Clean Run Magazine - January 2010 - 74

ment. I close my eyes and visualize him, attempting to send him comforting thoughts. We land and I negotiate a new airport, pick up my luggage, and find the shuttle bus to the rental car agency. success! we’Ve arriVed In December, California is a wondrous place! I observe the native Californians walking among the palm trees wearing shorts and tank tops as Christmas carols play. I pick up the car, load the cargo address into the GPS, and now the fun begins. The GPS takes me around and around on the Los Angeles freeways and I end up at a flight school, not the cargo center, which is located on a little access road that the GPS does not pick up. One hour later I am still driving around when my concerned roommate calls. She promises to find me help and a cargo official does call, just at the moment that I am giving the GPS a piece of my mind. “Where is my dog?” I scream at the ghost in the machine. The cargo employee keeps me on the phone until I arrive safely at the cargo center. Riley is fine, tail wagging and happy to see me, but he is a little tired. Back into the car, we head for the convention center, which the GPS can locate. We are nearly late for the optional FAST class we have entered for a warm-up exercise. Our roommates, Megan and Tigger, a PBGV, are waiting for us and Megan helps me set up my crate area before we walk the course. On course I begin to relax; I am walking a course, just the way I do every weekend. The feeling is so familiar; walk the dog’s path, plan the strategy, rehearse the dance. Back in my element, I’m at home and comfortable moving through the maze of obstacles. The class begins and finally we are called to the line. My plan is a bit different so the judge does not know where to stand; or rather, where the judge has chosen to stand does not fit well with my plans. I just miss colliding with the judge and stop. Riley reads this as a turning cue and boards the seesaw for the second time; we are whistled off the course for attempting a contact obstacle twice. Welcome to AKC Invitationals! today is a New day After a nutritious Subway dinner, a good night’s sleep, and breakfast, we are ready to trial today. The courses actually appear to be less difficult than those I see at a typical weekend trial. Most teams can negotiate the courses but course times are faster, so that running clean and with speed is what separates qualifiers from the others. I use my usual strategy of allowing Riley to choose his speed but I handle a bit more conservatively, working every obstacle and taking nothing for granted. Round 1, Jumpers, has two tricky spots, a difficult angle from jump #9 to #10. Huge wings on jump #10 force a front-cross position more lateral to the jump. Riley and I place 15th out of almost 100 dogs after Round 1 but another Springer is almost 2 seconds faster than we are. All the Springers are clean after Round 1, so it is a joyous moment as we support and congratulate one another. Round 2, Standard is fairly routine, with some difficult angles and obstacle discriminations, but I feel confident and we have a clean run. Our closest Springer competitor has knocked a bar and another Springer competitor was clean but substantially slower. We finish in 9th place after Round 2. Only one dog in Clean Run | January 10

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Clean Run Magazine - January 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - January 2010