Go-Dogs Omaha Show 2008

GO-DOGS, Omaha show

I just got back from Omaha and had to sit down after unloading the van and blog for a minute. I had a great weekend, despite the crappy weather that mother nature decided to throw at me. We were tent camping, but due to the rain and 30 mph wind, the KOA decided to give us a cabin, which was really nice of them since I was going to have to sleep in my van in the cold rain and wind. Anyway, Miller had a great weekend, going 4 for 6, getting 83 MACH points and our final double Q for AKC nationals (North Carolina here we come!), with two seconds, a third and a first. We did really well, despite the soggy field. We don't do many outdoor trials for that very reason and battled wind and cold all weekend. We only need 54 more points for our MACH and 67 more for nationals.

To start out the weekend, we had two runs on friday, when the weather was nice. I got to Omaha with time to spare, so I set up my pop up and got settled in. We had standard first and Miller had a great run. The whole course was full of traps which is great for Miller, who is totally handler focused. He got a second place with a border collie beating him (go figure) but we multiplied out points so we ended up with 22 points. Jumpers was next with an awesome jumpers course. I had it, had gotten all the hard stuff and then over rotated on my front cross and sent him over a jump instead of sending him to the weave poles. Oh well, my fault, so we headed out to the camp ground to set up our tent. My friend barb who was also camping wasn't suppose to get there until 9 or so so I had a lot of time to kill. I just wanted to say i LOVE KOA! They had a mini golf course, bikes you could rent, and all kinds of activities you could do. I got my tent set up by myself and decided to try and take a nap. I had bought a little cot to lay on instead of having to lug my air mattress around, but miller decided he wanted to lay on it with me so there was no sleeping to be done. It was so cool, they even delivered pizza to our campsite! Barb got there around 9 so we built a fire and sat around to almost 11 just talking.

Saturday morning dawned bright and early! I couldn't really sleep well because miller was taking up most of the cot and I couldn't get comfortable. I felt like I woke up every hour trying to shift to get in a good position. The showers were nice, hot water is always a bonus, and it wasn't too cold in the shower house. Got over to the trial site with plenty of time to spare and starting walking jumpers. I seem to do better when we start with jumpers so i was very optimistic for the day. Got through jumpers clean while other dogs were really struggling with the soggy ground. We ended up getting a first which hardly ever happens with 18 MACH points! Then on to a very nice standard course where I also Q'd with a second place and 18 MACH points. What was the most important was that was our final QQ for nationals that we needed!!!! We decided to head over to cabela's since it was starting to rain. By the time we went back to the campground, the rain was really pouring down and I had to make the decision to tear down my tent since we were hearing we were going to have 30 mph wind. Of course, it was pouring so I got completely soaked, but got the tent tore down and Miller and I safely in the van. I was bored so I decided to go into the KOA store and one of the ladies that worked there, that I had talked to the day before asked if i was still staying in my tent and when I told her no that I was staying in my van, she quickly gave me a cabin to stay in. Barb and I were so excited to have heat and electricity and beds that weren't the floor of the van! I slept like a rock that night, even though the wind was blowing 100 mph!!!!
Sunday dawned with mild wind, but cold sun. We ran jumpers first again and miller had one knocked bar that was probably my fault. I was determined to try some new stuff in standard and the course seemed really tough so I had no expectations. I went out there and had a great run with a second place and 25 MACH points.

It was a great weekend and I can't wait for another one!!!!!!