So, we've had limited internet the last couple weeks but the show went well and while I fell on my butt once during a JWW run with Doodle we had lots of fun and Doodle really enjoyed getting to practice her distance skills again. She was all about tackling those distance challenges even when her momma hadn't asked her to ;) Goofy dog, lol! And probably the most amazing things came from having to get out there and just trust the baby dog and try something we haven't believed we were capable of yet. I found out that not only can baby Tess handle distance (and seems to gain a self confidence from it!) but she also handles layering obstacles like a pro!! Also, since my ground speed was slower than normal due to the sprain I found I had to handle the running DW differently than I normally would, setting my line differently in order to stay ahead without handling the turn after poorly, and found Tess handles setting those kinds of lines off the DW beautifully!! Rather than run parallel to the DW and turn on the flat after it, I set my line to converge on hers slightly all the way over the Dw, yet started it wide enough so that by the end of the DW *I* had not converged so much as to then have to pull back in order to signal the next obstacle (I converged on her line the whole way over the DW and then just straightened my line for the jump following). I'm going to have to start experimenting more with these sorts of situations for pulls off the DW!
And... we just had the opportunity to drop in on an "Extreme Handling" class night that Lori Michaels held. It's a 3 1/2 hour drive, one way, but completely worth it as she's an amazing instructor and really pushes you to try all the handling options and encourages you to get outside of your comfort zone. I decided to jump Tess at 24" for the night as that's what she's been jumping for the past 2-3 months and while we've been jumping 26" for a couple weeks, never off the property yet. Anyway, Lori decided to jump Solei at 24" as well and I greatly enjoyed watching how a world class team looks on the same sequences we were running and trying to emulate that with Tess and myself. Tess was amazing and had some pretty amazing weave entries as well as handled several backside jumps very well for our experience level. Then the 2nd half of the course had a funny backside/threadle idea after the DW which again, is always interesting with Tess as she requires I handle her straight on the DW and have very particular timing after it for these sorts of situations. What was also great was that Lori and Solei also have somewhat of the same situation going on so getting to watch Lori walk out her plan for Solei and then try different ways of handling it and comparing notes was amazing!! Tess was fantastic and I learned a lot from my handling mistakes and/or poor timing after the DW. Then to top off the night Tess' teeters were all extremely drivey and fast yet she stuck every last one of them! Good girl Tulies!! Then Doodle got to run the whole course before the night was over and did it in Doodle style- fast, fun, crazy and with the occasioanl brain melting moment (what weave entry?!) Doodle was incredible as is her usual and even handled the DW with complete ease and actually ran through her contact on the *first* try! Yeah Doodle!!!
So this weekend we have another trial which should be Tess' last trial scheduled to run at 24", after this it's up to 26"! This is a local trial, my home trial, and they are finally trying out the ISC class so of course both the girls and I entered. Tess gets to be the lucky dog to run first (I'm thinking of it as running as the "white" dog) so fun, fun!!
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