2003 at Suncoast's Double Header at Caboolture.
As Narrated by Missy...
Mum's been chasing one game qualifying certificate for the last three competitions, and each time out she is a bit more nervous. This weekend we've got three chances- Gamblers and Power&Speed on Saturday night and Snooker on Sunday. I love gamblers, I get to show how I can jump and weave away from Mum. It is our first event- Mum's nerves are making me twitchy- we start out well, then I don't quite turn back sharp enough to Mum and miss out on climbing up over the A-Frame. In Mum's haste to try to make up the three points we just missed, she puts me through the gamble tunnel back-to-back. As soon as she did it this look of horror covers her face as she remembers she can't do the gamble obstacles back-to-back- oh dear- there goes that chance at the certificate. But just to be sure I send out nicely to the gamble but miss an obstacle on the way back into the tunnel- so it wasn't ours for the taking tonight anyway. The next event is the Power&Speed. Mum's able to take her time in the first half over the contacts to make sure we get it right, then after the tunnel we need to motor over a twisty jumpers course. IF we really fly through the final section we even have the ability to make up for any mistakes we might make in the first half as these faults are converted to seconds. Mum goes off and walks the course and says she's got it all sorted out- says we can do it no worries. But just as she starts to relax she gets called into the other ring for open agility. I run a nice round but get a refusal at the weaves- that doesn't make Mum feel any more confident for the Power & Speed. She also has to run Billy, so she quickly swaps us over and races in with Billy- he's really flying- considering he's 10 years old now and in semi-retirement he runs a blinder of a course- but oh no, Mum's just completely missed out a hurdle- guess her mind is not on the job. Poor Billy he ran so well and was on quali speed too. But back to the Power&Speed. We are the last dogs to run in the draw... Mum's chewing her fingernails. We start out, over the first two, over the A-frame touch the contact, over the spread and into the cloth tunnel then over to a pipe tunnel, correct entry and up the walk- since Mum's got plenty of time in the first section she drops me on my contact to ensure I get it, then through the tyre and tight back to the see-saw- hang on the end until it drops down, again Mum holds me on the contact then releases me into the weaves, but I miss the entry...uhoh... Mum turns me back, and sends me in again, then to really make her heart stop part way through I slip on a cross foot but get back up and complete them without any more problems, I don't think Mums breathing but. Into the tunnel and let's go... motoring time... Mum knows that there is an outside chance that if I run really really quickly and tightly without any errors we might go 5 secs under the time and still get the quali- so she's pushing and running hard and tightening up my turns with her shoulders and indicating direction changes early to the hurdle, and we fly! No more mistakes and I fly over the finishing line. Mum's holding her breath again as she waits to hear the time. They don't yell it out, oh no, Mum takes a deep breath and I can hear her heart pounding, she wanders over to the stewards and the judge to check the time. Yes, 22.82secs, plus 5 secs for the fault, 27.82- the course time is 29secs- wahoo we did it!!! I'm now offically an Australian Agility Champion! Mum hugs Marion the judge (Marion is also in our team for Uralla each year with Flicka). Yes! I strut around pretty happy with myself as Mum makes a fuss of me. But in the back of our heads is the thought that we should have been able to do it without any mistakes- so even with the ultimate title now achieved we'll be back working harder on our weave entries for the rest of the year. Mum also says that I can get pregnant now and have some pups of my own- that would be another great achievement for the year!
