Clean Run - December 2019 - 35

PART 2
Snooker for the
Absolute Beginner

© MATT ALLISON PHOTOGRAPHY

A TUTORIAL FOR THE
SNOOKER-CHALLENGED
NEWBIE
By Claire Duder DVM

If you have read last month's article,
you should now have a pretty good
understanding of the basic rules of
Snooker and have figured out what
sort of run you need to plan for your
dog. So let's put some of the ideas
into practice using an actual Starters
Snooker course run at a trial (thanks,
Billie). I have chosen some specific
opening sequences to discuss. They
are not necessarily brilliant or best
case, but they illustrate some important talking points.
Talk the Talk, Walk the Walk-through
Figure 1 is the course map, as you
would see it at a trial, with the red
jumps marked in red. But because
course maps at a trial aren't in colour,
the red jumps also are labeled with "R"
for easy reference. There is normally
much more information about points
and times on a real course map, as
these will often vary by jump height
and category (Regular vs. Veteran, for
example), but I have elected to make it
simple for the sake of this article.
There is only one start line marked on
this course. Some judges may set out
more or may use a designated start
jump, so pay attention. The finish line
is less of a concern, as Snooker is a
points-based game, and the time is
only important to define the point accumulation period. So, if the whistle
blows while you are on course, you
December 19 | Clean Run

still generally get to keep your points
earned to that time. The exception is
UKI, where you will lose all your points
if you don't cross the finish jump to
stop time. In any case, do everyone a
courtesy and head to the finish point
quickly after your run, no matter
where or when it ends because the
next dog can't start until you leave.
The first thing I focus on is the closing
sequence. This one is nice and flowy,
as I would expect from an entry-level
Snooker course. I would estimate the
length of the closing to be about 60-70
yards, by counting the grid squares, so
no major issues there. If I estimate that
my dog's speed is about 3 YPS, I know
I need to allow about 20-23 seconds
to complete the closing, plus a few
extra seconds for the weave poles, as
my dogs will be slow through there.
Alternatively, I can guesstimate the
time required for the closing using my
dog's average obstacle performance
speed, with a few seconds added for
the weaves and the A-frame (my girls
can be stargazers). This gives me a
good 30-35 seconds for the opening,
not bad for six or so obstacles!
The next thing I will look at is where
do I want to start my closing from?
Since the #2 tunnel is bidirectional,
obstacles #2, #3, #4, and #7 all make
good sense to plan as a last obstacle
of choice (remember, unless you fault

your last red, you need to do your last
obstacle of choice before you can start
your closing).
Figure 2 shows a fast, low-point opening that uses obstacle #4 as my "lead
in" to the closing. The green square
numbers are the cumulative point totals. My #1A - #2 - #1D - #4 - #1C - #4
opening gets me 13 points, and I need
to complete #7 in the closing to qualify. This frankly is not a very exciting
plan but might be just the thing if your
dog is on the slow side, as the yardage
is low. The one point to watch for is
that the double used twice. If your dog
is not a great jumper, this may not be
the best choice for you. If the jump is
demolished in the opening, your ability to complete the closing may well
end at obstacle #3.
Figure 3 shows a higher point opening (21 points vs. 13) that still only uses
three reds and is still quite flowy. The
order is #1A - #7 - #1B - #1C - #4, and
cumulative totals are shown in the diagram. The only hard-ish turn is the one
coming out of the first set of weaves.
Since there is nothing else around, and
most dogs come out of the weaves
looking for a cue, this should be a safe
bet. This might be a good plan if your
dog is a solid weaver but sometimes
knock bars. This opening allows you
to qualify after obstacle #6. A small
refinement in this path would be to
35



Clean Run - December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - December 2019

Contents
Clean Run - December 2019 - Cover1
Clean Run - December 2019 - Cover2
Clean Run - December 2019 - Contents
Clean Run - December 2019 - 4
Clean Run - December 2019 - 5
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