Ace and Abby are High Scoring Phalenes at the PCA National Specialty agility trials and Ripley earns his first ever agility title!
At the two day PCA National Specialty agility trials, all four Alasera competitors had some brags. It is always a thrill to compete with just Papillons from around the country. The venue was fabulous, a beautiful, roomy indoor facility and plenty of room to sit and crate dogs. Over 120 Papillons were entered with almost 300 runs each day. (Which made for long, long days…) The ribbons/rosettes and prizes all were beautiful and fit the theme of “Run for the Roses” with stuffed rocking horse toys for placements. The judge also gave Mardi Gras beads for qualifying runs. It was quite a festive atmosphere. We really wanted to earn some pretty silk rosettes, so we got right down to business.
Here are some highlights:
Mellie: Since Mellie is our most experienced competitor, I expected some great runs from her. And she did her part for most of them. Unfortunately, her handler (me) messed up several times which kept us from two qualifying runs. She took down a double jump in one run, which is very unlike her, so that prevented another qualifying run. We did eke out a qualifying run in Standard with 10 more MACH points. She did run fast and happy for most of her runs, so we hope to get back on track at the local trials this summer.
Abby: Abby has been my most promising dog to date, but issues with the teeter have plagued us for some time. Her attitude and drive has increased ten-fold, so I know it is just a matter of time. She popped out of the weaves due to a distraction in the first run, but after that, she was a weave queen. She refused or came off the teeter in both of the Standard runs, leaving us with no ribbons for those. But she really made up for it in the Jumpers run on the second day and both of her Novice FAST runs. She ran so hard, so fast, and with such accuracy, I can only imagine how far she’ll go when we get her confidence in the teeter under control. In the Jumpers run, she ran against 41 dogs in her class and took a fifth place. Just out of the ribbons, but among the fastest dogs in the trial. She earned High Scoring Phalene in trial AND High Scoring Champion of Record in trial for day two. I could not be more proud. She also earned two qualifying runs in her first ever FAST runs and a first place finish and a fourth place finish for those. She beat some very fast and talented dogs.
Ace: Terry handled Ace beautifully on day one with his Ex. A Jumpers run. Very fast, accurate and exciting to watch. It was so good, he earned a second place with the run. This was his first qualifying run in Excellent. He ended up earning High Phalene in Trial for the day. He is still struggling with his contacts and the teeter is out of the question, so no qualifying runs on the Standard courses. On the second day, he had a wonderful Jumpers run with just one tiny off course tunnel but he was super fast. He also qualified in his FAST run the first day with a third place finish. To say Terry has become a fan of agility is to put it mildly.
Ripley: Ripley was the “come from behind kid”. With his “special needs” type of personality, I only entered him in the trial because this is THE event of the Papillon agility year. I didn’t want to leave him sitting in a crate. He is by no means the fastest dog around, nor is he focused enough to be competing. But, he surprised me. He ended up with two qualifying runs in Jumpers to earn his first ever agility title. NAJ!! He was way too distracted to have clean runs in the Standard course, so no surprise there. He earned a beautiful rosette for his new title and as a bonus, he earned a first place and a second place finish in the qualifying runs. Way to go Ripley!! He will take a breather from competition while we work on focus and control. He did look like he really enjoyed himself out there!
All in all, we had a blast. We saw some of the fastest agility dogs in the country and we met many wonderful competitors. Agility people are wonderfully supportive and nice, so it was a great experience. And yes, we are ribbon hounds!!!
