Nottingham Agility Championship

Lisa and I were going to drive up to Nottingham together for the Championship classes on Saturday. Unfortunately Lisa couldn't make it; so Dennis offered to drive up with me. This was a great help as it was a long drive up and I had to be back Saturday night because I was due to judge on Sunday.

So we drove up late Friday afternoon. We hit loads of traffic before the Dartford Tunnel, so we stopped after the tunnel to check out some furniture stores and take a break. This was fortunate as we found two new sofas! Since we did the floors in the living room and foyer; we thought it was time for new sofas. I was not looking forward to shopping for them; I think it is almost as bad as car shopping! So this was great as we walked into this store (which Dennis did not want to go in!) and saw these two sofas which were on sale as display sofas. Result! Not only just what we wanted but they can be delivered almost right away AND were a great price. The funny thing is that Dennis and I now officially join the "Ole Gits Club" as they are RECLINER sofas!! Dennis and I can recline together and have room for a dog in between us. Woo-hoo, feet up while surfing on my laptop AND watching TV at the same time with a dog next to me. Heaven! Oh and we can invite two friends at a time to recline on the other sofa. Geez if it wasn't for dog agility I would be so darn lazy.

We got up to Nottingham and stopped by show grounds to let the dogs out for a run and had a chance to sit with Karen, Hannah and Chris and steal some of their snacks and drinks. Then we headed to the hotel for a good nights sleep. Of course, first we had to try and sneak the dogs in as this hotel charges 10 pounds extra per dog. This was a bit of a fiasco as Dennis wanted to hand them to me through the window but the windows had these security things on and the windows only opened a crack; barely big enough for a Mouse! He then thought he could use his technical prowess to remove these security thingies but that did not work either. Dennis wouldn't make a good burglar that is for sure. We finally went for the direct approach and just marched past the reception each with one dog while trying not to make eye contact. We got into the room and then waited guiltily to see if they would come knocking on the door. Obviously we were so stealth that they didn't notice and we saved the money!

Up bright and early on Saturday to the cold and windy showgrounds. What a day! Both Zen and Hex were on form and running so well. Each one won their Crufts Singles Agility (woo-hoo that means a good chance they have qualified for Crufts Singles!) Then I used their 1-7 Agility for training and working on holding their stays and contacts.

Onto the Champ. Both girls ran double clears in their agility and jumping Champ qualifiers! And each one did so well they ended up running last in the finals. What great dogs they both are; I am so lucky. In the end, Hex came close but I pushed her in the finals (needed to as that Nicky and Indy had run a near perfect run!)and we ended up eliminated. This isn't awful as I have decided I would rather get eliminated in the finals than settle for the reserve knowing I hadn't pushed it. This is what is great about the champs; you really need to go for it! Just what I need to learn not to play it safe.

Zen... well Zen is Zen and she is just perfect.(even though she is practically bald after her pups; but she is streamlined!) She won another Medium Champ Ticket giving it her all in each run. She is on the edge lately; the break from agility for pups has made her a little insane but I don't care. This is Zen's 7th championship ticket. Considering how many breaks she has had from agility and how many champs I pulled out of after she finished her Championship; I think that is amazing.

Indy won the small Champ ticket and Zen won the medium. This is the second time they have done the double! Lisa and I decided that we would really like for the next double to be Chi winning his 1st Medium Ticket and Hex winning her 3rd small ticket. Keep those positive thoughts coming for that!

Here is the video. Thanks Dennis for being there to video (and drive) and for putting the runs on the computer for me today while I was out judging. (more about THAT later!)