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Memorial Day Week-end Agility Trial Success

31 May 2010

On May 29-31, Team Alasera competed at the Bloomington Obedience Training Club agility trial on Saturday and Sunday, and on Monday, Mellie was entered in the USDAA trial in Lake Elmo for a Dog Agility Masters (DAM) Team Tournament with her training buddies, another Papillon, named Sky and Josie, a Lhasa Apso.

The dogs again enjoyed some great successes as well as more humbling defeats. Never a dull moment with this group.

Abby managed to do the teeter several times IN PUBLIC during her runs. Great moments to savor! She also had a great Jumpers run on Saturday even running in tall grass, earning a second place finish (edging out Mellie!) in a very competitive field of participants. She earned her ninth MXJ leg with that run and quite a few MACH points. She did manage to get an Open FAST leg on Saturday as well. Sunday did not go quite as well, as she decided the Standard run was way too scary and she quit after the second obstacle. She never even got to the start line on her Jumpers run, as she started reverse sneezing and couldn’t settle down. On her Sunday FAST run, she ran great, but a send to an A-frame proved too tough.

Ace had a beautiful jumpers run on Sunday and earned his MXJ title, much to Terry’s delight. He had a great set of weaves and stuck with Terry til the end. He earned an Open FAST leg on Saturday and took 3rd place, showing that he CAN do some distance work after all. He melted on his Standard runs and the curse continues.

Ripley did get an Exc. B Jumpers leg, but no MACH points as he barely made course time. He is staying more focused and does not try to run off anymore, so we feel we are making progress. He really shut down on Sunday and I can only think that the combination of heat, and being outdoors got the best of him. We’ll keep trying and I’m sure he’ll eventually get the hang of it.

Mellie was once again, on fire. She double Q’d on Saturday with two great runs, including a second place finish and a third place finish. She had one of her best ever Standard runs on Sunday but dropped a bar. Fastest yards per second she has ever had in a Standard run. She earned a second place finish in her Jumpers run on Sunday and took in 56 more MACH points for the week-end. She also managed to get two Open FAST legs and get her Open Fast title. On Monday, she and her DAM teammates earned their first DAM qualifying run at the USDAA tournament. She had clean qualifying runs in all 5 of her runs at the tournament. She placed well in each run as well. I am especially happy with this accomplishment as she had to jump 12″ versus the normal 8″ for AKC. Never dropped a bar all day.