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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

2010 October GCOC Trial Recap


This past weekend was Harley and Mo's second trip to Columbia since AKC started allowing mixed breeds to compete. You might remember, our first Columbia trial was the very weekend AKC opened to mixed breeds and we had a very warm reception. Since then, we've been very welcomed at every trial we've attended, and this was no exception.

Also, Columbia is outdoors in a covered arena, making photography conditions much better. As a result, we finally have some action shots of Mo on the course! The beautiful weather all weekend was also very helpful for both pictures and performance - sunny with cool-mild temperatures.



Here's the breakdown:


SATURDAY 10/2
Excellent A Standard - Harley - Harley was having a BEAUTIFUL clean & fast run until the very end. She darted right in front of James to an incorrect jump after the A-Frame, nullifying what would've been a nice Q & our title. Oh well...

Excellent A JWW - Harley - Harley redeemed herself with a seat-of-your-pants 31.20 second run on the JWW course for a 1st & Q, earning her first Excellent A title! [video]

Excellent A FAST - Harley - Harley's FAST run was amazing. She was quick, and nailed the send bonus. She racked up 77 points, earning a 2nd & Q, missing 1st place by one point!

Novice Standard - Mo - Kristen and Mo ripped through the Standard course in 47 seconds (with one weave poll restart) for a 2nd & Q. Mo only needs one more Novice Standard Q for his first agility title!

Novice FAST - Mo - Unfortunately, Mo got a very difficult FAST course. The send bonus was a bit far, and he was being clingy with Kristen anyway. We see a silver-lining in everything though - he nailed his weaves on the first try.

SUNDAY 10/3
Excellent A Standard - Harley - Harley usually has one crazy run a weekend, and this was definitely it. She had a great opening (2 jumps then a sharp turn into an off-side weave entry) but her excitement was just uncontrollable. She did a few "extra credit" jumps (off courses), and just looked like a really happy dog out there. Can't complain too much when your dog is having that much fun. :-)

Excellent B JWW - Harley - Harley was much more focused for her second run, and good thing too - this was her first Excellent B run! Harley ran a little slow (perhaps tired from her happy run earlier?), but clean enough for a Q (no placement). Placing in Excellent B is going to be tough - the field of competition is better and faster. But a Q is a Q, and Harley earned 11 MACH points!

Novice JWW - Mo - Mo had a great run on a course with a very tough opening that was catching a lot of other dogs. After getting through the hardest part, he barely ticked a bar down with his back foot. While he didn't Q, he was very fast and listened very well and we're always encouraged by his progress. But, if he hadn't knocked the bar, it would've been a 1st place with 26.10 seconds!


Novice Standard - Mo - Another great run with one minor mistake! Mo was running with gusto over everything, and watching James' pre-cues carefully. He had a fly-off on the teeter, which got him eliminated. Fly-offs are a luck-of-the-draw call - some judges call it, others don't, and others can be lenient. Unfortunately, he got called for it, and I can't blame the judge for it. Fly-offs are dangerous and should be called as such. I think Mo thought the teeter was the up-ramp for the dog walk and wasn't expecting it to tip. Besides that, it was a great run!


Titling Progress: Harley
ExcA Standard (AX) - 2/3 legs 
ExcA JWW (AXJ) - 3/3 legs *** NEW TITLE
ExcB JWW (MXJ) 1/10 legs
ExcA FAST (XF) - 1/3 legs 
MACH Points: 11

Titling Progress: Mo
Novice Standard (NA) - 2/3 legs
Novice JWW (NAJ) - 1/3 legs
Novice FAST (NF) - 1/3 legs

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