Clean Run - February 2018 - 51

We began to add practice run-throughs
on some Friday evenings. Eventually we
were able to purchase all that we needed, including contact equipment. Sand
bags, number cones, equipment dollies
were gratefully donated. I even organized a repair crew for the thankless
job of fixing anything that might break.
About a year later, our time slot was
changed to 7 p.m., which was a relief.
We always had crowds of parents and
their children watching our practices
in awe. We have significantly evolved
over the years, with a few of the original
members and lots of long-standing participants. We still practice on Tuesdays,
but now from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.
alternating Excellent Jumpers and Standard courses each week at the Frederick
Indoor Soccer Center (FISC) in Maryland.
I also promoted the start of the many
AKC agility trials that are held at the
FISC Soccer Center.To our delight, we

currently have several back-to-back
weekends of trials on our home turf. It
is definitely a benefit for the Agility After
Dark folks, especially with the younger
dogs. In Maryland and surrounding states,
we see very few outdoor AKC agility trials. The majority of trials are held in various soccer centers with indoor creature
comforts and good footing.
My philosophy is very group oriented.
I have a wonderful diversification of
dedicated participants who trial in AKC,
CPE, UKI, USDAA, and NADAC. This
seems to help make our group so successful. We decided early on that we
were a practice group only, not a group
that wanted to orchestrate agility trials. Fees are monthly, and there is an
approved substitute list. If a participant
plans to be absent, their responsibility is
to contact a sub. After all, we need lots
of bodies to build and tear down the
course each week.

Agility After Dark is a place for new
and experienced handlers to utilize
their skill sets and hopefully gain confidence and course expertise in a regulation size ring. It is also a time to try a
skill and maybe think, "Oops, that didn't
work. Let's try something else that may
be better!" AAD is home where friends
help each other and have lots of fun.
We even have ring gating and entrance
and exit gates that were donated by
group members. I am always upgrading
our equipment due to AKC changes.
I welcome handlers who are eager to
trial and provide them with a positive
and realistic agility atmosphere, including sometimes a mock judge and ring
stewards. As most everyone has commented, "AAD is a wonderful place
that has helped us excel tremendously
in the sport of agility and can't imagine
training without it!" D

Linda Mizrahi has over 40 years breeding and training her champion Belgian Sheepdogs to multiple MACHs. Presently she is trialing her mother/daughter duo, CH MACH
Ziva and CH Kensi OA AXJ, a.k.a. The Black Jet. Running agility for over 20 years, she orchestrates, Agility After Dark, a successful long-standing agility practice group.
She can be reached at Belroyale19@aol.com, www. Belroyalebelgiansheepdogs.com, and Facebook as Linda Mizrahi.

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