Winning Is About More than Just Trophies

I'm doing a little cross-posting today because this is an agility-related subject, so why not post this on my dog agility blog?

Recently I had the opportunity to write an editorial for Clean Run Magazine. Yep, that's right, the agility magazine to end all agility magazines, and one some say is the "Agility Bible". So that's pretty cool, right? Anyway, I had pitched an idea to them back in March and they wanted me to share my friend's story with the rest of the agility community.

You might already read The Brews Brothers blog, managed by my good friend Merinda. You've followed along on her training and struggles with Porter, her 9-year-old Cardigan Welsh Corgi, and now Stout, his younger brother. We all cheered when she won the Preferred National Agility Championship in 4" with Porter in Harrisburg, and I know I definitely cheered when they finally finished their PACH in May. While we all know the hard work and the dedication it takes to build a championship team, whether a national championship or an agility championship, but Merinda's story is so much more than just constant weave pole training and behavior shaping. Which is why I wanted to share her story.

My editorial came out in the August 2014 issue of Clean Run, so you can read it for yourself in there, or you can read it on my writing website where I have uploaded the PDF from the magazine. (Megan Arszman Communications--Winning and Being a Success it About More than Trophies)

Thank you for being such an inspiration, Merinda! 

Stump of Fury Heading to AKC National Agility Championships!

We're hitting the road again!

 

Dally & Porter are going to be road tripping buddies once again! Meet the captains of #TeamDailyCorgi

Merinda and I will be hitting the road extra early Wednesday morning to head east to Pennsylvania for a return trip to the AKC National Agility Championships.

Be sure to follow along as we tweet, Instagram, and blog our adventures. This year we're teaming up with a few select Corgis for #TeamDailyCorgi, brought to you by The Daily Corgi.

Follow along by searching #TeamDailyCorgi on Twitter & Instagram, and also:

Twitter: @TheStumpKids
Instagram: @MLA317
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/mla317

And Merinda:

Blog: The Brews Brothers

Twitter: @PorterTheCorgi
Instagram:PorterTheCorgi
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/merinda76

And our friends, Taryn & Jimmy, who will be attending their first AKC Nationals!

Blog: Tail of Two Cardis

I also wanted to share my bio that I wrote for the announcer this year. It's a little non-traditional, but I hope it gets read at some point this week:

This is Dally and Megan's third consecutive trip to Nationals, but every year it's always a happy surprise. For a dog that some said wouldn't be an agility champion, the pair earned their PACH in 2012 and are well on their way to PACH2. Megan knows Dally isn't the fastest, but she knows Dally will try to please her, and that's all that Megan asks for. She's thankful to have such a wonderful sidekick by her side at all times. Dally is her heartdog and has earned many, many miles under her collar. This has truly been a fun ride.

Be sure to tune into the fun!! Here's hoping for some epic adventures and great memories!

2013 AKC Nationals Part 2: Arrival & Warm-Up

Thursday Dally, Porter, Merinda, and I had a relaxing morning that started with breakfast, then a quick trip to Fort Leonard Wood base to salute the troops, and get a few photos. Then we were off to finish our trip west towards Tulsa!

Saluting the troops at Fort Leonard Wood in St. Robert, Mo.

And no trip to Tulsa is complete without stopping at the "World's Largest McDonald's" and taking a photo with Will Rogers in Vinita, Okla.

Did somebody say "French fries"??

Finally, we arrived at the Tulsa Expo Center and set up our stalls: 1 for the dogs, and 1 for the humans. After check-in, we looked around the venders before getting settled in our hotels--we'd have plenty of time to shop and take more photos later.


Friday was another laid back day for the Corgi Crew--Dally and Porter were just doing the Warm-Up Standard run, which didn't count for anything, but it was good to get them out on the equipment and in the rings to get a feel for everything. Dally's run was a little wide, but I was happy with what she did. You can watch the video here.

Then we took the time to take some more photos at the facility, as well as meeting up with the majority of the other Corgis competing at Nationals for a big photo.

A flower pot o'Corgis!

This is the main arena, where three of the rings are.

There are lots of Corgis (Pembroke and Cardigan) competing here in Tulsa!

Dally on the Daily Corgi!

Be sure to head on over to The Daily Corgi to read Dally and Porter's preview for the AKC National Agility Championships! I'm working with Laurie to do updates during Nationals and hope to try to get some other Corgi teams featured.

Right now we're doing some last minute "Corgi Conditioning" with long walks/runs in the park after work. Tomorrow we have a show 'n go at Sandra's (after I run 13 miles, of course) and then I'll start getting things together for our trip West. Dally, Porter, Merinda, and I will be headed to Tulsa Wednesday. I'll try to do a better update this weekend, but I'll definitely be blogging, tweeting, and Instagramming from Tulsa!

Dally competing at AKC Nationals in Reno, Nev., last year.