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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
Whew, what a weekend! Our local club just finished our first ever AKC
agility trial. We've been doing UKC shows for years so we are not inexperienced. But this was lots more work, lots more organization, lots more headaches. It was my first time to ever chair a trial. It's been a very long road--starting with me saying, 3 years ago, "well if I want an AKC trial here, I'm going to need to be willing to step up to the plate to help it happen." And indeed it took three years of red tape, paperwork, and more red tape. Becoming an AKC agility club from the outside (without being a breed/conformation club first) is a total and complete pain in the ass. I think they have at least 6 copies of our membership and C&B up there--every time you progress a step you need to send another one--it's like, what do you all DO with this stuff? Can't you keep our stuff in one place and share??? The decision to go for AKC status was a controversial one. Some club members felt we should stay UKC. They felt that if we became an AKC club, we would want to dump our UKC events. I, for one, will fight that--I think UKC is a very important and under utilized venue. But we are very, very lucky. We all like each other and get along, and are able to be adults about things. So even the folks who are not real thrilled about AKC pitched in and worked just as hard as everybody else. The judge commented on how nice it was to work with a club that got along! And Cala finished her Open Standard title. It was a bit of a hairy run--we're having overall stay issues. She pulled out of a set of weaves early and took the next jump because *I* jerked her out and sent her there. So a refusal and wrong course all in about 2 seconds. Wrong courses are our nemesis. We had no downed bars all weekend though. Then there were the pigeons. Two fat, slow pigeons. Sitting in the Open Jumpers ring. Out about 30 feet out from what was supposed to be a 180. Strutting around and cooing and doing their pigeon thing. Cala took the first jump of the 180, saw pigeons, and put on the afterburners. Now this is a dog that I think will get close to 6 yards per second anyway, but she shifted it up a gear. The fattest pigeon looked up to see a black missle with teeth headed its way and thought "Oh. ****." And did. And I yelled "CALA!!" Her head tipped just enough. Teeth clicked about an inch from pigeon. And she came back and actually finished the course in order, with her head STRAIGHT up in the air tracking those pigeons. I'm surprised she didn't rack her chin on the tunnel. Never seen a dog clear a 24" jump with it's head tilted back like that. Not a Q, but certainly entertaining. Next year we're bringing in a pellet gun Friday night... |
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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message news:sR4lf.382335$084.40747@attbi_s22... It was my first time to ever chair a trial. It's been a very long road--starting with me saying, 3 years ago, "well if I want an AKC trial here, I'm going to need to be willing to step up to the plate to help it happen." And indeed it took three years of red tape, paperwork, and more red tape. Becoming an AKC agility club from the outside (without being a breed/conformation club first) is a total and complete pain in the ass. I think they have at least 6 copies of our membership and C&B up there--every time you progress a step you need to send another one--it's like, what do you all DO with this stuff? Can't you keep our stuff in one place and share??? Ha! All of the paperwork is crazy, period! I've been trial chair for a herding trial, plus other odd "official" jobs for an agility trial, and am trying to decide if I want to secretary our obed/tracking club's VST test this coming Spring. I suppose I could, only because VST entries are small, compared to an agility or even an obed. trial. And Cala finished her Open Standard title. It was a bit of a hairy run--we're having overall stay issues. Congratulations! Next year we're bringing in a pellet gun Friday night... Sounds warranted. I know we sometimes run NADAC in a big fairgrounds building and there are almost always birds of some sort in there. Bodhi's never noticed them, but I've seen several bird dogs that have! Shelly w/ Coda & The Black Pack |
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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
Shelly & The Boys wrote:
Ha! All of the paperwork is crazy, period! I've been trial chair for a herding trial, plus other odd "official" jobs for an agility trial, and am trying to decide if I want to secretary our obed/tracking club's VST test this coming Spring. I suppose I could, only because VST entries are small, compared to an agility or even an obed. trial. Oh it was a real no-brainer about hiring a professional agility secretary for our trial. We have a good one, and no way did we want to deal with it. FWIW, UKC Obedience trial paperwork is MUCH worse than AKC, mostly because it consists of a ton of forms that you have to fill out by hand because they come on triplicate carbonless sheets. But our obedience entries are small so that helps. Sounds warranted. I know we sometimes run NADAC in a big fairgrounds building and there are almost always birds of some sort in there. Bodhi's never noticed them, but I've seen several bird dogs that have! At Purina Farms the swallows love to dive-bomb dogs. There were also sparrows around, but they weren't near as distracting as fat, black, slow pigeons. |
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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message
news:sR4lf.382335$084.40747@attbi_s22... Whew, what a weekend! Our local club just finished our first ever AKC agility trial. Wow! Congratulations. It clearly was a lot of hard work. But the next one should be easier, right? The judge commented on how nice it was to work with a club that got along! High praise indeed. Because you KNOW those judges see everything. And Cala finished her Open Standard title. And double congratulations! Then there were the pigeons. You expect some traps built into the course. The ones the judges call "challenges". I'm pretty sure we would have *not* pulled that one off. *Maybe* Spenser but there is no way Sassy would have gone on with the course until those birds got their butts in the air. Of course, she's fast enough that she still might have made time. Next year we're bringing in a pellet gun Friday night... An excellent idea. Might even be a good thing to have around for the trial also. I'm guessing there are times that either the judge or the secretary could have found one handy at a trial. Sounds like you had a great weekend. ~~Judy |
#5
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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
Judy wrote:
"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message news:sR4lf.382335$084.40747@attbi_s22... Wow! Congratulations. It clearly was a lot of hard work. But the next one should be easier, right? I think so. Part of the stress of this one was all the little teeny stuff--making sure our show kit was in order, we had enough pens, we got the ribbons ordered, etc. You expect some traps built into the course. The ones the judges call "challenges". I'm pretty sure we would have *not* pulled that one off. *Maybe* Spenser but there is no way Sassy would have gone on with the course until those birds got their butts in the air. Of course, she's fast enough that she still might have made time. Oh they got their butts in the air all right--or Cala would have eaten one. Then they were flapping and circling above the ring, hence her doing the last 4 jumps and tunnel with her head twisted up in the air. Next year we're bringing in a pellet gun Friday night... An excellent idea. Might even be a good thing to have around for the trial also. I'm guessing there are times that either the judge or the secretary could have found one handy at a trial. Well I'm not sure shooting a pigeon would be called child friendly entertainment....so we better do it before we have crowds and kids. |
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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
Robin Nuttall said in
rec.pets.dogs.activities: The judge commented on how nice it was to work with a club that got along! Hah! Until you *don't* get along. Congratulations on Cala's title. (Off courses are Friday's and my nemesis, too. I'd expect no less out of a fast dog.) As Judy saud, the hard part is over. Setting up the first trial is tough. And expensive. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
Rocky wrote:
Robin Nuttall said in rec.pets.dogs.activities: The judge commented on how nice it was to work with a club that got along! Hah! Until you *don't* get along. Let's hope that never happens. Our local breed club is just nasty. I think that for the most part performance people tend to be less so--perhaps because money can't buy you Qs and running agility is inherently humbling. Congratulations on Cala's title. (Off courses are Friday's and my nemesis, too. I'd expect no less out of a fast dog.) Viva was pretty darn fast but very sticky--we almost never had off courses. Cala runs very big and we are not yet a team. I have hope for the future though--even with big off courses we're topping 5 yards per second. The fastest doberman team in the U.S. is 5.5 (yes, slower than fast BCs by at least .5 yps). I would love to beat that and I think we can if we can get ourselves together and get smooth. As Judy saud, the hard part is over. Setting up the first trial is tough. And expensive. Well it will be expensive for awhile. We still have some equipment needs and mostly borrow from locals who own equipment. We need to buy electronic timers, and our goal is to have a 2nd trailer (we just bought one) and keep an entire set of 2 rings of equipment sitting on it just for use at trials. That way we can have one trailer for UKC and one trailer for AKC and the equipment doesn't get worn out. |
#8
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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message
news:Eftlf.625273$xm3.62905@attbi_s21... Well it will be expensive for awhile. We still have some equipment needs and mostly borrow from locals who own equipment. We need to buy electronic timers, and our goal is to have a 2nd trailer (we just bought one) and keep an entire set of 2 rings of equipment sitting on it just for use at trials. That way we can have one trailer for UKC and one trailer for AKC and the equipment doesn't get worn out. The majority of trials I go to around here, the club has the equipment brought in by a manufacturer/distributor. Including the electronic timers. We went up to some run-throughs a couple of days before one trial - the club was offering free run-throughs if at the end of the evening you helped move their equipment out of the rings and out of the way of the trial. I'm sure there's an expense to it (well, duh) but at least some of it is offset by the supplier selling equipment at the trial. And it makes for much faster adjustments and repairs to the electronic timers if there's an expert setting them up. Even that trial we went to in September (the one with the giant PMS cloud hanging over it all weekend), the equipment supplier also was in charge of the course builders. Man, that guy could set up a course fast. We had timer problems off and on all weekend because of the rain but they were quickly dealt with by having the expert right there. It makes for much more standardized equipment - which makes competitors happier. And makes them bitch less to the judges. One trial I can think of that uses all their own equipment has some horrendous stuff. Legal but just not completely fair to dogs (especially novice) who haven't trained on it. HUGE winged jumps. All of them. (I'm talking Statue of Liberty.) And chutes that have elaborate designs at the entrance. Somebody in that club got just a little carried away with the table saw he got for Christmas one year. ~~Judy |
#9
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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
Judy wrote:
The majority of trials I go to around here, the club has the equipment brought in by a manufacturer/distributor. Including the electronic timers. We went up to some run-throughs a couple of days before one trial - the club was offering free run-throughs if at the end of the evening you helped move their equipment out of the rings and out of the way of the trial. Right. You're in the East or Northeast, correct? There are no manufacturers who do this within 1000 miles of here (literally). Around here, you buy your own equipment and maintain it. Max 200 ain't going to drive to Columbia MO to do a 300 run trial. I'm sure there's an expense to it (well, duh) but at least some of it is offset by the supplier selling equipment at the trial. And it makes for much faster adjustments and repairs to the electronic timers if there's an expert setting them up. Well we rented the electronic timers from the guy who invented them. HE lives only 100 miles from here. So that's a no-brainer, though it will soon be time for us to buy a set. It makes for much more standardized equipment - which makes competitors happier. And makes them bitch less to the judges. One trial I can think of that uses all their own equipment has some horrendous stuff. Legal but just not completely fair to dogs (especially novice) who haven't trained on it. HUGE winged jumps. All of them. (I'm talking Statue of Liberty.) And chutes that have elaborate designs at the entrance. Somebody in that club got just a little carried away with the table saw he got for Christmas one year. Our contact equipment is a mixture of J&J and Max 200. A local lady welded our jumps and the judge was raving over them and asking how she could get some. Our wings are Max 200. The J&J teeter, brand new, was actually a problem--apparently they weight them far to heavy at J&J. So we had to reweight it and one of our members stayed up until 11:00 Friday drilling a metal plate of the correct weight. The judge also didn't like our less-than-a-year-old aframe from Max 200--the slats weren't rounded enough. So we'll fix that for next year. Even "top" equipment manufacturers aren't perfect! So no, we did NOT put crap on the floor. In the South, it's apparently normal to do rebar weave poles. Now those, I think are crap. Poles sticking up at all angles, wobbly bases, thanks no. As for course builders--it took us an average of 10 minutes to change courses, and all courses were set by 7:00 a.m. each morning. |
#10
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Our first club AKC agility trial & Cala OA--we did it! (long)
"Robin Nuttall" wrote in message
news:QwBlf.602841$x96.135377@attbi_s72... Right. You're in the East or Northeast, correct? There are no manufacturers who do this within 1000 miles of here (literally). Around here, you buy your own equipment and maintain it. Max 200 ain't going to drive to Columbia MO to do a 300 run trial. Bummer. Because it does work pretty well. Guess we're lucky. The judge also didn't like our less-than-a-year-old aframe from Max 200--the slats weren't rounded enough. So we'll fix that for next year. Even "top" equipment manufacturers aren't perfect! Yeah, and I'm hearing rumors that AKC is going to make some changes to what is acceptable in tire jump bases also. It's hard to keep up with everybody. So no, we did NOT put crap on the floor. In the South, it's apparently normal to do rebar weave poles. Now those, I think are crap. Poles sticking up at all angles, wobbly bases, thanks no. Didn't mean to indicate anything about crap. Even that club here that uses all the HUGE winged jumps and such has otherwise good equipment. I do not think I'd be pleased with rebar weaves. The trials we did in Florida (which we all know is not typical "south") had standard PVC weaves. Can't remember what spacing they used. But I didn't have any complaints or concerns about their equipment. As for course builders--it took us an average of 10 minutes to change courses, and all courses were set by 7:00 a.m. each morning. You did *very* well indeed. A tribute to your organizational skills. What it takes to set courses quickly is someone in charge who *really* knows how to do it and enough hands to follow directions. Helps even more if they know it all pretty much too. We have some trials we do that it can take half an hour - I've seen up to an hour - to change a course. And that's before the judge walks it. Gets frustrating, as I'm sure you know. ~~Judy |
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