Monday, November 1, 2010

MADCO Halloween Trial, Pt. 1

This weekend we drove up to Charlottesville, VA for a number of reasons.  First of all, Jonathan had an interview at UVA on Friday.  Secondly, my family lives about 45 minutes away, so we were able to spend some time with them.  And third, we went to the MADCO trial on Saturday and Sunday.

It was a beautiful setting right in the mountains, and it was quite cold in the morning (30 degrees)!  But, we managed, and by the afternoon it was in the 50s, and was really nice.  It helped that Bentley had an amazing weekend.  I could not have been more proud of him!  And on to the videos...

Steeplechase:


Our first run of the morning was Steeplechase.  Bentley has never Q'd in Steeplechase before.  The good thing is that it is time + faults, so you can make a mistake and still Q if you make time.  Well, we didn't even have to worry about that, Bentley was perfect!  He was one of the few dogs that got the weave pole entry on the first try (sort of a weird angle as the third obstacle).  The course was pretty easy, and very open.  I felt myself babysitting his FCs all weekend need to work on that!), but he did well.  His a-frame in this run was very nice.

Grand Prix:


Bentley's never Q'd in Grand Prix either, but it wasn't to be this day!  The course itself was really tough, not to mention that it's run by masters rules, so refusals, etc...all count as faults.  Bentley cut behind Jonathan on a FC before the tire, so that was his first refusal.  Miracle of all miracles, he got his dogwalk contact!  So proud. I really could have cared less about the rest of the run.  He also missed the weave entrance several times, and then did the dogwalk again instead of the tunnel.  Jonathan said he would have handled that differently, but Bentley had already NQ'd, so he didn't worry about it.  Did I mention that he got his dogwalk contact?!

Advanced Gamblers:


Such a good boy!  Not only did he do the gamble, but he got his dogwalk contact as part of it!

Masters Snooker:


This was a pretty tough course, and Jonathan and Bentley did really well!  He did 4 reds (instead of 3) and managed two sets of the 6 point obstacle sequence and one of the 7.  Time was an issue for every dog, and only the absolute fastest completed the closing.  No matter, he still Q'd!

Masters Jumpers:


I was incredibly proud of Bentley on this tough course.  There were several wraps, and some tough angles and easy off-courses.  Bentley did awesome.  I changed my plan on course several times (something I'm usually not so good at), and I was happy about it.  We did a little bit of a "bump" around 34 seconds, but he recovered well.

Advanced Standard:


I think we were both tired on this run!  The course wasn't difficult, but it didn't go well.  The only actual fault he had was his dogwalk contact (not even close!), but he made several other mistakes.  He had a refusal at the jump before the a-frame, I assume I probably peeled off for the in a bit too early.  Then he ran right past the weaves.  Looks like I was busy looking at him, and not ahead.

All in all, a great day!  I will post Sunday's runs later on...

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