would I be on full courses? Sure this winter I've done a lot of drills with a couple of jumps and the weave poles in the back yard, sprinkled in with a couple of run-thrus here and there at Goose Creek, but it's not the same as running like you do at a trial, no matter how long you've been doing agility.

After working Dally and LaMesa, plus my friend's two dogs (a Toy Poodle and Papillon) in a couple of Masters and international courses, I headed to meet some friends for a 6 mile run at the Legacy Trail. After I completed my run, I took the girls for a 2 mile walk on the trail while we waited for my friends. Since I have never walked them on this trail before, they enjoyed the sights and new smells a lot.

The Trail has a lot of cool paintings along the 10-mile length.

Happy Vallhund!

I'm going to try to do some drills in the backyard this week leading up to our trial. I'm already getting excited, trying to fight the urge to start packing now.

How was your weekend?

Packing It Up, Heading West

This weekend was all about enjoying the hint of Spring that hit us. After my long training run (part 10-mile race, part 5K warm-up to get 13 miles), I took the Stump Kids to a show 'n go at Goose Creek. The one bad thing about the show 'n go was how close it was from the end of my race (I was heading back to the car at 11, the show 'n go was at noon). 

The show 'n go had three nested courses, and I, of course, had to start walking one of the harder ones first. And, of course, I quickly realized that I did not have enough legs left to keep up with LaMesa, who was loving the beautiful weather and chock full o' energy. And she was so off the grid, I couldn't get her to keep her start line stay long enough for me to get to a comfortable spot to start the runs. It made me realize that if I'm not running with her, our timing is off, which means knocked bars and not-so-tight turns. Needless to say, our first course was a disaster. But our second one, which was the easiest one, turned out better (she was a little worn out).

For Dally, it was my chance to do a couple last minute tune-ups on the weaves, teeter, tight turns, etc., in preparation for Nationals. Thankfully (or maybe, not thankfully?) I had enough legs to keep up with her better than LaMesa, so we were able to have clean runs. She ran happy, was fast in her weaves, and listened well, so that's all I can ask for right now.

Sunday Matt and I took them to go walking around Keeneland Race Course, where we could turn them loose and they could just trot or run beside us, take in the new smells, and burn some energy. We threw the tennie a few times, since we had lots of space and they loved it. It was definitely a great way to work out some pre-Nationals jitters and get some fresh air. 

I think they enjoyed it:

LaMesa tends to be like Matt's little shadow.

Can't you just here the, "Zzzzzooooooooooooomm!!!!!" as she sprints by?

Now we're all about washing last minute items, starting to gather snacks, and putting together packing lists for Dally and myself. We're loading up Merinda's car and heading to Tulsa Wednesday afternoon, after Dally's chiropractor appointment. We'll be driving part-way and staying in Missouri that night and then finishing the trip Thursday. 

Don't worry, we'll be blogging, tweeting, and Instagramming from Tulsa. Be sure to follow!!

Twitter: @TheStumpKids

Instagram: MLA317