September 30, 2000
USDAA
The Adventures of Beanhead and Backseat Buddy Nan
The "not another one of her emails"!!!! Stop the madness. Sorry everyone, I cannot honor that wish, so
here it goes.
Elaine and I drove out to Downingtown for a USDAA trail.
USDAA
Levels:
Novice/Starters, Advanced, Masters
Classes offered (Today):
Standard, all of the equipment
Jumpers, tunnels and jumps
Gamblers, all of the equipment with a different set of rules.
2001 Steeplechase Qualifying Round 1
Ribbons are offered to Qers as well as NQers because USDAA is cool like that. They realize that we have no
life and spend what we do have of on training our dogs NOT to drop bars or jump contacts.
NQs = Jumped contact area, dropped bars, exceeding course time, jumping from the table.
I did not have Fred and Harry
today as Susie was taking the weekend off. I think she was the smart one here.
Elaine and I are beyond dog-tired and are looking forward to yet another day of
trailing come tomorrow. : )
Advanced Jumpers
Crumpet
My kinda course. Twisty, turny, fast, and full of flow. What helped was that Crumpie and I have been
running in AKC Excellent Jumpers for the past few weeks, so it was nice to be
back on a course that was one level down from what we are used to
I have also changed the way we
start Crumpie out in the morning. I leave the regular collar on and "pretend"
we are going for a walk. This morning I get to the Start Line, put him into a
sit, and start to take off his collar.
In the mean time, he is sitting
there surveying the landscape. He looks at me with this glint in his eye and
lets out this bark that nearly killed my focus.
I tricked him�..I tricked him���na nee na nee na naaaaaa.
My logic worked for once.
The course was awesome and
fast, but after jump number 10, what did the Crump Dude do???????
Do I really need to type that one out?
Ok, I will. Sounds like falling PVC.
There.
We had the fastest time of the 12' division if not of the mini dogs: 29 seconds
NQ, 3rd place
Advanced Standard
Crumpet
Now I liked this course too
despite a few areas that were tricky. Then again, that is why I like USDAA, as
their judges know how to design courses that have the restrictions, traps, and
call offs.
Crumpie and I are off and
running. Tire, over, tunnel, left, over, left, DogWalk.
I haul. I haul really fast to the end of the DW and I just cannot make it there in time. Cursed human legs.
Crumpie jumps the DW contact and we continue on with a U to the right for the
weaves.& We are a'fly'n.
There is an odd jump sequence
and I barely call Crumpie from the frame to get him to the table. Once up on
the table he cannot stop and slides off. We hit the Frame and Crumpie has to
become part of the Corgi Air Force by jumping from halfway down.
God, this run is horrible.
We finish off the run with no
knocked bars, but Julie is standing at the gate. Seems the judge did not call
me for the DW contact because my big butt was in the way and she did not see
it. We would have Qed�.but then Crumpie jumped that stupid frame contact.
Put
bluntly��.AAAAARRRRRRRUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!
NQ, 3rd place.
I think I liked it better that
weekend where we did nothing but take 2nd place.
Steeple Chase Qualifying
Crumpet
This course was one I enjoyed
running, but I am not going to type about it. Two knocked bars, missed Weave Pole
entry (more because of a handler body language problem, but mostly because of
the sun's position), and one "hey I am going to jump off this Frame then do the
tunnel underneath of it".
We were the only "E" for ELIMINATION in the 12 inch class. I hang my head in handler shame and resist
the urge to duck tape Crumpie's rear legs up to his body.
E
Advanced Gamblers
Crumpet
As you guys all know, I suck
at Gamblers. Do not listen to Elaine, Dave, Meg, Deb, Julie, or anyone else,
listen to me. I SUCK. My dog does not, I do.
So there we are, last class of
the day, and I am standing outside of the ring looking for any opening sequence
(handler determine, but the dog must rack up 21 points by doing pointed
obstacles) that contains any flow. I cannot see the light. Not to mention, I
am looking at the "Gamble" and I start to laugh.
(The Gamble area is an area
where you send your dog out to obstacles while you are stuck behind a line. One
can move up and down the line, but not over it.)
Since that NADAC trial a few
weeks ago, I have been calling Crumpie from tunnels and sending him to the Tip.
The Gamble is a jump, OUT,
tunnel (under the DW), come toward me "over", and table to stop time. Distance
is about 20 feet to the tunnel, 25 feet from end of tunnel to the jump. Did I
forget to mention that on the way to the tunnel from the first jump is the Tip?
I did? Ooops, my bad. There is a yummy Tip just calling Crumpie's name.
So, I walk the course, make my first plan, back up plan, and back-back up plan.
We start our Opening and
Crumpie takes a tunnel instead of following a well-timed Frame command. Ok,
take it and run with it Mister because now you are doing the Frame TWICE. We do
a few jumps, and I realize the whistle has not blown. I turn to the impromptu
plan and take a few more jumps and chute, ending up in a correct position for
the whistle. It blows and I turn Crumpie around only to find that I was on the
wrong side of the first Gamble Jump.
Fine, deal with it and send him over.
He goes and heads right for
the tunnel. "GO GO GO GO GO!" and he does. Holy Tomoly. I also realize I have
to be on the other side of the Tip before Crumpie comes out of that tunnel. I
cannot afford to have him come back to me because there is gong to be NO WAY to
get him out to that jump.
I get to where I need to be
and put out my right arm, targeting Crumpie like a Rubber Band Shooter. I call
"over". And slowly sweep my arm to my chest�like an Obedience "come" command.
It works. He goes over and now it is on to the Table, which is right next to
me. He nails it and stops the clock���������..
Oh my Gosh, we just Qed in Advanced Gambles. ME!!!
Q and a happy 1st place.
So do not listen to anyone
when they do that whining Joyce voice about how horrible I am at this game. I
am, but I am working on getting better. I think that during all of that NQing
that we have been doing on the regular courses, where I make up my own Gamble
Area, has paid off.
Julie also reminded me that if
I do not watch it, I might just end up in Master Gambles sooner then I want to
be.
YIKES and NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
For those who know and care:
Elaine and Backseat Buddy Nan-
Novice Gamble - Nanny did a great jump of doing the gamble and took a 5th place.
Novice Standard - Once again, Nanny was on and Elaine worked this course for a 2nd place Q and their AD
(Agility Dog) Title.
Novice Jumpers - They got through the course, but other Border Collies were faster, knocking them out of
the ribbons.
Steeplechase - From what I understand, the run was clean, but not fast enough to take one of the 12 spots
open for the finals.
Julie - Was being me today. She had
eight million dogs to run and I do not know about all of her placements, but I
can report on the Qs�..as I know them.
Race Qed with a 1st place in Master Standard
Gifted (Paulina's BC) Qed with a 1st place in Advanced Standard
Gifted went on to Q for Steeplechase, ending Round 1 in 1st place.
Race Qed as well and took the 11th place.
Deb and Ticker -Tickie took a 2nd place Q in Advanced Jumpers
Tickie also took the 7th place position for Steeplechase Qualifying.
The Continuing Saga Of Beanhead
Since I had started this, I have
to finish it. Tonight, I just wanted to catch up on email, hang out with Mike,
chill out in front of the TV, and maybe pass out early. Then I thought of all
of you guys in email land�.just waiting for my adventure to arrive in your email
boxes.
So here I sit and here it
goes����.
USDAA.
Classes offered today:
Snooker (Hard to explain this one, as it is truly a visual�and you will still have questions.)
Standard (all of the equipment)
Pairs Relay (You are paired up with another team to run two halves of a course)
Advanced Pairs
Crumpie
We needed one more Q to move
up to Masters Pairs. As it turned out, I was the one Mini dog that was the "odd
number. In other words, I had no prearranged partner, but Janet with Breeze
said they would run a second time.
I walk the second half of the
course and get set to go. When it is my turn to go, I find out that the dog
that has filled in cannot run the same course over again. Both Janet and I have
to do a very quick walk-through of the opposite course and then run. At this
point Breeze has already Qed.
Crumpie and I start off the
first half of the course. Jump, Tire���.Crumpie runs past it. What the heck is
going on in this dog's head????? Hello Beanhead's MOM, the command is RING. We
get back on track and Crumpie gets the DW contact.
Left, Over, Knock bar. We
finish the rest of the course, hand off the baton to Janet and our teammates are
off and running. I am focused on Crumpie, but I figured that we had not Qed
because of the refusal and dropped bar.
Janet later came over to
apologize. It seemed that at the last obstacle, she forgot about the Chute and
Breeze took a jump instead.
NQ for off course.
Oh well, there is always next time. At least someone Qed.
We did however; beat one Qing
team out for Second place.
NQ, 2nd place.
Advanced Snooker
Crumpet
Ok, I have no idea of how to
explain this game to you guys, but I will try.
The gist of it is this, "red
jump", Obstacle, "red jump", Obstacle, "red jump", Obstacle, and then Judge
determined closing sequence of 7 plus obstacles.
The rules are what make it
difficult�like if you drop a "red jump" you go on to the next "red jump" and go
from there. If you do not and continue on, you get whistled off. If your dog
takes a second obstacle, it is over�.etc.
The other thing that you have to
remember is that when you hear the whistle, haul butt to the finish line to stop
time�.no matter what. Personally, I shrug my
shoulders at this course. I just do not get it. I may suck at Gambles, but I
love the challenge. Snookers? Got me, but I figure that the only way to
appreciate this course is to run it and practice.
I think I have set this up for
my story time.
I walk the course and pick out
a plan that is not high in points, but it will not scramble poor Crumpie's brain
with too much control. I want fast, but I want consistent.
Red J, tunnel, Red J, RING, Red J,
wide sweeping left turn to the Weave Poles, tight control to the first Closing
sequence obstacle�..tunnel.
Right. Sounded good
to me.
Here we go. Crumpie and I get
out to the Red J I have chosen. Remember, I want fast and consistent. Crumpie
goes into a sit, I get ready��and I hear Craig yell:
"RUN, BEANHEAD, RUN"
I stifle the smile as I am
suppose to be serious here. Focus. I am ready for this course even though I do
not get the point of it. I am also determined to get this darned Q. (I really
do not care, but I figured that if I pumped myself up, I would actually do it.)
Over�.Crumpie is over��.. Right Tunnel. Just as Crumpie is about to enter the tunnel what do I hear???????
I AM RUNNING!!!!!!" I yell back to Craig and Julie�.I call a "Right" to Crumpie as he comes out of the
tunnel and haul my butt back over the finish line to stop time.
I got fast�..a run of 5.79 seconds.
I got consistent��.one knocked bar.
Want to die laughing????
We took a 3rd place with 0 points and the above time.
Later on, one of my buddies
walked by and I asked him if he had Crumpie's run. He responded that no he had
not.
My response???? "Neither did I."
This was the best, fastest, and most fun run I have ever had.
Advanced Standard
Crumpet
At this point, I wanted to go home. It was late, like 5pm and the lure of a shower was too great.
The course was really nice,
but I knew that we were going to have problems with the tunnel under the DW.
We start out and Crumpie
misses the weave entrance, which I figured he would. The sun was setting and it
is hard for him to find the poles in the glare. No big deal. I forget to do a
cross while he is on the frame and I paid for it. We struggled BIG time with a
"right tunnel" discrimination. He was looking at "right jump", "right tunnel",
and that "left tunnel".
Left tunnel won. Why?
Because my shoulders were pointed in that direction. Okie Fadokie, my bad. We
continue and after that "right jump" was taken, Crumpie could not resist that
urge to do the T�u�..n�..n�.e�l.
How this dog gets "Walk" mixed
up with "tunnel" I have no clue, but he does. Everything else? Flawless, right
down to the bars. They all stayed up.
NQ 3rd place.
I think Crumpie is going to join his doggie mom behind that shed.
For those who know and care:
Elaine and Nan joined Crumpie in NQing. They did take a 4th& place NQ in Novice Standard.
As for Deb, Julie, and
Craig�..please forgive me as I did not stop any of you to see how you guys did.
I know about Julie's happy Q, but I will leave that up to her to type about.
Then we can all clap and cheer. : )
A super CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From the Members of Team Bean.
I hope that all of you guys
had a fabulous weekend. Sounds like Karen did with Mr. Mozt��CONGRATS to your
NA as well!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next week it is NADAC with Fred, Harry and Crumpie.
Joyce, the tuckered out Captain of Team Bean.
|
Last Updated on April 21, 2007
|