This trial was almost cancelled due to a low early turnout – when I sent in my envelope with a checkbook-busting 18 runs worth of entries I prayed that we at least wouldn’t have monsoons – I wasn’t disappointed! We lucked out with a beautiful weather weekend – still a little warm for September, but no rain and it wasn’t brutally hot. We can do that!

I had entered Bryce in an optimistic 6 runs, which is more than I’d been running him lately. I was a little concerned how he’d hold up, even though it was all shorter novice courses.

He loved it! He started the weekend turning in the 3rd fastest time in the entire Novice Jumpers class – 4.19 YPS for his Outstanding title, then Q’d again in Hoopers and Tunnelers. He was looking pretty tired by tunnelers, but came out the next morning like gangbusters and put down another tunnelers run that left me running my a** off to keep up with him! Close to 4 YPS – by no means his personal best, but for an old man with cancer and assorted achey, creaky parts it was pretty impressive! He went on to Q in his other 2 runs for good measure, beating Raven by several seconds in weavers (she scrambles, but he ran it perfectly) and ending the trial with another good jumpers run. Such a little “pro” :)! He was tired, but happy to have gotten so many chances to play!

Raven had a nice weekend too, though there was an unwanted return of the “cut in front of Mommy and jump on her” nonsense on several runs. Damn – we really need to work on obstacle focus!!!!! Still, she got the last leg of her Novice regular (standard) title, got a Q in Novice Weavers, and Q’d in both jumpers runs to get her Open Jumpers (OJC) title. She made a good attempt her first time in Open Regular, I won’t be moving her up to Elite Jumpers until she gets more independent because between the bouncing and the excessive checking-in she simply won’t make time. Instead, we’ll play some more in Open. Or maybe I’ll start running her in tunnelers/weavers/touch n go for a while and get her Nov. Versatility.

Poor Jayda – she tried, but it wasn’t her weekend. Wrong course in Touch n Go, popped the weaves in Sat. regular, then over time, over time, over time … she got one little 5 pt Q in Elite regular on Sunday. I noticed she was picking up her head in the weaves – I need to target that back down, because if she scans around and sees something, she’ll either pop out or lose a lot of time. I was sure she’d gotten Jumpers on Sunday – it was a nice course for her – but I had a little mental lapse and sent her very wide at one point, and that was probably just enough to put her over. Ugh – I hate when I do that !

Still, Jayda did get a very pretty award from NADAC for her Novice Triple Superior the other day.