Agility Trial Countdown

We are entered in a local agility trial this weekend – the first one since 2009!

We have returned to agility over the past few weeks and had the opportunity to do a few full runs which oh-so-wonderfully highlight the holes in our training which are:

1. Weave poles: missing entries
2. Table: overshooting/using it as a launch pad (to nowhere!)

The good news is that if Bear misses the weave entry or the table, we can retry both obstacles without incurring faults and NQing, so long as we perform the obstacle correctly the second time.

The weave poles have been inconsistent in class but were fine yesterday so I am wondering if the fall in weave pole performance might have been related to the iliopsoas injury. I think I might get out the 2x2s and start a refresher over the summer.

The table was never an issue for us but we have only seen it once since returning to classes which means one day in – oh –  3 years. The club where we take classes seems to have limited equipment and the table can only be used in one class at a time. If it continues to be an issue, I may have to make one!

Aside from the obvious technical aspects of the obstacles, my challenges handling through the practice sequences in class with Bear have been:

• Consistency of cues
• Shutting my big mouth
• Getting  out of the way so Bear can do his job

The nerves of trial situations always make me flail my arms like a drowning chicken and use verbal cues I NEVER use in training. Remaining quiet, calm and graceful take every ounce of effort I have…because I am not any of those things naturally.

Whatever happens, I hope to convince someone to video our runs so that I can review them and learn from mistakes (or sucess!).

Speaking of video here’s one of a jumpers run in class from a few weeks ago…then I would say he would have been about 90% recovered from the injury but he’s a full-steam-ahead 100% now!