Last weekend was BRAG Agility’s wonderful June USDAA trial at Liberty Park, near Columbus, Ohio.

The trial at which Rob and I met four years ago, and at which we were married, two years ago. Our anniversary trial. This is gonna be a nice trial, no matter how our dogs do. And these days, for this trial, we camp! Yay, tent-camping! Now, this year, new-and-improved, with FIVE dogs! At a state campground, with a two-dog limit per site!

This means, basically, that we all have to be Very, Very Good Dogs. And that I have to arrange the campsite to screen the dogs as much as possible. Rob chose a perfect site for us this year, and all five dogs were fabulous. It was Kate’s first Camping Adventure. The dogs get an EZ-Up, EZed out to full size, but not so much Upped. Four crates (Xen and Kate shared) Friday night, then five crates (Xen glared) Saturday. Kate slept basically though the night both nights, and there was minimal fussage, even when Some Dogs got to Go Somewhere while Other Dogs stayed at Where We Where Staying. Hooray for Good Dogs!

Also, there was the actual trial. In which Rob handled Jett to her first and only ever Performance II Gamblers Q. I have been chasing this Q since October of 2008.

No, really. I have been.

Since then (by which I mean, including then), I have run Jett in  P2 Gamblers 14 times. We have NQed each of those times. Twice, we have gotten the points and the gamble, but been over time. Once, by literally .01 seconds. No P2 Gamblers joy.

It was a nice P2 gamble. I found out tonight that Rob handled it Not At All like I’d planned to handle it before a I had the walkthrough for a Team thing for Makoa With a Dash of Xen, and Rob said “Hey, you want me to just run her in Gamblers?”  and I said, “Yeah, run the old dog. I need to focus on this.”

And they got it. I did get to see, but did not film. And she went out there and was all Big and Brave (TM) and just did it. She was running fast and happy and clearing those 22″ jumps (at 12 and 1/2 years old.) It was fabulous.

And Xen’s aforementioned Team, put together at the last minute,  was Makoa with a Dash of Xen, comprised of my Xen (duh!), Linda Randall’s Dash (a fast, handsome, very Dashing red rough), and Jane Fornty’s rough tri, Makoa. Jane and Makoa are from the Pacific Northwest. We had shirts, and they were fun, and I’ll post pictures later.

We were okay in Gamblers, which was first. Then we all Eed in Jumpers, which was suckful. That was Saturday.

Then on Sunday, we were okay in Standard, and really okay in Snooker. And then Jane learned How BRAG Handles The Ribbons. Which includes a drawer with the sticker sheets.  Thusly, we discovered that Makoa had been scored incorrectly in Gambler’s, and thus, we went from 4th place and below-the-line to 4th place but above-the-line.

So, going into Team Relay, we had a chance. Not so much a great chance, but a chance.

And all went well. And Jane and I, both running the same bit, first and last, layered a jump and got  dogs through a fast tire aimed Right At a Chute, and around one jump, to the farther out jump. And all Rocked. And we apparently took First in Team Relay, and we all Qed and finished Third Overall in the DAM  Tournament.

And it was A Great, Awesome, Super Weekend.

With no pictures.

 

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