JRTCC 2009 Nationals - Paris, ON

They were calling for rain the entire day, so I was skeptical about how things would go. As I drove in at 7:15 in the morning, the closer I got to Paris, the darker the skies got, bringing threats of an umbrella and rain-coat clad day. But low-and-behold, it held off and turned out to be a mainly cloudy, rather nice day to play at this national event.

I situated myself at the agility ring, and spent the entire day there. I got some nice shots shots of a few of the dogs running, but gave up after a while. It was too much to volunteer, run a dog, and photograph. Have I ever told anyone that I am uncoordinated?

And that uncoordination followed me into the ring, trailing behind me like a wet piece of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my shoe without my knowledge.

Describing our runs as spastic, entertaining and crazy at most, is being generous. To be completely honest, they were flailing and erratic at best. The little dog was slightly nutty, cooler weather and grass will do that to Brandy, unfortunately. But I'm loosing my mind on course. I know it's my fault, I wish I could blame the little dog, but I can't, and she'd talk her way out of it some how anyway. Reviewing the runs in my head, all my turns were off, my signaling, well, picture a jelly fish trying to signal to someone to make a left turn. Chicken with it's head cut off comes to mind when describing these runs, and my timing was like that of a broken clock with no second hand.

That all being said, the little dog pulled up her shorts and managed to take the Small Dog Steeplechase Challenge, a new event added for this years nationals. A 1st place ribbon and wonderful gift basket was a great surprised after the less-than-perfect runs that we produced. I feel I say that phase far too much - I think it really needs to be removed from my vocabulary. Re-thinking my strategy and game plan for agility may be in order. Unfortunately, no pictures of Brandy running this time, as my "personal photographer" was not with me at this event...a shame it was her birthday.

I'm not in it for the fame and glory, I'm in it for fun, so even botched runs are ok with me, though Brandy may have a differing opinion.

Over all, the day was a blast, volunteering with the ladies that run the event was lots of fun, and entertaining in itself. The weather held out, I got to talk to people that I hadn't see in a while and I got to spend the day with my favorite little dog. What more could I ask?