No Q for You!

You really can't blame Maverick too much for failing to qualify in either one of his agility events on Sunday. And I think I did really well as his handler, too. We're just chalking it up to bad luck that we came as close as we could possibly come to picking up two Qs, and probably two ribbons -- yet we came home with nothing. Sigh.

On the standard course, Mavi struggled with the weave poles, but he did complete them. After that, he picked up speed and seemed to gain focus, nailing all the obstacles. And I aced a perfect positioning maneuver late in the course that no other handler tried (it involved outrunning your dog to a spot) -- but that Jenn told me was the correct move. But on the third-to-last obstacle, the A-frame, Mavi jumped off before hitting the yellow contact zone at the bottom. It was a problem I had anticipated, but I still couldn't quite slow him down enough. Finishing 8 seconds under the time limit with only two other minor directional faults (both caused by me), that A-frame mistake, by itself, cost us the Q.

In jumpers, Maverick was equally focused following a non-critical stumble at the start, again caused by my own lack of focus. But halfway through the run, he knocked over a bar, which is another automatically disqualifying fault. The weave poles came later, and of course he was dead-perfect, since they didn't mean anything this time. Another great run, and another dumb Q-killing penalty.

In Mavi's defense, it was broiling hot this weekend, so I'm proud of him for focusing the way he did after an entire day outside. But Jenn and Ripley had just as hot a day on Saturday, if not hotter, and Rip still managed to pull out a Q in jumpers -- and a second-place ribbon -- several hours after getting hit with one too many minor faults in an otherwise excellent standard run.

As for Maverick, he needs one more Q in jumpers to get his novice title and move into the open division. And this marks the third time at this particular venue that one little error ruined an otherwise perfect run. Last year, he entered the wrong side of a tunnel -- a common mistake that day, since the ends were adjacent, something you don't often see in novice. It was his only fault, and a Q-killer. And earlier this year, he had yet another perfect run marred only by a knocked bar -- on the very last jump. Jenn handled him for both those near-misses, so she was a great comfort to me today, in that she knows exactly how it feels to come sooooo close.

On Labor Day weekend, though, that Q is ours. And stop gloating, Ripley.

Comments

[Ripley]

Hmmm...who has more Q's? That would be me. Who has a Q in standard and who has none? I guess that means I'm better. Yeah, better means more treats. Where are my damn cookies?

[Ripley]

Ooops. Sorry Nathan, I'm supposed to watch my language around you. Maverick says it's my fault your language has gotten so sh---y. There I go again. Just give me my damn cookie.

[Maverick]

Um, if you all don't start watching your mouths, the three or four people who still read this blog are going to find something else to do with their damn time.