NADAC Trial

After my lack of blogging the last couple weeks, I have a lot to get caught up on!

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we had our first agility in 12 years here in Lexington! (It was actually in Versailles, but whatever...)

It was a NADAC trial put on by the great group in Louisville, RuFF.

If you've never worked "behind the scenes" at an agility trial, let me tell you, the job ain't easy! This was my first time (since I had volunteered to do a lot of the leg work if they brought one closer to Lexington), and I will never attend a trial without gratitude again!

I researched places to hold the trial, I was in constant contact with the owner, I was there for delivery & set up of the equipment. I transported the judge to & from the airport, as well as to & from the trial each day. I set up his hotel accomodations, plus researched other local dog-friendly hotels for the competitors. I had to come up with driving cirections & nearby restaurants for the trial premium...

Don't get me wrong though, I enjoyed doing all the work if it meant that I could actually trial for 2 days & sleep in my own bed each night  :)  And I am SO THANKFUL for everyone who came out & supported our efforts. There were a lot of non-NADAC people who entered, some just used it as a "show-n-go" while others were open to adding more NADAC to their future trialing schedules. And some came out just to support having something so close  :)

And of course, a big thank you to the girls from Louisville for giving us a chance & transporting the equipment even farther than they usually do. I appreciate every trial they put on even more now!  :)

So since I had so many friends there, I actually got some of my NADAC runs taped! I think Porter qualified in 8 out of 12 runs, putting us well on our way to qualifying for the 2013 NADAC Championships.

http://youtu.be/KJZJ6Pp1Dio

Regular Round 1
This was a really hard course for short dogs :)  Porter didn't even see the dogwalk past the tunnel until the last minute... Fortunately I watched enough other people beforehand to figure out a strategy. I "called to hand" until he got past the tunnel & the walk was right there in front of him.
And then exiting the dogwalk, I used our "turn" command to send him to the hoop to his right instead of the one straight ahead. Unfortunately, I forgot that I use the same command to flip him into a tunnel from the dogwalk in AKC. He was a little confused  :)

http://youtu.be/JrD-h0xYTMs
Regular Round 2
The same blind approach to the dogwalk. Notice I didn't give him the "turn" command coming down this time :)

http://youtu.be/4PxS9M-7Ud4
Chances
This is the "distance class" in NADAC.
He shouldn't have taken that tunnel  :) But we also haven't practiced these skills lately & my body language was pretty bad!

http://youtu.be/JRrVQD7-_cg
Weavers
Our least favorite class  :(  But he rocked it! So proud of my Cardigan Welsh Weaver!

http://youtu.be/GA9KZDPyfC0
Jumpers
I love getting to use my rear crosses on NADAC courses  :)  It just feels so pretty...
 

http://youtu.be/Gm4rZYK_KZA
Regular Round 1
This was the only time all weekend that Porter missed his weave poles! Great job Porter!
Then I pulled him off that hoop after them because I was so worried about him taking the off course tunnel...  Oh well.