Clean Run Magazine - July 2008 - 18

Trainer’s Forum By Brenna Fender Sherry Kluever There are several things you can try. First, think of the Jumpers course in terms of elements. Break it down into pieces, and then put it together. For example, think, “straight line (one element) to a pinwheel (another element) to another straight line (yet another) to a serpentine (and another).” Looking at the course map ahead of time may also help. Some people do better with a visual of the course beforehand, and then it doesn’t look quite as daunting. Figuring out your possible handling choices while looking at the course map gives you a heads-up as to what the course is before you walk it. Memorizing the course is definitely harder when the jumps are all an identical color. At home, all of my jumps are the same, so I am used to that concept. I think it makes it easier when I go to a trial where all the jumps are the same. Another suggestion is that when you practice, don’t use number cones. I have come across several students who rely so much on the cones they don’t really ever memorize the course. If you use cones where you train, I’ve struggled with memorizing courses for a long time. I can now remember Standard courses without much difﬁculty, but I frequently get lost on Jumpers courses. Most of the trial equipment in my area is provided by one company and when I walk onto a Jumpers course, I panic when I see so many white sticks. Are there any techniques that can help me solve this problem? Sherry, a full-time agility instructor, was a 2003 AKC World Team Member, a two-time ESPN Great Outdoor Games Gold Medalist, a three-time Grand Prix Finalist, an AKC Nationals Finalist, and a Steeplechase Finalist. Visit Sherry’s website: http://SherryKluever.com. try to not look at them after the initial walk-through. When you finish walking a course and know where everything is, close your eyes. See if you can recreate it in your head and remember it with all your handling choices and all your planned cues (verbal and nonverbal), without looking at the actual course. If you can, then you know you have it memorized. If you can’t, go over the course again with your eyes open, then again with them closed. This is one technique I used early on and still use today. Another thing that helped me early on (although I only had to do it for a short while) was actually running through the course instead of just walking it during the walk-through. But be sure to be careful when you do this so that you don’t run anyone over! Sometimes, it all seems to change when you’re running the course instead of walking it. One final suggestion: make sure you drink plenty of water during the day. I’ve found that a lack of water makes me forget courses. Kathy Lofthouse It is quite off-putting to be confronted with a course of all or predominantly all white jumps, especially for those of us who enjoyed the color and variety of the jumps in the early days of agility in the U.S. I, for one, really miss the red faux brick wall and the bone jump which used to be held in the mouths of two seemingly very well-trained dogs. However, in dealing with the boring and bright white jumps, once sunglasses are firmly in place and your eyes have adjusted to the brightness, you should have no more trouble running an allwhite course of jumps than one that contains an assortment of colors. 18 Since 1988, Kathy has competed successfully in USDAA and AKC to tournament and championship levels. Kathy enjoys introducing a variety of dogs to agility in a positive way and is also available to help resolve problems. Contact Kathy at runjumpweave@prodigy.net or visit www.runjumpweave.com. The only time this lack of color may seriously affect you is when you are first walking the course. If you allow the similarity of the jumps to be a concern for you, it will erode your confidence, thus your getting lost on course becomes far more likely. Since you mentioned the sight of all white jumps causes you to panic, I would advise you to forget about the jumps themselves and think more about your handling path as you walk the course. You will then be able to avoid the whiteout effect and keep your concentration on the numbers of the jumps and where you are intending to make your crosses. This way you and your dog will be able to run the course as efficiently and enjoyably as possible. One of the reasons you may have found it easier in the past to learn the Standard courses is that you have three rather large landmarks, also known as contact obstacles, to break things up a bit. To give your subconscious mind the same help on the Jumpers course, I suggest breaking the course up into sections from crossing point to crossing point and then concentrating on the change of hand you will be providing the dog. For example, if the course has three jumps leading to a tunnel and you will be crossing after the tunnel it may translate to #1, #2, #3, #4, on Clean Run | July 08

http://SherryKluever.com http://www.runjumpweave.com

Clean Run Magazine - July 2008

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