Lance at Land O Lakes
I entered Lance in one day of the big Land O Lakes show. I typically like to show in the obedience only trials and skip the joint conformation shows. But with Lance qualifying for the National Obedience Championship this March (#3 corgi!) I figured the experience of a really big show would be good for both of us. I was certainly more nervous today than normal.
Utility B
Squirrley Corgi showed up. Articles were first and we were about 5ft from the high jump. Yup, bonus jumping. Both times. Gloves were following and the number chosen for the day was #2. The judge goes though the normal rattling of where the gloves are and then calls for #3. I barely hear and pivot towards #2. I realize what happened, but the judge chuckles and I send Lance to #2 like he meant to say. The naughty corgi veers off to the #3 glove! And the judge laughs some more and tells me that technically he did say #3 and isn't going to NQ us! Heeling is next and Lance actually does a decent job although got further into forging as we went. Good signals and Lance even refrains himself from punching me. The corgi rises up both feet in the air and then stops right before actually touching me. Good corgi. Some slight moving on the stand during the exam. Go outs were good considering it was directly to the back of another ring. Lance was just slightly crooked on both sends and I know I need to practice that setup more often.
So technically Lance qualifies and with the big show craziness taking down half of the playing field, Lance actually places 3rd for 1 more little OTCH point!
http://youtu.be/tRHaYMgL7nw
Open B
Lance brought his A game. Awesome fronts and finishes. Some tiny sliding on his drop on recall he did such a fast down. Comes from a pretty decent size angle to take his jump returning on the retrieve over high. Heeling is beautiful with only some slight pushiness on the slow time.
So the good:
- Perfect about turns! No wide sight seeing!
- Really working hard on his fronts and finishes. Even had a slight distracted moment coming in from the drop on recall and Lance fixed himself perfectly in the last foot.
- Zero barking!
- great focus with all the crowds. And of course I had many spectators come up to us afterward and tell me how much they enjoy watching him. Especially after that utility run!
the needs improvement category:
- bonus jumps
- moving on stand for exam
- go out straightness
- and of course the long sit.
We trial one day next weekend as well. Back to a much quieter, obedience only venue.
