If, you are like me and you are missing the big 4 day dog agility trial this week, you are very sad. Everybody else is sleeping in RV’s and not going to work and hanging out with their pals and running their dogs for 4 whole days. Around these parts, it’s called Haute Tracs (pronounced Hot Trax) and it’s a 4 day trial in Dixon. Maybe you have one of these in your parts.
In my parts, I am like the ONLY one not going. EVERYBODY else somehow gets out of work for 4 days and can pay for this many days of entries while not working. An incredible and impossible feat, as far as I’m concerned. Maybe you are up there right now and reading this in your iphone.
Hi!
Do you miss me? Did you even notice I wasn’t there?
I didn’t think so. Sigh.
If you’re staying home, here’s a fun little bit of a sequence for you. We ran it last night. The moon is a tunnel. I think that looks nicer. Everybody screwed it up, although I got it right the first time when I came through with a second dog. I have a really good way to run it. People tried different things, but I think my way was the only way to make it work on the first try. Set it up. Try it. It’s a fun one to practice.
So here is my huge giant guess, which is probably wrong being that I am very very new to this sport. I would rear cross 3 to 4 and then give a serpentine arm at five… Or am I breaking some essential Greg Derrett rule? How did you solve it? Teach us oh wise one. 🙂
Hmm. I'm not exactly sure how you would put in that rear cross, you are jumping 4 and 5 the same direction?
The only thing that seemed to work was rear cross the poles so your dog is on your right. Run up close to number 4 and let their line fade out a bit so they can jump 5 coming in, then you have 2 options. What I thought worked best was a VERY quick front cross to jump 5 so dog is on your left hand again and over jump 6 which was a double.
People tried many things, but this was the one that worked!
Well, I AM at Haute TRACS AND reading this on my phone (can't miss my TSD!) only doing three of the four days, though. Little brag; My team won the team competition…yay!
OK, for the sequence with moon, I would do a lead out pivot to the moon, weaves with dog on left, pull through to 4 and pull through to 5, 6 dog on left.
Congrats team winner!
This way worked but it was harder to make a nice efficient line from 3 to 4 – lots of the dogs had to pull out so far to get to 4 they ended up with a pretty wide line. A couple of the dogs also saw a serpentine over 4 if their handlers weren't accurate in their position in trying to get a tighter line after seeing how far their dogs would come out to get to 4.
Hi Laura,
I setup your sequence the other night and tried some different handling methods on it. It was fun!
I shot some video and put it on my blog: http://bit.ly/9UGRPc
Thanks!
I watched it Steve-cool! Um…look once again at how the jumps are numbered because jump 4 goes the other way! It looks much nicer in your yard though than it did on our dirt or with a moon for a tunnel! This way will be HARDER! Your way was too easy!
Hysterical!! I guess I should look at the sequence before I go trusting my memory!
I've still got it setup and will report back after I try running the right sequence… looks more, shall we say…, "challenging" to run it the correct way.
Yeah, it might not be exactly to scale there in that threadley looking bit since I drew it with moons and stuff, it should be a tight threadle but still kinda within the realm of legal spacing. How about less than 3 big steps? Let us know how it goes. It will be harder!
Ok I think I ran it correctly last night :^) I've added the video to my previous blog post:
http://bit.ly/9UGRPc
I think if I'd increased the spacing between the two jumps some of the rear cross solutions could have been more successful.
Go Steve!
I was looking at this, because I drew it in a cute little frame and using moons and such (I have CRCD, but do I ever USE it?), here are some things that will make it more like a real life, in a trial scenario and even HARDER!
1. We were hitting jump (1) as part of a long, straight line from elsewhere. So dogs were already fast and ahead of us.
2. Your moon's exit would be farther from the poles, and pointing out away from them.
3. The 3 jump sequence following poles would begin about 21' away from the poles, but still pushed out like I actually did draw it.
4. Make those threadle jumps about 8' apart.
5. Add a tickle more space out to that double.
Wouldn't it be fun to have me as your chief course builder at a trial?
Push stuff out, and give it a try! I think you'll like it!
I like small sequences for us staying at home – so many ways to handle this 🙂