Sun And Showers

There’s an interesting mix of sun and very heavy showers today at our dog show in Osmaston. Even before those showers it’s so wet underfoot that you can’t go rushing around. Which is probably a good job if you have a dodgy knee like me.

The morning brings a clear round from MD but due to a fair amount of faffing around the tunnel entry we miss out on the rosettes. Another run got us five faults for a felled pole but otherwise it was an excellent run considering the tough course, the tough (slippery) ground conditions and the handler with the dodgy knee. Everyone else obviously found it as tough because somehow that run got us a rosette for 4^th.

After a two hour downpour that spanned lunch L joins us after a tea and cakes trip to Ashbourne. She is in time to witness a decent run from MD save for another faff on a jumping section followed by another run that was a complete disaster where everything went wrong.

It was almost as bad for Doggo who got E’d in the Allsorts class for missing two jumps out. I took my eye off him and he took a short cut. So it was my fault really but back in the day mate you wouldn’t have done that.

Back home, we stay in and are AF ahead of tomorrow’s Ramathon.

(Saturday 7^th June)

Sheep Like Hordes

While the sheep like hordes of agility competitors head up to the usual first weekend of August meet up a Scunthorpe, I head south to Rushden & District Dog Club’s Barking Mad Agility Weekend. Says it all really.

The show is nearer to me than Scunthorpe but only because it’s not in Rushden and is actually just outside Peterborough, close to the A1.

MD has been drawn numbers 1, 5 and 51 in three classes which all kick off simultaneously at 8.30am in three different rings. This is not physically possible for man or dog, in more ways than one.

We give it our best shot when some other people would simply not have bothered to adhere to the rules at all. Many a time I have been helping out on a ring and the person drawn number 1 has turned up two hours after the start. So, three runs in just over an hour - one clear and two lots of five faults. So not too bad.

It was a shame about the faffing around in the clear one because that clear got him 6^th place. If he hadn’t faffed around it might have been top 3. In fact, if he didn’t faff we’d be deadly.

Then... a big gap. On his last run, four hours later, I get him eliminated by sending him over the wrong jump. Oops. Totally my fault. It was an audacious move and you win some you lose some, so they say. Mostly lose for us actually.

Then finally, just Doggo to run. Who goes clear naturally.

L’s stayed at home today being a proper scrubber. Housework. Bless. I rush home to save her from herself and to throw myself between her and the spider, with whom she says she’s having words in the bathroom.

(Saturday 3^rd August)