USDAA SMART Day 2

SUMMARY: Another day of wonders.

Tika was back to her normal self, Qing in all four Qable classes, plus 2nd in Steeplechase Round 2.

Otherwise continued her not-quite-1st-place runs:

• 2nd in Steeplechase, even though she ran pretty fast first thing in the morning, to a really nice run by Kidd
• 2nd in Gamblers by several points to Chaps.
• Oh, wait, we did win Grand Prix! For the 4th time this year, after never doing so pre-2011.
• 2nd in Jumpers by less than a second to Kash.
• Then, last run of the day, slowed way down in Standard and took 3rd, wayyy behind Chaps and just a smidge behind Mike.

Here's Tika's money run in Steeplechase (although you can't see the tunnel in one corner where the dog has to take the opposite side from the one they're running straight at):


As for her Top Ten points, picked up 0 for snooker, 3 in Gamblers, 4 in standard, and 6 in Jumpers.

Boost amazed me again by mostly keeping up her bars, finished 2nd (!!!!!!) in Steeplechase Round 2 with a really nice run on a really fast course--here for your viewing pleasure (from a different angle from Tika's run, but you STILL can't see that tunnel):


And she actually earned a Jumpers Q! Third masters jumpers Q ever!  Huzzah, huzzah, huzzah, and other crowd-going-wild noises. Furthermore, it was 3rd place in 22"! Our run wasn't exactly "clean"--a bit sort of smudged around the edges and I thought we came off the field with a couple of refusals, but noooooo, plus also only 5 out of the 30 dogs in her class ran clean,  so there we go, now only 2 Jumpers and 2 Super-Qs away from the ADCH.

Yet another video, how about that? (The whistle you hear on the first messy spot is in the other ring...oh, and now you can see a tunnel that the dog has to take the opposite side.)


Standard was an "almost"--she crashed a double after I made a very awkward front cross and might have been flailing my arms, legs, and other body parts. Gamblers opening was nice but I mishandled the entry to a [sigh] very doable gamble. And in grand prix, two runouts on jumps, then she came off the teeter from the side when I rear crossed, for the 3rd time this weekend, so I told her uh-uh, took her off the field, and put her away. 

Time to get the teeter-totter out in the yard again.

But mostly I was very happy with many parts of all of her runs. But here's this little nagging thing: Keeping the bars up--doing courses--steeplechases and jumpers--compliments in class last week and a ton of perfect runs in class this week--I have admitted not practicing anything or working on anything--so WHY?

I find it hard to believe that, at six and a half, she's abruptly matured or figured things out.

I did make the sudden connection today that this has all been since she started the prednisone for her itching. Could there be something going on there? Don't know what.