Lucy's Blog

It's been a while...

2011-08-09T08:31:00.003+01:00

So I haven't updated for a while, apologies. A lot has happened in and out of agility, but I'll try to start at the beginning...

At the end of June I lost Kip very expectantly. The Saturday evening of Lansdown he had a funny turn and collapsed and couldn't get up. When he had been laying down for a long period of time and then went to get up, he would struggle a little but only through old age being 13. However, this was different. Mum and I took him to the vets on Sunday morning as they were going to do various different tests to see what might be happening. My vet suggested it could be heat stroke or internal bleeding of the spleen.

After several scans she called me back Sunday evening to tell me that they had discovered several tumours on his spleen and he was collapsing because of them bleeding and therefore he became anemic. There were a few options that the vet game me and because of how fit he was she also suggested the option to remove his spleen. I was home alone on the Sunday and broke down when the vet told me that the maximum she's had a dog live for after having these particular tumours was 5 months. In the end I didn't even get 5 days.

After his op on the Monday he came home Tuesday evening. He was whining and very unstable but we all put that down to the big op he had and also the anesthetic. I dragged a mattress downstairs and slept in the hall. He couldn't stop whining and panting and couldn't settle at all. Anyone who knows Kip will know how much of a big sop he was and that even a quick rub of his ear would satisfy him, even if he did keep nudging for more!

Wednesday morning Mum and I tok him back to the vets because he wasn't right at all. The vets put him back on a red blood cell drip and upped his pain killers but he was showing signs of other things. The vet wasn't happy with how he was and thought it might be more than what showed up on the previous scans and tests. I went to see him on Wednesday evening along with my Mum and Aunt (strength in numbers and all that...) Again he wouldn't settle and kept flicking his head and just totally in distress, which suggested that it could be neurological. I could have had more tests and scans done but I didn't want to put him through anything else.

It was the hardest decision but I think it was the best thing to do. It's been just over a month and I'm still absolutely devastated :( He was the kindest, soppiest dog ever and I miss him so much.

Moving onto agility, Pie has been working aaaaamazing, which is quite weird. We made our first champ final at The Agility Club running 4th from the end with a double clear!! We did crap in the final because I pushed him a liiiittle bit too much and he missed his contact. I need to practice more pushing him but still holding his contacts. I ponce around too much and then when I actually run Pie is shocking and comes with me - oops!!

Here are some vids from The Agility Club...

Roll on KC Festival!

L x

Dartford

2011-06-05T21:35:00.003+01:00

I was so tempted to roll back over in bed when my alarm went off at 5.45! However, I managed to drag myself out of bed and managed to get to the show ground at 8, which makes a change from me usually rocking up at 8.20 and rushing around trying to walk courses.

Anyway, first up was G7 Power & Speed. A nice warm up before the chum and a chance to train Pie's contacts. Alan Stiff was judging and I think I'm safe in saying that the timing trouble didn't set him up for a good day judging! I nearly sent P over the wrong jump in the speed section as I was rushing off to put in a reverse turn, however we managed to finish 3rd!

Alan then went onto set a fantastic chum course. I loved it! It's very rare that I actually like a course, but it was great. There wasn't only one way to handle it so I was looking forward to seeing the variation. About 30 dogs in, the timing got questioned as dogs were throwing out times that varied from 10 - 25 seconds. Even if these dogs had rockets up their bums, i'm pretty sure it would of been very hard to get round in 10 seconds! The timing equipment had been changed three times in the power and speed before it actually working, so Alan made the sensible decision of restarting the class and do manual timing. The course had to be changed as the dogs who had already run where at an advantage and tweaked enough so that Alan didn't remember his previous course. Having walked this class, I didn't like it as much as the previous one! I had already made my excuse up if I didn't get round it... 'I would have got round the previous one...!'. After being very indecisive as to which side to run the home straight (after walking it both ways) Barry helped me make up my mind. We finished 3rd, therefore qualifying for day two semis. Wahoo! Ian Balchin won, Pete Catt 2nd, can't remember 4th and Elspeth finished 5th. Well done all :) See below for the course plan.

Last run of the day was Sue Culmer's Grade 5-7 jumping, which I had walked! This could of been due to a number of reasons... 1) too busy talking, 2) too busy 'sun bathing' - which then led me to looking like an utter lobster! or 3) because I literally couldn't see, so was sat feeling sorry for myself. I think I have conjunctivitis and my left eye was semi closed (stuck) together for part of the day!! I think it could have been all three though haha! Anyway, after watching a few I was pretty certain that I knew where I was meant to be going and how I was going to handle it. Pie was obviously a good boy, and did everything pretty much perfectly, which is rather strange! He queued on every single turn (I have actually been training turns and wraps properly for once!) and he was just fab. We went into the lead in a time of 27.570. John Cook and beautiful Mac run after me with an absolute stonker which I was sure would beat Pie's time. Mac's time was 27.754! Thank goodness for electronic timing! To be so close to Mac's time after we both had great runs was amazing. Below is the course plan although I have just noticed that I have put 20 the wrong side!

So although I look like a lobster and have conjunctivitis, we have a pretty successful weekend. Roll on Thames.

L x

Wallingford, Easter Celebration and general catch up!

2011-04-23T20:03:00.003+01:00

Finally the season is starting to kick in and Wallingford was my first show of the season. I was really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. My friend was back from uni so she came along too. Pie's first run of the day was 4-7 jumping at 10ish and then nothing until 4.30!! It was silly, as both his other classes suddenly came up at the same time and I was rushing all over the place, resulting in me doing veryyy badly! However, we did manage a 4th in the jumping. Although it wasn't neat at all, he is working really nicely :)

I've just got back from Easter Celebration and thought I would write a post before I forget! Pie was super. We had 4/6 clear rounds (1 was a run off).

First up was Leslie Osbourne's chum. I had seen quite a few good rounds, but there was a few parts in the course that I was worried about, but I just went in with a can-do attitude and went for it. There was a few blips where I nearly pulled him off a jump but he was a star! We went into 3rd and finished 6th, meaning that we didn't get into the Olympia semi, however, it has made me realise that Pie can actually be up there with the big boys! Ian Jackson did a stonker of a run with one blip to win the class, with Dave Munnings 2nd & Lee Windeatt 3rd.

So still on a high, I messed up the G7 jumping oops. Trained contacts in the Power & Speed and then had a run-off with Will Rolfe for 8th. Pie took a pole out in the speed section but Will told me that Pie's time was quicker, therefore would of beaten Scoot (Crufts Singles winner this year). Lee watched the run off and said that Will's run was nice and neat so it's definitely given me a boost to know that Pie can set close times.

Then we also managed another clear in 6-7 jumping. I even did a cross-behind!! Ahhh Piddles is such a good boy and i let him down far too much so couldn't believe it when we managed to get so many clears in one day! Normally that would be my quota for the whole year! Pie finished 6th in that jumping only o.something off Lee & Bold's time, who won.

Then lastly was the weird connection agility. It was sooo hot and I did the run on the way back from the Power & Speed run-off and I think I was more exhausted than Pie!! We managed a clear round with me training doing a stop-go on aframe and seesaw.

All-in-all it was a great day. Glorious weather resulting in me having an unattractive tshirt tan, a chance to catch up with everyone, and to top it off Pie and I actually did good. Ahh roll on WBSDS tomorrow... :) I will try to get some videos too!

L x

Pie's first Grade 7 win :)

2010-12-31T15:15:00.001Z

Wahoo!! At North Downs back in November Pie and I won our first Grade 7 class. I've always liked North Downs as a show despite it always being cold. It's nice to catch up people and also there were 4 available runs for Pie.

Recent training had been going really well and Pie worked really nicely. He won Grade 7 agility by 3/4 of a second - clever dog!!

I know Pie isn't the fastest dog but I never thought he would be competitive at the highest level. Through no fault of his own though, I just don't have the self believe and confidence that I deserve to be competing in champ. Ok not every grade 7 dog ran in that agility class nor did every dog in that class run their contacts but I do know that, from the dogs Pie beat, those dogs do compete successfully in the higher grades and those dogs are always some of the ones to beat.

I say this time and time again, so sorry for sounding like a scratched record, but I'm fed up of people putting me down and next season is going to be so so different! Watch this space ;)

L x

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Suffering and sneezing

2010-10-28T19:08:00.001+01:00

Bonjour all,

A lovely colleague of mine as inspired me to write a little more on my blog. You might not even be interested but either way, here I am on my new app on my iPhone. Check me out eh?!

I have just arrived at my Dads to be greeted with a box full of cardboard cutouts that he found whilst moving out of his house. Many many moons ago, i had cardboard cutouts of people and clothes that went over them. Haha!! Those were my only 'toys' I kept there so was quite funny to see them.

Tomorrow I am up in London for the last day of my CIPR course, although I think getting up is going to be a struggle. I have been sneezing all day, and annoying the girls in the office to say the least!! Hopefully the good old lemsip tablets will do the trick and work wonders for the weekend! Who knows.

L x

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Luxembourg

2010-08-10T18:54:00.003+01:00

Laura and I had been planning to head over to Luxembourg since November, last year, I think to compete in a show called Agility by Night. It's pretty much what it says on the tin. Competing starts at about 6pm and finishes at 2.30am ish.

We left Friday morning at 3.15am and headed down to the Eurotunnel. As soon as we got on, Laura and I took the first opportunity we could get to sleep! Even if it was for just half an hour!! We only stopped twice I think which was very short, and just enough time to let the dogs out for a stretch and also so that we could also nip to the toilet. At about 11.30 we had already driven through 4 countries... England, France, Belgium & Luxembourg. We arrived in Bettembourg at about 12 however, didn't actually get into the venue until about 1pm as we had been driving up and down, through the village and past the venue for an hour!! Jana had told us to look out for the sign that said dog show. Laura and I took that in the literal sense and didn't even think that it would be in German... until my year 8 German skills of remember 'hund' meant dog. We eventually managed to find everyone.

In comparison to shows over here, it was such a small show but sooo laid back but still very structured and well organised. Camping was where ever you wanted to camp and however big you wanted your pitch. If only it was like that here in England!

Our first run wasat 6pm I think.... To put it bluntly.... we did crap hahaha!! Pie jumped wrong way of number 1 and it just went from bad to worse!! Unfortunately Rod was freaked out by the loud music and PA system all weekend. Bless him. After doing our runs and watching everyone else's from 'our camp' we headed to bed at about 3.30am!! It may have been even later, but I just remember saying to everyone that we had been up for 24 hours urgghh!! The nights over there were very cold, and probably colder than here, but then during the day it was BOILING! We were staying in a tent (I know, I couldn't believe it either!) all weekend and as the tent got rather hot in the morning we were up bright and early for a shower at about 11.

We all headed off to the lake which wasn't far from the show at all, however, we ended up being an hour walking around, trying to find a safe and suitable place to swim and for the dogs to get in too. We were unsuccessful and headed back!

I had nearly recovered from the lack of sleep until everyone started whipping out random drinks for Laura and I to share. Soo many included sugar sachets or sticks and then washing it down with Vodka. The taste seemed quite pleasant although Lucas decided that helping me drink the vodka quicker by pushing the cup into my face, would help. It didn't. It just ended up running down my chin!! It got rather messy with us discovering the amazing cocktail bar too!! I think it should be a rule that there should be one at ALL shows haha! I ran my last run veeeery drunk and was quite surprised that i didn't fall over, although Pie did completely crash into a jump - thankfully he was ok though! Laura was a loser and went to bed at about 2am, which was early considering Jana, Lucas, Paul and I were dancing, singing, drinking, talking until 4/5!

Oh... I must mention a few things. On Saturday afternoon Paul came into the caravan garden and went to sit on his chair. It broke and he fell completely through it! I've never laughed so much - it was brilliant. He then went on to take his anger out with the chair by literally smashing it and throwing it about. I think it made him feel a little better. He did say that he hated it!

On Sunday afternoon, Laura and I went for a little nap in Jana's tent. Here is Laura's description of what happened.
"Lucy and I decided to try for a power nap in Jana's tent. Something moved under Lucy (I had already told her, I had felt something the night before) I left the tent and was talking on my pho...ne in the van, she then came and told me she wasn't going back in the tent cos she thinks there is something under her. She had gone mad and started hitting the ground with her shoe when she was in there. Later on, Jana picked up the ground sheet to see what was under there, there was lots of little run ways and a dead mouse. Lucy had killed it! I pretended to pick it up and throw it at Lucas... he got scared and started screaming like a 5 year old school girl... very very funny."

I still laugh when thinking about both of those!!

Neither of us made the final however Pie did manage to win a jumping class on Sunday. It was the day of the final and there was one jumping class for everyone that was split by the handler's age!! So Pie and I won the under 50s, which then meant we got an extra run against the winner of the large over 50s, who went on to beat us because Pie flew past 2 jumps oooooops!!

I had such a great weekend and meet some fantastic people. Everyone was so friendly and their English was amazing. It must of been hard to understand Laura and I, as our English (well mainly Laura's) isn't good at the best of times!

Thanks guys for a great weekend, see you in October and definitely next year for Thames!!

I'll upload the videos once Laura has popped them onto YouTube.

L x

Thames

2010-06-16T13:20:00.002+01:00

Well I think I have just about recovered from the weekend, or was it just Saturday night?! Thames is where I train so it I was pretty much on the go all weekend. Last year I clocked up 6/6 Es, So even 5 Es would of been progress on last year. Over the 2 days Pie and I managed 3 Es, 2 5Rs and 1 Clear. Woohoo! I wont bore you with each run but I was really pleased with how we both did. On the Saturday, it was just silly mistakes from me.

I was working on the champ ring both days so got to watch a fair amount of the large on Saturday. Greg won the ticket, even with a hairy round. That dog is too bloody quick - it's not fair!! haha! Ian & Bobbie where have an absolute STONKING round until number 16 where he went crazy and panicked and got E'd... BOOOO! I reaaaaaally want Ian to get a ticket this year and I'm pretty sure that he will soon, he's too close not to get one.

We finished our ring at about 3pm which meant i could go for a shower early and sort Pie out before the football and entertainment. We had electric hook up, thanks to Laura doing some flesh flashing to Andrew (nothing to do with be being a Thames member!!), which meant we had power for hairdryer and straighteners!! WOOOP! We also borrowed the Stokoe's TV to watch the football. We nearly had a nightmare with the aerial as Laura wanted the picture to be clearer which almost led us to us having no picture at all!! I think I can safely say that I was a liiiiiittle drunk... OK very drunk on Saturday night. I arrived back to the caravan at 2am where Laura & Emily were asleep and I woke up at 8.10 still fully clothed!! I was meant to be helping out on the ring at 8.30... that didn't happen! I eventually made it to the rings at about 9, where I had missed walking my courses.... oh dear!!

The chum was quite a tough course but I liked it. As it was split and was being run over 2 different courses in separate rings, only the top 3 qualified. The top 3, I knew we could only beat with a spotless round, which lets face it, never really happens with us! So i decided to train P's contacts, and also because in the Crufts Singles on Sat, he decided he now did 4-off contacts?! ERMMMMM NO! We got E'd at the end due to be being a muppet, but the beginning seemed to go well.

I was scriming for EVERY single small & medium champ dog on Sunday so had to make the most of when the heights changed etc, as that was when I could let Pie out for a wee or to run him! Whilst the medium handlers were walking their jumping course, I decided to make a dash and run P in the Graded 6/7 jumping. The course wasn't the best for us as it had 2 cross behinds in, and because I unfortunately can't run as fast as Usain Bolt, I had to do them! The round wasn't perfect as Pie turn towards me instead of away from me on one bit, which left me behind going 'aaaaaaaaah'!! I didn't bother to check my time as a)I didn't think the round was neat enough and b)because I had to get back to scrime. Later on, again on my quick dash back to the caravan, I had noticed that the class had finished and that the ring was all packed up. On the off chance, i thought i would go and see if we got a place, only to see that we had won the class!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Pie & I are finally grade 7!! OH MY GOD!! Anyone see someone jumping around screaming on Sunday afternoon? Oh that would of been me! Our first champ will be Rugby... exciting!

I just want to say quickly thank you to everyone who has helped me. Just to think... I few months ago, i was considering giving up agility! Laura, you little gem, I've done it!! Thank you to you and Lee who have supported and helped me out so much. Without you guys we wouldn't of done it! And also to those who didn't think we would do it (which was me at times)... we've done it now, so nerrrrr!

I'm heading up to Northwich this weekend for Newton Heath. It is going to be so chilled as no pressure for last win. Ahh so nice :) Oh and also a half day at work, to prep for the hideous drive. Hello red bull and ipod!!

L x

It's been a while...

2010-05-16T13:31:00.002+01:00

... since I last blogged. Sorry! Nothing has really happened to be honest. Pie was working really well at Vyne on bank holiday monday and managed a 2nd in Grade 6 Agility. I didn't think I would be able to get past number 3 let alone get a clear and finish 2nd! Laura got the run on video but hasn't uploaded it onto her YouTube page. Then Tunbridge Wells went downhill... My confidence has gone out the window again after a few bad training sessions at club. We managed a 6th in Grade 6 Jumping, with a twirl before the weaves which I think should of be a refusual.

Short and sweet I know, but things are so hectic with work at the moment and my roast is ready yum! Next show is Thames - See you all there x

Agility For Great Britain

2010-04-20T12:16:00.007+01:00

Firstly how nice was the weather?!

Laura and I rocked up to the show ground on Friday evening at 10... came in through the wrong entrance... then got stuck in the wet grass. Oops! Thankfully Yvonne and Graham were there to help us.

First run on Saturday was the EO wild card class. The dogs finishing in the top 5 qualified for the European Open try-outs the next day. Pie and I managed a scary clear round and finished 8th. However, 3 people who finished above me had already qualified
which meant we got the last place to get us through to the try-outs the next day. OH MY!!

Then was Graded 6-7 Agility. I decided to train this and we managed another clear - Weird! 2 clears in one day!

Graded 5-7 Jumping was quite a tough course for me, because there were several places where I would usually dummy. I was late sending back over after a pull through so Pie flew past me taking another jump whilst barking! Haha!

Last run of the day was Combined 5-7 Agility. The course was too quick for Pie, and I had already decided that I wanted to train his contacts ready for try-outs on Sunday. On the start line, Pie managed to get his tail over the ring rope and got caught. He wasn't happy in his wait, so I did a quick release, which meant I wasn't able to handle the beginning of the course as I wished but meant I didn't have to leave him on start line unhappy and also meant I had to do a cross behind further on. We managed to do it woo!!

I was really looking forward to the EO try-outs. Lee was judging which eased my nerves a little. But on the whole, I was quite calm about the whole event.
I missed my normal entered courses as Pie had 3 try-out rounds and potentially a 4th final round, if we finished in the top 30.

Here is the video of Pie's clear in Round 1 Jumping. Couldn't believe we managed it!

Round 2 was Agility. Unfortunately, we got E'd at number 16... :( We were soo close aswell. Tried not to think about it too much as many people were getting E'd so I just had to focus for Round 3.

Another Agility, I was running fairly early. 13 or 14. I was worried about pulling him off the jump after weaves as I was hoping to make the second reverse. Again, it was all a little messy and we got 2 refusals for it. Then Pie took off too late and I was in his way which meant he had the pole down. We finished the round with 15 faults, hoping it would be enough for us to finish in the top 30 in order to qualify for the Final 4th Round. We finished 29th!! The final ran in reverse order which meant I was running 2nd! I over worked the weaves and got a refusal... oops! I don't really know why I over worked it, as if it was any other round, I would of let Pie pick up the entry himself as I KNOW he can get it, but I guess the pressure and things, I just thought I'd play safe - which back fired!

Overall, I was so pleased how we both coped with some of the 'big boys'. Pie is still Grade 6 and it's both of our first times under proper pressure, and our first 'proper' class. It was a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed trying-out, and it was a great experience for next year in case we manage to get in again. Just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who was supportive on the day and thanks to Lee for fab courses, and also being supportive too. Well done to those who qualified too!!

p.s. Laura is still uploading other videos, so I will put them up once they're on YouTube.

L x

Easter Celebration

2010-04-08T12:50:00.003+01:00

First camping show of the season... It went really well and I'm really pleased with how Pie and I both worked.

As neither I or Laura were working Friday, we strolled up Friday afternoon to a very windy show ground and to be camped miiiiles away. As the ground was very wet everyone who was mad enough to still camp were being parked on the hard standing roads.

Our chum was on Saturday and was a nice course. Although I decided to train the round as I didn't think Pie would be quick enough on the course. Mainly because of my attitude towards courses at the moment. Following on from my long post a couple of posts ago, I'm not 100% confident in myself or Pie so i can't expect to go into a ring and win. Things are getting better though!

I hadn't planned to hold him that long on his see-saw but as I was running off he didn't hear me say 'go'. oops!

Grade 6 Jumping he came out of weaves as I haven't done enough proofing of obstacles at the end and around the weaves. *Need to practice*!

Then my last run of the day was 6/7 Jumping. I wasn't a big fan of the course as there was CROSS BEHIND and also a few places where I would usually dummy. Somehow I managed to do the cross behind, although he jumping a little long, I wasn't worried about it as it's a HUGE step since last season, when we couldn't do any, let alone worrying about him jumping long! Unfortunately he had a pole down near the end, but something else that I was pleased with, was that he was only 0.5 behind both Dave Alderson's dogs, one of which won the class. I think Pie's speed can be very deceiving. Just need to sort his sluggish weaves out now.

Saturday evening, Laura cooked crispy chicken and carbonara pasta which was yum. Followed by Lee's egg that he won for winning Grade 7 Jumping (which we conveniently stole! Haha!) I think we ate at about 5.30ish which was accompanied by vodka... which is never good!!

Sarah Stokoe & Ian came over to the caravan after their meal at the pub at about 10ish and the drinking continued until 2 I think in the end. They are such good company though so no one really thought about competing the next day, so what were we going to drink now that we had gone through all we had... Oh yes that's right... Port and diet coke... yuk! Laura turned out the worst I think!!

Pie's first run was 5/6 Agility. I wasn't keen on the course, but after both Laura and Lee had walked it with me, I seemed a little more confident as to where I had to get to etc. Pie came out of weaves again :( Must practice!!

Then was Grade 6 Jumping. Leslie Osbourne was judging and it was a really good course - Well I thought so anyway! Again Lee and Laura walked it with me, and I was pretty sure I could get round it. I've never said GO so many times and don't think I've ever run as fast as I did in this course! I was late calling him after tunnel so jumped long going into the pull throughs, however we managed a clear woohoo!! We finished 7th - and wasn't far behind winner, which I was pleased with as I think we could of finished in top 3 without the little blip before the pull throughs.

Then last run was silly connection agility. Needless to say mine didn't go to plan! But it wasn't my course - as I gave Laura mine and she finished 3rd. With courses like that I don't focus on the way I plan as I know it doesn't really matter what course I take.

I had a really good training session at club last night. I worked 80% of exercises from behind to practice my cross behinds - and I was really surprised and pleased at how well we did. No shows until Agility for GB next weekend, however I might do 1 day of a local UKA or just go down to the field and try and attempt push-throughs!!

L x

Crufts

2010-03-31T13:42:00.005+01:00

Hi all,

I've got quite a bit to write about!

First off - Crufts.
Well Thames had qualified a team for Thursday that consisted of - Andrew & Tag, Roger & Ray, Alan & Chase and then P & I. Laura stayed over on Wednesday and groomed for me. I think we left at about 5.30 or something ridiculous like that!! Once we had parked etc, we got to the benches at just after 8.30. Tash's course was lovely apart from the change over. I instantly went into panic mode as the start and finish jump were the same! Not good for Pie! Him and Chase don't get on at all, as Pie can be an idiot with dogs sometimes, so them running into each other wasn't even an option. So I decided to run last. I don't handle pressure well so made sure that no one would come over and wind me up - which they did anyway! By saying things like 'Ooooh 3 clears and then you'. Brilliant way to encourage your own team member eh?! Nice ones guys!! Anyway, I held my ground and I WAS going to run last. I went over and over how i was going to handle it and where I would put turns in etc. Thames were first to run, which in some ways was good. I decided not to watch any of the team run, but just focus on Pie, and jog him around on the carpet for him to adjust (Thanks Lee!). Pie did a lovely clear round wooo, but Andrew, Roger and Alan all had faults.

Here is a video of the last part of Alan's run and then Pie running last.

Laura and I also went back up on Sunday to watch the champ and do the odd bit of shopping. Brilliant courses by Andy Hudson - although I doubt very much that i'd be able to get round them.

The following weekend, Laura and I went down to train with Lee. Despite the horrible weather, it was really good, and I think the cross behind issue is slowly fading in training. I just need to crack it in the ring now!

Saturday just gone - I went to a local UKA show at Newbury. I decided to use it as a training show as I will be running his contacts at Easter. I had 2 steeplechases, 1 agility and 1 gamblers. I messed up both steeplechases but he was working really nice. Then his gamblers - I took his toy in. His first dogwalk was slow, but 2nd wasn't too bad. Then the stupid judge was stood right at the end of the see-saw with her back to it, so as Pie came along he looked back at me - grr. But it was fine in the other agility class.

This week is only a 4 day week at work as it's Easter bank holiday - woo! Easter Celebration will be the first camping show of the year so hopefully it won't rain! Will keep you updated via Twitter though!

L x

Training & Mid Downs

2010-03-08T19:48:00.006Z

Well it seems a while since i've posted. As you may have noticed, i've linked my twitter account up to my blog and also my phone. So I can send text message to my Twitter and they will post straight away - Which means as soon as I get E'd on a course I'll send an update which enable people to see straight away. Fabulous.

Anyway, some of you may know already that confidence is something I struggle with. I'm not going to go into detail, 1) because it will bore you and 2) because I get quite choked up about it. Recently things haven't been great and at one stage I was very close to taking a long break out of agility. However you'll all be pleased to know that some really great people have spoken to me about it and I'm going to go straight into the season and we're going to give it our best shot (aren't we Pie! ;). We may not set the world on fire but we're going to have a bloody good go at it.

I've had some great training from Tasha and Lee who have helped lots with the whole confidence issue. It's not gone and I don't think it will ever just go away but I'm working on how to handle it etc.

I just want to go abit soppy here and just write a little bit about the 3 main people who are helping me at the moment. I just want to point out that there is no hierachy, but each person contributes different things that make a big difference to me.

1. Tasha Wise - She helped me train Pie also train myself. She's always positive despite not being overly confident herself. She won the world champs last year with her medium collie, Dizzy, but she's still got her feet on the ground and it hasn't made any difference to the person she is with others. She isn't cocky or arrogant about anything and it's something that I admire. Tash always tells me to stop being silly about things and gives me little things to work on in order to achieve greater things. No only does is she a fab trainer but also a really lovely person and a great friend. I just want to thank her for always being the one to lift my spirits whenever they are down.

2. Sir Lee Windeatt - OK i've spoilt him by calling him Sir I think!! Lee is another person who helps me alot without even realising it sometimes. Lee is always good fun to hang around with and also turns out to be pretty good at agility too! hehe! No, on a serious note, Lee is brilliant. He is someone else who has helped/helping me with my silly confidence issue. It must be hard for him to find good bits out of my runs or sequences in training but he always manages to do it. I always go straight for the stuff that went wrong or was wide etc. Since last season, Lee has helped me lots with my handling. Even if no one else agrees, I think i've improved a little. Again not amazing but I like to make small steps with things! I shall finish off by saying; Thanks for you all your help Lee and good luck at Crufts on Sunday :)

3. Laura Chudleigh - Yes she is the girl who has an opinion on everything and one day will probably take over the kennel club. Literally!! Laura and I get on really well and always have a laugh about one thing or another. It is because of her that i've got a show practically every weekend up until August. Take that one as you wish. Good because i'm actually competing or bad because i'm just making things worse by not having a break. Well after long chats with her about be being a weirdo, I have decided to spend my summer weekends being a passenger whilst she drives like a nutter to the shows ;) Her approach to agility is the complete opposite to mine, which at times can be challenging as she thrives off pressure, whereas I crumble. However after Mid Downs which was my first show since having a little panic attack over everything - I think we're on our way. P.s. Just want to say well done for winning into grade 7 with Ploddy x

Now, i'm not saying that these 3 people are the only people who have helped me along the way, but i'm just saying that these are the 3 most significant people. They each contribute to my agility. People are going to disagree with things I say or do but i've just got to try and ignore that and realise that those sort of people aren't doing me any good and I don't need them to be pressuring me or constantly be putting me down. When I look back on what I achieved since the beginning of last season - it's more than I could ever of imagined! I know that some of you reading this with think I'm pathetic but i'm finally starting to realise that you people don't matter.

Sorry to bore you all with that. Onto training and shows etc. Well last month Laura and I went to the X Factor Tour at Wembley. After our stressful drive there is was brilliant and really worth it. We had brilliant seats too, which helped!

Last weekend I think it was, Laura and I went and did some training with Lee, which is always good and we always come away with things to work on. Me more than Laura!

Mid Downs was last Saturday. It made a change from getting up a stupid o'clock and it's always a nice show. I didn't do good and had an unlucky day, but had some really nice bits which I was actually pleased with for once. In the 6/7 Jumping there was a really tightly spaced pair of jumps which I thought Pie would run round because he's such a large striding dog and he did run past it, which was a bit of a shame.

In the 5-7 Agility, part 2 was nicer and i'd say easier than part 1, and thankfully I was in part 2 woop! It was the first time in a long time that I went into the ring really determind about the places I needed to get to etc. After the Dogwalk there was a jump to the right which I did a reverse after (note: So I could see Pie coming down the contact). However the silly judge decided to mark his contact. Which is a little annoying but there were other dogs that I saw completley fly the contact and she didn't mark them, so I guess her judging was just inconsistant during the whole class. But again, I didn't let it get to me that much at all because there is nothing I can do about it. Just a little annoying as Pie was only 0.3 behind Ian Jackson's Bobbi who won the class. Which is pretty good for little Piddles.

Here is a video of our agility round -

Think i'm going to leave it there. Sorry for the long boring post! My next show isn't until Easter now so hoping to get some training in before then. I'm also up at Crufts this Thursday as my team have qualified - so I will Twitter update how we get on.

L x

Hare 'N' Hounds

2010-02-15T20:39:00.003Z

Laura and I travelled up 200 odd miles on Friday night, and stayed in a travlodge only 10 mins from the venue. I think we eneded up getting to the venue at just after 8, which is pretty early for us... but turned out we were actually late as the show started at 8! Luckily, we had enough time to walk our courses.

My first run was Graded 4-7 Jumping. Pete Jennings had set a really nice course but there were 2 bits where I thought I would lose Pie. The turn after the snake (where he had the pole) and then coming out of the tunnel after the snake. I was late with my turns (shock) but thought he worked quite well and was fairly pleased with the run.

Then was Combined something Agility. Was rubbish but here's the video anyway...

Then was Graded 6/7 Agility. I had a little trouble working out how I was going to handle the start and in the end didn't even do it how I had intended. A cross behind?! I know!!
It was an nice round, I thought, although pretty obvious i'm just lolling around, and P did a nice position-go on his A-frame. Not so well on his dogwalk - NAUGHTY! I managed to achieve my one clear round goal though :) Well done to Laura and Plods who won this class and so now have 3 wins towards Grade 7 woop!
Here's P's run.

Then the last run of the day was Combined 1-7 Jumping. I was cold, tired and my head wasn't in it. The thought of having to do a cross behind also wasn't good! There was no way I could get out of it, but did actually manage to do it - even though the silly woman got in the way of the camera so you can't actually see it :(
P ran past a jump - from my lack of dummying. But bounced a few jumps which was good.

Next show isn't until Mid Downs, then have Crufts. Laura and I have X Factor Tour Live tickets for Sunday at Wembley which should be good and then we're training with Lee the following Saturday.

L x

Walridge Fell

2010-02-15T20:36:00.000Z

Ok... I've clearly been rubbish at updated by blog so apologies for that! But not much to say about Waldridge, only in that I was shocking as per usual! So no videos are going up haha!

But just want to say well done to Laura and Plodders for winning Grade 6 Jumping - getting their first win towards Grade 7 woop!

L x

Ribble

2010-01-18T21:26:00.004Z

Happy New Year to you all. Hope you're all well.

Where do I start... Thames 'treat' their instructors to a training day at the end of the year, as a thank you for helping throughout the year. It's usually freezing but always a good laugh. This year we had Dawn Weaver and Nancy Hudson. A bit of an odd pairing but oh well. Dawn took the agility section and Nancy took the jumping. It was a good day, and Pie was suprising quite good...!

Since that training which was the 29th I think, I had said to myself that I wanted to do certain this in training. Leading up to Christmas I hadn't had a chance to do anything 'proper' training. By that I mean, actually achieving something from the session instead of doing/practising the stuff I knew I could already do. However, work was hectic and I was working right the way up until Christmas Eve and then was back in the office of the 30th and New Year's Eve, and by the time I get home, it's too dark to train.

Then we got hit by all the snow, which meant i was working from home, which was lovely as I could walk the dogs in it. Pie and Paddy love it!! Kip will be 12 in March, and his fit and healthly but I could tell the cold was getting to him. We had about 6 inches here, and then another few the following day. I've never seen so much of it. It was all very pretty but just not practical, as I couldn't go anywhere and was stuck at home. I will post some pictures on here some other time, but they are on my facebook, if anyone wants a little look.

Right back to the important stuff! Laura and I were meant to be going to Wilmslow but it got cancelled because of the awful weather, which was a shame, as we're both chasing wins. Thankfully Ribble wasn't cancelled yesterday, so I headed down to Laura's Saturday evening and got to hers at about 10.30 for her to tell me that the alarm was set for 3.40 am!! Took just over 3 hours I think to get there, which whizzed by with me having my signature snooze on the way ;)

My first run was the pairs. Laura managed to walk it wrong about 3 times, but luckily I told her she was going wrong ;) I went second as I thought Laura could do with the wait practise ha ha! She managed a clear round with some baaad handling (:p) and then we went... OOOOPS! Pie went in the wrong end of a tunnel, but the correct entrance should of been visible but it had moved and so Pie thought he'd do the wrong end... Apologes Laura.

It was the first chum of the season and the course was nice. Pie got marked on his dogwalk, which I was pretty certain he got, but I'm not going to complain about bad judging (unlike Laura!) and I just took it on the chin. I trained the rest of the run, but P did something a little strange on the see-saw. It was almost he did a hand stand!

On the way up to all the shows, Laura and i always have our 'clear round quota'. Well on Sunday, Laura's were 2 clears, and mine was 1 clear. She managed 3 (8th in Chum and 3rd we think) and I managed 1 which was a win wahoooo! We won Grade 6 Agility by 2 seconds. I always say that I just want a clear round, and that's honestly all i wanted. From the video you can tell i'm not pushing at all, I was just casually jogging around. Here's the video of our 3rd win towards Grade 7. Just the 1 to go... which can be either Agility or Jumping.

North Downs & Woodside.

2009-12-22T16:38:00.006Z

Hello all. It's been a little while since I've blogged, so apologies for that! I'm going to keep it short and sweet though :)

Since my last post, Pie has got another win towards Champ, woo! He won Gd 6/7 agility at North Downs. We did pretty rubbish in our other runs, but videos are below so have a little look.

First video is G6/7 Jumping. I didn't like the course as it involved everything that I can't do. It was my first run of the day and I went into the class knowing that I wouldn't be able to get round it, which isn't a good start. Ooops!!

Then onto our win :) Jumped long at 2, and the snake was terrible, but P was the only dog that I saw, have a nice turn on the pink jump after the aframe - good dog.

Our last run was Combined 6/7 Agility. I wanted to only train it as I'd ran his contacts in the morning plus I'd seen a few dogs go, who I knew I just wouldn't be able to beat. At the end, Pie just wanted to do the pink jump again, and again, and again.... haaa naughty!

Onto Woodside/ Rugby. After much confusion it turned out that I hadn't entered Pie at Rugby :( Mine and Laura's plan was to drive up on Saturday morning compete at Rugby then afterwards drive on up to Scotland, stay in travelodge overnight with the dogs and then compete at Woodside which was only 10 mins from the travelodge. After finding out I hadn't entered P in at Rugby, I didn't really fancy going but Laura offered me Phoebe, her medium cocker, to run so made it worth the drive, as I'd have something to do, other than video Laura!! Well Phoebe and I managed 2 clears and 2 places! hahaha! If anyone knows Phoebe, they will know that clear rounds are gold dust with that dog ;) Her first run was the open jumping, which I only had time to walk up to number 15!! urggh!!

I love how Laura is helping with her running commentary and how her and Lee are jumping around haha! p.s this was the first time I've ever run Phoebe, apart from one little course at training.

Then we oddly managed another clear in the open agility too!!

So after competing at Rugby we headed up north urrrrgh! I think it took us 4 and half hours up to Scotland, maybe a little more, as we stopped a few times. It was sooo cold. I've never felt anything like it before!! As soon as we got to travelodge, the TV was whacked on to catch the first part of the xfactor final. During the break i managed a boiling hot shower, which was well deserved!!
Then on Sunday morning I managed to snap Laura's stupid wobbly van key off in the door... ooooops. Not good seeing as her spare was 500 odd miles back in Wiltshire! Thank you Mr AA man who sent out a locksmith. And also Norman Stokoe who lent us the money as he didn't accept card. Norman, you star!

I really pushed in the agility, and finished 2nd behind Sarah Stokoe. She had a cracking run with her young dog who has just gone G7. Sarah ran straight after me and if it was the other way round, i would of held my contacts. P was only 0.5 behind, which I was really pleased with. The other jumping runs were rubbish. Me again. One, he had a pole down which threw me and all my reverses and timing was all out from then on. It had an interesting end which i must remember to set up as Pie didn't have a clue what i was asking, as he thought he was done and was looking for his ball.

I also went to Olympia on the Saturday. Laura was grooming for Lee as he and Shy had qualified and Virginia from The Agility Voice magazine had offered me a press pass, so I went along too. It was a really good day, and I had such a laugh. Well done to Lee (aka Ken)who finished 4th in the Final and also to Elspeth & Tasha who won the afternoon pairs event.

I probably won't be blogging until after Christmas now. But I do have a training day on the 29th so will blog after that :)

Have a good one everyone.

L x

Norfolk Autumn

2009-10-05T12:32:00.013+01:00

Well Norfolk Autumn was a really lovely show. Despite being quite far away, it was 4 proper runs a day. The ground was rock solid though and Saturday was very windy! All the jump wings had to pegged, there was no Dog walk in the outside rings, and whenever i went to walk the wind would literally push me along. After it being windy all day, I had an awful head ache and couldn't wait to go to bed!!

So Saturday runs... I had 3 course that were in Dave Hutchinson's ring and although they required quite a bit of work, I really liked the courses. First up was Combined 6-7 agility. The jumps were quite tight which required me to turn Pie left after number 3. It was just too tight going right and it can't be good on their legs to take them that way especially with it being so close and the ground being rock solid! Anyway I was lazy with the turn which meant P thought we were going right... no no! He nearly back jumped aswell. Oops! He worked really nicely though apart from flying out of the tunnel barking and not listening to my shouting 'right right riiiiiight!!' so I re-did that little bit to make him do it properly!

Then was Grade 6 Agility. Again a nice course. I was late with turns again... and then he ran off into tunnel after see-saw. I'm not sure if this was a place for a dummy but ahh well.

Laura ran Pie in the Combined 6-7 Jumping. She's always giving me stick about Pie bla bla, so I said that she could run him. Plus there was far too much running it in for me ;) She didn't do too badly... you can watch the video... and yes I did chuckle a little as her hat flew off!!

Then last run of the day was Grade 6 Jumping. It was back in Dave's ring. I ran off too early for a jump and Pie came with me. Pie struggles to pick things up like this especially if it's off set. It's OK when i can be there, but when i need to run off to get somewhere it's tricky for him as Iim not there to help him. He also has this problem with tunnels. Off set things is something I really need to work on.

Saturday evening it started to rain boo!! And I was not impressed ha ha. Laura and I are big x factor fans and seeing as we haven't sorted a TV out for Laura's caravan we were stuck on Saturday night. Thankfully Linda and John Cook were kind enough to have us both other to their lovely caravan to watch it. I haven't seen Linda and John in quite a while so it was nice to spend some time with them. They are so lovely.

Onto Sunday. Well I think in my last post I said that my aim for the weekend was to get 2 clears out of 8 runs. As Laura had one run, it was to be 2 clears out of 7. After Saturday it wasn't looking too good!!
First run on the morning was Combined 6-7 Agility. At the start there was a snake, which I had been struggling with recently. Pie had been running past the second jump, my fault of course. Bad training and handling. I had decided to run his contacts in this, but only if the first big was tidy and tight. It was, to my surprise until the left turn before the see-saw. I checked him late which meant he jumped long, looking for the dog walk, which meant I trained my contacts. I know what people mean about me not 'meaning' it when I run. I just jog around not pushing at all. This showed in this run as P's aframe and dog walk were slow. I was determined that this wasn't going to happen in his Grade 6 agility.

I really pushed his contacts in this. They were much better speed wise but he self released. This goes to show that i need to do this all the time, as when i just jog along he stops fine but as soon as i push them i lose them. Not good. So in more runs I will push them, and maybe only quick release one, to test him on the others. He worked really nicely though.

His combined 6-7 Jumping i was also pleased with. Despite him missing a weave entry that he should of got, i was really chuffed with the run. OK it wasn't perfect and we didn't get a clear, there was some really nice bits. I know people will read this and watch the video thinking it was rubbish, but i honestly don't care. I've struggled this season with him, and in this run it actually felt like we were on the same wave length :) and I think i was more confident coming out of this run than any other.

His last run was Grade 6 Jumping. Laura really wanted me to go for this one and on the course it was i thought we stood a good chance. He landed badly after 3 as he didn't check properly which meant he fell onto his chin, which lost him time. We managed a clear, with me nearly falling over after the pipe tunnel (!!) and was 0.9 behind the winner. We finished 4th which was really good, as I'm not worried that he wont get another jumping win. Without that fall he could of easily won. If the round had been perfect and we still finished 4th, then i would be worried. So we managed our 2 clear rounds yay!!

On the way home we got stuck in too much traffic. Whilst Laura and I were moaning about it, Pie was nice and cosy, snoozing...

Videos to come once YouTube has finished uploading them. Our next show is North Downs, again 4 runs. I'm aiming for one clear round.

Also here are a couple of photos of Phoebe and Rodney for Laura...

L x

Suffolk 5 Rivers

2009-09-28T12:33:00.012+01:00

OK I'm not sure where i should start here so thought I'd start from the VERY beginning!! Laura was meant to be picking me up at 5.30 Saturday morning. I stupidly went out on Friday night with some friends and came home at 3ish, set 2 (!!) alarms for 4.45, seeing as last time i had gone out before i show i slept through my alarm, and i certainly didn't want a repeat of that!! So after finally getting into bed and my head spinning whilst on the pillow, i only remember by mum waking me up saying that it was 5.50!! AHHHH!!! Thankfully Laura had text me saying she was running late so wasn't too bad. I quickly got ready in a matter of 15 mins when she knocked on the door. SO lucky! We got there late, so missed walking most of our courses oops!! Thankfully for Norfolk next weekend, we're leaving Friday evening so we wont have this trouble again!

My first run was Graded 6/7 Jumping. I watched it for a little while only for Tracey to tell me that they were calling to the end already!! So off i ran to get Pie and then came back where i was straight on the line. I was really late with 2 turns which meant P had to snake round me... not good. Then at the end, looking back i should of put a reverse in after 19... he ran wide and ran past last fence. Bummer!!

Then on to NBC 1-7 Jumping, which was also a shambles! Again i didn't walk it, and didn't handle it how i wanted to either. Again my turns we late. He didn't seem as though he was jumping right though. Wasn't powering at all, and was really sluggish and slow :(

His last run of the day was Graded 6-7 Agility. I liked the course and actually thought that i could maybe get around it with out getting the usual E!! Again he was really sluggish and slow. And i ran off from a jump and he came with me. It wasn't a bad run though, although i was worried as to why he wasn't running properly, and being all pathetic and slow.

Saturday evening Laura and I went to the cinema to see Fame... don't go and see it, it was rubbish!! ha ha!! And Pie also had his first ever chicken wing too! He gulped it down and then started being all odd, and i started to panic, but thankfully he was fine!!

Sunday, couldn't really get much worse than the day before!! First run was Graded 6/7 Agility. I was late with my turn at number 2 which put me behind for the whole run. I won't go into detail about it other than it was possibly one of the worst runs of the whole entire show! Yes it really was that bad!!
Then onto Graded 6/7 Jumping.The course was quite tough, and he worked really well, just me being rubbish - no change there then!! He still didn't seem to be running at his full speed though.

Last run of the day for Pie was Combined 4-7 Helter Skelter. It was a fast, tight course and if i didnt get round it clear, then there was something seriously wrong!! the first dog to run actually wont the class in 13.23 - Nedlo Hezza Beauty. Dave is such a powerful dog and practically bounced everything. Pie and I managed a clear in 14.5 which wasn't too bad considering his build etc. Although he didn't bounce as much as i thought he did. He used to try and bounce everything but doesn't now, so maybe i should work a little on that. So we finished 20th in that... boo.

Roll on next weekend though where there is 4 proper runs a day :) My target out of 8 runs is 2 clears. So fingers crossed! Oh yeah and... I'm letting Laura run P in one of his jumping classes. Don't worry i shall be getting it on video :)

L x

p.s. Videos to follow soon.

Training Update

2009-09-17T18:26:00.005+01:00

Ok so quite a bit has happened since The Agility Club show. That was my last show where Pie got his first win towards Grade 7 and also where my team, Thames, qualified for Crufts next year. Woo! Ok so, we've moved house, which has a bigger garden which means I can put my full set of weaves and one jump up. There is room for more, but that's all I have. Pie has been working really nicely up at Club training on a Tuesday night, and have also trained with a few other people at other venues. Laura came and got me and we went to Maidstone to train on her equipment with Lee, about a month ago, probably longer actually! It was really helpful, and Lee gave me a couple of exercises to practise to try and get rid of me doing stupid 'dummies' all the time. (Thank you Lee :) )I didn't realise how much I actually did them. The hardest part at the moment, is taking them away. Pie is so used to me using them to pull off things, that now i've 'nearly' got rid of them where they aren't needed, he just flys over anything as he doesn't fully understand just yet. Something i have to work on.

I've also just passed my test, which means i can do more shows when and where i want, and not depend on everyone else to take me. Oh the independence!! And think of all the training I can do, because I certainly need it.

Anyway back to the important things. Things i've realised i'm rubbish at!! Laura and I went up to Maidstone to train Rods and P again yesterday, after we had got all her belongings from her old house, actually i'm going to change that and say after we got all of her junk...! oh my word! ive never seen so much stuff come out of one cupboard. And anyone who was watching us trying to take a sofabed down 3 flights of stairs must of been wetting themselves!!

I wanted to practise pulling off tunnel entries, so we set up something which we could work on. This is where the dreaded dummy comes back to haunt me!! If there was a sequence where Pie has to run past the entrances of the tunnel i would normally dummy him into me and then carry on. By a dummy, if any of you are wondering what i'm on about is like a false pull through. So, without a dreaded dummy it's mainly on the verbal and with me turning slightly and running, also bringing a tit-bit arm in after i couldn't do it!! Thanks Laura!! After about a million goes we were sort of getting there, but P was still looking at the tunnel, and practically landing in it before looking at me and turning and then realising we were running past the tunnel. I need to work on bringing him into the toy when i say 'come here' and reward this loads. I did this quite a bit a while ago but clearly need to practise this lots more. Oh and... another thing is Pie's steadys on weird angles. It's frustrating that he can do some but not others. I know that my drive arm is too close to my trap arm/jump arm as i've been told on lots of occasions by quite a few people, but it's one of those things that people just need to keep drilling into me. It's things like that, which i don't mind people keep telling me off for because that's the only way i'll learn and remember. And with my arm being too high this is why he pulls off things again. Again, very obvious in videos and after someone points it out, but at the time i really don't notice. I think i'm going to strap my arm to my side and just have my hand pointing out ;)

My next shows are next weekend and the weekend after which are Suffolk 5 Rivers and Norfolk Autumn. I'm determined to get at least another win towards Grade 7. From now on i've got to get my arse in gear and start running P proberly. I've got to believe in him and believe in myself, and just go for it in every run. Apart from the odd training run of course, otherwise P won't have any contacts by next year!!

I've got a few videos to show some of the exercises Laura and I were doing, just so you know what i'm talking about. There is also one of Laura and Plodders, who i can't really call plodders anymore because he's come on sooo much since I last saw him. For all the people who are ,or have slated Laura and Rodney, you will be eating your words next year, because he's going to fabulous... not that he isn't now of course ;)

I can't wait till next year also. Laura wants me to be champ for Scunthorpe which realistically i don't think will happen but oh well!! But i'll be doing more shows, Cat is coming down from up north somewhere to stay for a longish weekend and we'll do a show, which should be good.I've got Crufts too, and hopefully if not before Scunthorpe but sometime after Pie will be Grade 7 and attempting champ. What a very very scary thought!!

L x (the video still isn't working... bare with me)

P.S. Good luck to the GB team competing at the worlds as of tomorrow, but especially good luck to Lee Windeatt & Bold, and Tash Wise & Diz. xx

UPDATE.... Large team GB won the Bronze medal, Bernadette & Zen finished 5th in the medium individual... and Tash & Dizzy WON the individual so are now world champions!! I'm sooo pleased for them both. Tash deserves it so much :) xx

'Rugby' & The Agility Club

2009-07-26T23:37:00.015+01:00

Ok well where do I start? I casually decided to miss writing up on Rugby as it was embarrassing how badly I did. Anyone who watched my runs must of been thinking 'how the hell did they make it to grade 6?!' There are two answers to that... 1) because literally any tom dick n harry can get to grade 6 these days, so Pie didn't look too out of place, amongst the other dogs that really shouldn't be in grade 6. And 2) because it was fluke!! haha! But no my bad handling and P being an idiot we didn't have a successful weekend!! Pie decided to self-release on literally EVERY contact. URGH!!

Anyway, onwards and upwards. After getting a new job and not training for nearly 2 weeks... oops... our next show was the agility club. My Aunt had planned to pick me up at 6.35ish as she wanted to get to Newbury at 7 as she was doing the ringside refreshments. I worked till 12.30 on Friday, and after having a shower, packing and things i didn't get to bed till after 1.30... and slept through my alarm!! Mega panic!! Mum kindly got out of bed and drove me to Newbury and so I ended up getting to Laura's (as she kindly offered for me to camp with her) at about 8. Missed walking the Pedigree team and Grade 6 Jumping. Laura had walked my jumping and told me how it was, and i went to have a look to try and remember it!!! Well considering I hadn't walked either the team or the jumping.... i think i did pretty well as i got clear in both!!! And also won the grade 6 jumping by a second, even with really wide turns on the top off-set snakey thingy. I hope you all know what i mean by that ;) So we've finally got the first win towards grade 7 :)

I won't go into deep about every run because to be honest it is very boring... apart from his contacts were fab... apart from a couple, where i tested for him to come off, which he did, so i popped him back on.

Also.... my team qualified for Crufts on the Sunday, being the only team to have 4 clears so we're off to Crufts 2010 in March. Woo!!

Just want to say a few well dones too.... For Laura getting a 3rd with Phoebe in 4-6 Medium Jumping i think it was... Tasha Wise and Maddie won the Large Ticket on Saturday too. Fantastic result as Maddie is nearly 11. Also well done to John Cook and Mac who won the KC Novice Olympia Agility... so pleased for them :)

All Pie's runs are below apart from my pairs run with Virginia Harry with Robert. We both had cracking runs but Rob had the first pole down and Pie was clear. There are also some other videos from the weekend on my page too. I don't know what happened this weekend for me to get so much out of running Pie but I really like it!!! No more shows booked for me at the moment though... I'm waiting for Laura to tell me what to enter!! ha ha.

Lansdown

2009-06-28T11:32:00.012+01:00

Well I only entered one day as I was only originally going for one day to do the teams... Well to cut a long story short I ended up going up Friday and coming back Sunday. Andrew and Carol Dicker, once again kindly offered for me to stay with them :)

Anyway, on the way up on Friday, I realised I had no coat... but also no shorts... oops! So I wasn't really prepared for the weather apart from maybe overcast. Well it obviously wasn't and was BOILING all weekend.

Agility wise... I was really looking forward to running. Never good, because always means i'll do rubbish. The only clear I got all weekend was the team, where 2 the last 2 dogs went clear and the first 2 dogs missed dogwalk contact. Bummer. Pie over-shot his position on the aframe and stoped half way to the jump!! Oh dear! I just did a 'ah ah'' and you can see him stop, knowing that he has done something wrong. On the other hand I was REALLY pleased with the speed of his dogwalk in the team too. Although his position at the end was a little long, the speed was good. Progress!!

Out of 3 runs.... 2 E's and a clear in the team. Next show is Rugby, and I just hope we can get the clear that i've been longing for for half of the season!!

Thames

2009-06-15T22:14:00.003+01:00

Well I finished the weekend with 6 E's, severe sunburn on my neck and arms, and feeling very tired!

As I'm a member of Thames, I was ring partying all weekend, and this may be a reason why Pie and I's peformance wasn't quite on form haha. Despite the 6 E's I had a good weekend, and I've come away with some things to work on.

I feel that Pie's dogwalk down plank has slowed down a tad. After having spoken to Laura and Lee about it, hoepfully this will be sorted in the next few shows. So thank you to you both for having input in this... and especially to Lee who is helping me out of the habit of using dummy reverses when I shouldn't. Damn them!!

So didnt manage any videos as was too busy working, but next show is team day of Lansdown, and then Rugby where I'll also be busy again... as Laura has demanded I video her puppy Rodney, aka Plodney Rodney. Sorry Laura ;)

Cippenham & UKA

2009-05-29T01:42:00.005+01:00

Well Pie only had 2 classes at Cippenham. 3-7 Agility and 3-7 Jumping. Both courses were easy, nicely flowing courses. I managed to send Pie back through a tunnel on a pull through on the agility, which meant I could train his contacts as we messed up on number 3.... oops! We also managed a cross behind too yay!! In the jumping, P went wide on a turn after a long straight flat, but ended up finishing 5th which I was really pleased with.

Onto UKA... I was meant to be judging on the Thursday but they didn't need me in the end but I still went to compete and to see Laura, and introduce her to Josh my brother. Haha. She makes me laugh! Ended up spending most of the day with Laura, Sian and of course Josh, and the weather was lovely which made it a really pleasant day.

Pie worked really nicely, considering training on Tuesday was awful!! We managed a 1st and 2nd in novice steeplechase and senior jumping, but I'm not sure which was which. We also got a clear in senior agility, but I trained his contacts, which were superrr.

Here's a video of Pie's runs.... with thanks to Laura videoing for me. Also thanks to Sian and Laura for renaming Pie... APPLE!! WHAT is that about!! hahaha!!

L x

UKA, Vyne & Tunbridge Wells

2009-05-11T17:24:00.006+01:00

Well after seeing Tace on the Friday I went to Newbury on the Sunday for a UKA show. After going out with my brother on Saturday night (as it was his last weekend before he went back to uni), I didn't go to bed until 6.30!! My alarm was set for 7.15 as my Aunt was picking me up at 7.45. Well not surprisingly I slept through my alarm.... and my Aunt rang my phone to say that she was outside whilst I was still in bed!! OH MY GOD!! Mega panic and rush, but managed to get out the door within about 10 minutes. So feeling and looking like utter poo... I arrived at Newbury... didn't even walk my Senior Jumping and managed a 3rd! I've never felt so awful though.

And I clearly didn't learn after Saturday, because I went out with my brother again on Sunday night and went to bed at 5.30!! Oh dear!! The weather at Vyne was HORRIBLE and sooo cold!! We didn't manage any clears but Pie worked really well.

Onto Tunbridge Wells... I always like this show and thankfully the weather was lovely both days :) and I even caught the sun on Sunday! The KC Chum on Saturday was a tough one for me as there were bits where I wasn't sure how I was going to handle them, and because I was only running order number 17, I didn't really have time to watch, so managed to get a lovely E in that, but gave me a reason to train his aframe and see-saw. I wasn't keen on his G6 jumping course, just because it didn't really suit us at all. But he was a naughty boy and wouldn't go round a jump. I found this even more frustrating as he managed to go round 3 (!!) jumps on Sunday!! Grr. Then our last run was G6 agility. I really really liked the course, which helps! We had a bit of a wide turn before the see-saw but most people were having a wide turn there, but he was a bit slow on his down plank of dogwalk. I think it was because of the turn after so I'll have to practice that. In the end we came 5th.

Onto Sunday. Like I've already mentioned the weather was glorious!! And so were the courses actually. The Crufts singles course ran better than it walked. I watch the small and mediums first as it was the same course. After Pie self-released in the Team, I trained his contacts in his Crufts. I held his Aframe which was 2nd obstacle and the next contact was see-saw. So I ran that in hope he would self-release on his dogwalk again and would give me chance to tell him off and correct him but he didn't. Good dog! Then managed to stay clear until number 16, where there was a cross behind!! Which I have REAL trouble with and so we got a few refusals after having a few attempts!! Lee needs to teach me a 'drag and drop' properly :P I was really pleased with the run though. Grade 6 jumping involved another cross behind but we managed that one, and with a late reverse turn from me a HUGE wide turn near the end, but we ended up 4th :) Then last run was G6 agility. There was a jumping sequence at the beginning which needed tight turns in order to do well. I can't remember if they were tight because I was trying to think of next turn then the next one etc. But Lee said we managed to get them fairly tight which was good. Then i didn't hold my ground for long enough, which resulted in him going straight into tunnel instead of over a jump, but picked up the hard weave entry well, and again gave me another excuse to train contacts :)

Next show isn't until Cippenham, then off for 3 weeks until Thames, can't wait.

There are several videos on my YouTube page so follow this link...... http://www.youtube.com/lucykippie

Good News :)

2009-05-01T15:54:00.000+01:00

Well just got back from seeing Tace Allen at newbury showground, she had a look over him and couldn't find anything at all, he seemed perfectly balanced is the way she put it. She reckons I should give him a run at the uka show tomorrow on a lower height of about 2ft I think and see how he goes. So we MIGHT be competing on Monday or if not, even Tunbridge!! I'm not going to push him at all, and in all fairness he hasn't been lame for 2 weeks now and could easily of healed naturally anyway. I'm also going to get two people to watch him, who see him compete regularly and for one to film and for the other to watch, just in case one sees something the other doesn't.

Visit to the osteopath....

2009-04-28T15:50:00.000+01:00

OK, where do I start... Pie was on about 5 minutes a day lead walk, and on the lead when going in the garden to go to loo. Pie doesn't like doing anything less than 100 mph (apart from his weaves!!) so keeping him on lead is a bit of a pain. Anyway, Tasha had the osteo round her house last night to check over her 6 and said that I could pop in anytime after 6.30. So I kindly asked my brother to take me and he did. We got there for just before 7 and Hannah had a look over Pie. He was really good considering he's not too keen on strangers poking him, I don't think any of us would either, but I held his head just to be safe. After she had started checking him over he was nearly falling asleep, as his eyes kept rolling. Bless him! Hannah felt that his left tricep by his shoulder was tight, and also found the slight beginning of arthritis in one his back toes, but it was nothing to worry about. Hannah has advised me to cut down the metacam. She said it has done its job and it's not inflamed anymore. She agreed with me about it masking up and it making it worse. She believes that in order for the muscle to heal I should expect him to go lame again once his exercise (on lead) is back to normal. The scar tissue needs to heal (or something like that). So for the next 2 days his metacam is being halved and then for the net 2 days half again. And increased exercise as the muscle still needs to be stretched etc. Obviously this can't be certain without scans etc.... but i'm going to see how we go for the next week and then call Hannah again to get him checked. Depending on his progress he should be able to be back training in 6 weeks. It's not as bad as I thought, but also not nice to hear seeing as he is my only competing dog. I'm heading to Vyne next monday, mainly to watch champ, so we have something to aspire to when we are back competing. It's Helen and Mitch's first champ too so would like to see her in that. I'll keep you all posted, and thank you to those who have been really supportive and helpful.
L x

Update on Pie

2009-04-25T12:10:00.000+01:00

Well my poorly puppy is still poorly :(

Took him to the vets Thursday morning. She warned me that shoulder injuries can take a long time to fix. She doesnt know what the exact problem is but shes hoping its not too bad as he isn't in too much pain. She proded, poked and moved his shoulder to the full range of movement and he only flinced once. She has put him on metacam which im not too happy about as because as soon as i up his exercise and take him off its more probable that the lameness will come back again and he could be doing his shoulder more damage! She has said for him to have 5 min lead walk a day... and increase by 2-4 minutes everyday. As soon as/if the lameness shows again I have to take him back for xrays, and if nothing shows then it might be tendon damage. Kate smith who is a chiro has kindly offered to have a look at him over the weekend. Her and Paul are competing at Newbury so i'm waiting for my brother to get back from Brighton later on today and for him to take me.

So all in all is just a waiting game really, but i don't think we will be doing much this season :(

Wallingford

2009-04-21T21:32:00.000+01:00

Well I was in a really good frame of mind for the show until Pie went lame on tuesday night!! Thankfully he was fune by thursday evening, so ran him at the weekend. We managed a 3rd in G6 Jumping on the Saturday, which I was veryyyy pleased with!! The timings were very close and it was one of those runs where everything just felt right, and I didn't mind where we finished. I forgot to video any runs over the weekend... oops.!! The G6 agility wasn't pleasant and I managed to get to a respectful number 11!! Where Pie decided the tunnel was better than to do a jump. Naughty boy! Sam and I managed to get through to round 3 in the knock out pairs with 2 bys!! and then by the time we actually ran against a pair... we both got E'd!! Not good.

Sunday didn't seem too good, Pie was naughty boy and pulled off a jump in agility, which meant I could train my contacts... and see saw!! So Lee won't be able to complain.

I forgot to enter wbsds this weekend, so have a weekend off which is good as Pie is lame again. He looks like a monster when he walks... his left shoulder really dips and he was sat next to me earlier and he went from sit to stand and I heard 2 large crunches! So i'm calling my vet tomorrow so i can go to osteo and im popping down to newbury over the weekend to see Kate Smith who has kindly agreed to have a look at him. I really hope it's nothing serious and just something which he needs a few weeks rest for. Our next show that i've booked is Vyne, but very much doubt we'll be doing that now :(

So positive thoughts for P please :)

Easter Celebration

2009-04-13T18:17:00.000+01:00

Well my alarm went off at 7, after having just 2 hours sleep!! And my first run didn't turn out to be until about 10.30!! So lots of waiting around, thankfully the weather wasn't too bad.

It was our first show at grade 6, and our first class was 5/6 agility. I thought the course suited well and really was going for a clear round, however, the freak dog ran past first jump. Huff. I think it was mine and his fault, but oh well, was an excuse to use it as a training round. He had a lovely dogwalk until he self-released... ahhh!! I didn't even notice as it was just before I said 'go', but looking back at video, it's very obvious that he went before I said. Ooops, so Lee told me off for that and for not holding my see-saw.

In the G6 jumping, there was about 4 places where you could do a cross behind.... but Lee managed to convince me that I only needed just the 1 at the end, and that worked really well, so thank you! Although before the cloth tunnel P did a little twizzle which I thought should of been faulted but the judge was rather kind and we managed a 12th.

I had been entered in the connection agility too, I didnt really have a choice as my entries got changed, and I had no idea what it was. I didn't even bother to walk it, as I was just going to watch a few go, and 'steal' their route! Leah did a good job in explaining it to me though :) I was the last dog to run, but Mum wanted to go, having been sat in car most of the day, so I tried to push in early but they would'nt let me so couldn't run it.

It was a good day though, and was great to finally meet Kai - Nat have faith in her you silly girl!! I'm at Wallingford this weekend, both days, and am really looking forward to it. So see you all there!

Oh and here is a video of our 5/6 agility run...

UKA Scrambles

2009-04-04T22:29:00.000+01:00

I thought it was about time I had a blog, which I could update regularly!!

Seeing as I can't go to the 3rd day of this show tomorrow... thought i'd post 2 runs from today.

RC Senior Agility - NFC. I train most of my agility runs at UKA, and vary when I actually bring toy in or not. I decided to run his first contact (although it's still a slight pause) and then test the following 2. His see-saw was lovely and solid, so was very pleased. Still not happy with his up on aframe but oh well. I think he knew that if he came off I wouldn't of been a happy bunny!! I'm pleased with myself that I choose to train runs, because I truely believe it all pays off. It takes abit to pay £3.50 and run and just put a big fat NFC on, but I love it

Pairs - I ran the agility side and Virginia and Rob ran the jumping. Again, i held his contacts. It was in the morning and the ground was still quite wet and slippery, and as I released him off his dogwalk, he skidded on his belly to the next jump. Oops! Luckily he was perfectly fine.

Senior Jumping - The course was ridiculous! The champ jumping after it was EASIER. He got a nice weave entry though He ran past tunnel and had air head on, so I took him out.

Novice Steeplechase - We came 2nd in this, so now we just need 2(!!) points in order to move up to senior steeplechase

Enjoy x

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3JeqbOccYM