Life Adventures

The campground is located off 17 (exit 33 off I-95).  It's a convenient stopping location for access to Beaufort, or for an overnight when traveling to and from Florida.  The Thousand Trails campground is older, however.  That said, it's an easy in and out.  There's a nice long road, where the only traffic is fellow campers, for walking dogs or biking.  The KOA down the road is a little nicer.  Still, the area is about convenience and not a destination unto itself.  Given that the campground is so easy to get in and out of, arriving at night isn't an issue. 

On an agility trip to Latrobe, PA, I wanted to take the time to see Waterfall, my favorite Frank Lloyd Wright house. We took the tour and it was amazing.  Russ compared this tour to the Biltmore.  He said it best when he said, "The Biltmore is ostentatious, and Waterfall is pure genius." My favorite parts of the tour were: 1) to let your feet touch the water in the main living area 2) listening to the changes in sound when the small many windows are opened in different angles.  As the tour guide said, Frank Lloyd Wright played to all the senses, including sound

Braddock's STD run was extremely fast, namely because I chose techniques to stay ahead.  I did a lateral send to the tire and got the blind cross before the tunnel.  I chose a front cross at the tunnel exit because the first thing I wanted for him to see was my body turning.  This put him on the line to the aframe.  Those who went for a blind, if they weren't fast enough, had the dogs seeing their feet facing the off course jump beside the aframe and the dog would exit on a line to the handler's right and miss the cross. At jump 8, the better line to the dogwalk was to turn the dog to the left.  8 was a panel and leads to extension.  So when turning the dog to the right, people were delayed in supporting the turn to make sure the dog didn't back jump (due to handler position).  And then the handler was stuck with the dogwalk on the right and had to beat the dog to the end to push to the correct tunnel entry. Because I could leave 8 early...

Frye is really coming together on the field.  I am able to trust her more.  So for this run I did a lateral lead out and shot her to the triple while I got in position for a front cross on the landing of 4.  I have learned that being ahead of Frye and doing front crosses is the clearest cue for her right now.  I was able to get another front in before the weaves.  I am not sure why she popped out after getting the entry.  Perhaps some movement on my part?  The ending was nice as she responded to the rear cross and followed the line to the finish.  I was worried about that part as with rears I get so far behind.  My favorite part is her victory dance at the end.

We couldn't buy a standard Q this weekend so we have a couple things to work on.  But, there is so many things Braddock did well. In the STD run, for those that got a cross on the landing side of 3, you really had to leave the dog at the aframe or else the cue would be late.  If crossing on the landing of 4, a sliced blind cross was best option followed by rear on flat. A front cross set the line for the off course.  The line off jump 8 worked best with a front cross timed early.  Some chose to pull and the dogs went extremely wide over 8.  The final challenge was the descrimination.  Most chose to turn the dog left over 15.  It wasn't a good approach to the dogwalk and the dog still lined up for the tunnel.  But if the dog ran slowly, the handler could get the lead change for the dogwalk.  I turned the dog to the right, as did Tracy Hirsch. She got it, getting the change of lead after the dog landed.  I tried to get the head check but ...

I was very proud of Frye.  She is definitely trying and is taking her job more seriously.  Yet, at the same time, she shows an obvious enthusiasm for the sport.  In Open JWW, I did a reverse spin at the 180 after the tunnel.  A lot of dogs were slipping here because they weren't reading the turn cue and then would try and turn last minute while in extension.  Frye read the reverse spin beautifully, but what I forgot is that this would change her line and instead of slicing the next jump, she was squarely in the center which set her back in line with the tunnel and thus she went off course.  Otherwise, it was a beautiful run. The other good news is that she got her second Novice STD leg.  We didn't run until close to 6pm so I can't even begin to describe how anxious I am to get out of Novice.  I overmanaged that run, and will have to work on building trust in the standard course.  I am most impressed with her effort to stick the table. ...

Day 2 of the trial and Braddock did not disappoint.  He got another double Q with 2 first places.  Those are easy stats to put out there, and yet, they aren't what I think about.  What I do think about is the way we ran the course, improving our lines, trying new things, and being even more connected. JWW was first.  There were 3 key parts to really work on this course.  1) jump #6.  Most people serped it, staying on the landing side.  This did, however, put a lot of pressure on the bar.  If you decided to front the exit of the tunnel and pull the dog to 7, then you were behind for the push out at 8.  I felt the serp wasn't fair to B.  He would accelerate to me, jumping center of the bar as that was the line, and then I would be asking for a sharp left turn from him.  So instead, I chose collection over the bar, opting for a front cross.  I did a blind at the tunnel exit, and then a front cross very close to #6, setting a tig...