Dylan getting comfortable on my bed in York
Jo Harker invited me to come up to the Hare n Hounds show up North! Well the Easter one actually, which I will go to. So I thought I would try it out beforehand going to the New Year Show at Richmond. Although this is a good 3.5hr drive, it isn't so bad for me as my Dad lives in York. It was a good opportunity to combine a family visit with an agility show.
So we travelled up on relatively clear roads on the Friday 24th Jan, to arrive in York before dark. I decided to take the Bongo just in case we did get snow as it would feel safer than the Fiesta in the snow.
We made ourselves comfortable at my Dad's house in York knowing we would have an early start on Saturday morning for the hour long journey to Richmond. I also knew that I still wasn't feeling that well after having Flu this week, but was determined to go to the show to try it out and meet up with Jo Harker.
It snowed overnight - a couple of inches. But the roads where fine and we got to Richmond with time to spare. I helped on Jo's ring as she judged, scribing the whole day. The atmosphere was lovely and I noticed that there was a lot more men competing than in the more Southern shows :-)
Dylan got a bit fed up being in the van all day. He ran well, but my cold prevented me from being very effective. My favourite course was Jo's graded 4-7 agility course (see below). Dylan & I ran it well until I halted at the second set of weaves as I wasn't sure what I should do to then get him to the tunnel. Of course I should have run with him and then lead him to the tunnel. 5 faults only and a good time. Never mind - next time. The other courses were nice too, but with my cold and helping I didn't have time to write them down & now I can't remember them!!
So we travelled up on relatively clear roads on the Friday 24th Jan, to arrive in York before dark. I decided to take the Bongo just in case we did get snow as it would feel safer than the Fiesta in the snow.
We made ourselves comfortable at my Dad's house in York knowing we would have an early start on Saturday morning for the hour long journey to Richmond. I also knew that I still wasn't feeling that well after having Flu this week, but was determined to go to the show to try it out and meet up with Jo Harker.
It snowed overnight - a couple of inches. But the roads where fine and we got to Richmond with time to spare. I helped on Jo's ring as she judged, scribing the whole day. The atmosphere was lovely and I noticed that there was a lot more men competing than in the more Southern shows :-)
Dylan got a bit fed up being in the van all day. He ran well, but my cold prevented me from being very effective. My favourite course was Jo's graded 4-7 agility course (see below). Dylan & I ran it well until I halted at the second set of weaves as I wasn't sure what I should do to then get him to the tunnel. Of course I should have run with him and then lead him to the tunnel. 5 faults only and a good time. Never mind - next time. The other courses were nice too, but with my cold and helping I didn't have time to write them down & now I can't remember them!!
Course by Jo Harker
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The actual version from my memory! Lovely course. Dylan did a perfect turm from the A frame to the weave & really worked all the jumps.
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By Sunday the snow had gone. It was still chilly. We had the day to enjoy the show and Dylan got to meet other doodles and not stay in the van all day. The clear round was still out of our grasps as my brain decided multi tasking was not possible. Remembering to talk to Dylan and remember the courses was not possible. I got lost twice! Shame really. This was my favourite agility course which I can remember now, but jump 4 eluded me at the time, so we ended up with 5 faults for a refusal! Dylan did a perfect "feet" and super snake. I didn't layer the fence when running from 10 to 11. The tricky bit was the last tunnel to 18 and then 19. I ran fast, beat Dylan believe it or not and called him over to 18. He jumped that but did twiddle a little as I crossed behind him to the final fence.
Sunday's Agility course - on a big ring too, so it was a long way round.
I met Chris the lovely organiser of the HnH shows. I also met Pete & Pam Ayling, who are clearly very clever at agility. It is lovely to put faces to names from the Doodle Agility League. Dylan was mistaken for Freddie - they do look so alike. Amazing to think Dylan is medium and Freddie is large! Here's a supper picture that Jo took of the two doods.
We got home in good time on the Sunday. 3.5 hour drive isn't too bad. I had collected my sister's old freezer on the Saturday night and now we have all the space I could need for the raw feeding of both cats and both dogs!
We got home in good time on the Sunday. 3.5 hour drive isn't too bad. I had collected my sister's old freezer on the Saturday night and now we have all the space I could need for the raw feeding of both cats and both dogs!
Thanks to Jo for this lovely photo of Freddie and Dylan
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