USDAA nationals 2008

Part 1
Well, just got back from Arizona from USDAA nationals and thought I'd better blog about it. Another national event and more thoughts and emotions to get out. This was a new experience for me because not only have I never camped in and set up an RV, I don't do much USDAA so I didn't know what to expect. My trainer goes every year and loves it and convinced me to try it out and of course I loved it too. USDAA has games classes where you actually have to strategize and I love that aspect of it, as well as they have a team event. To qualify for nationals, you have to Q at a regular show as a team but you can have any teammate you want for nationals. There are also two individual events that you can qualify for but you have to Q twice to go to nationals and participate in those events. The first show I tried, my team one first and I won first in one of the individual events so I got a bye into the finals at a regional event. USDAA makes is so much more accessible to Q for nationals, and I really like that. Mom decided she wanted to go with me so we decided we were going to rent an RV out there and just drive together and stay on site. It was a very good decision to do so!

Mom and I left KS on Monday (we had metallica tickets so we couldn't leave till after the concert and had to pack the car and get stuff on sunday) and drove to Albuquerque which took us about 12 hours. We drove to Mesa the next day to pick up the RV. Well apparently mom was suppose to watch a video on how to hook things up and such but she didn't want to because she knew miller and I were out in the heat waiting. I think it would have really helped but in the end we figured everything out. We had no problems getting to the show site but we couldn't figure out how to hook the damn thing up to the power and water. What we learned was a) the power supply has a breaker box and only works when the breakers are on and b)the water pump needs to be on so the water doesn't leak. We ended up figuring out the electrical situation thanks to the guy with the huge RV next to us but we didn't figure out the whole water thing until we left. Not a problem except for in the am when you wake up and you need to pee really bad as the shower house was very far away from our RV and walking when you have to pee really bad is kind of hard. Anyway, we shared the RV with an agility friend of mine and her two dogs to split costs. It was really nice being able to sit in the air conditioning when everyone else had to just sit in the crating area all day in the heat.


So the show is so big that they assign you a group that has specific walking and running times. We all had to make up charts so that we could keep track of ourselves as they had 6 rings with walk throughs starting at 7:30 and going until 9:30. You only had 10 minutes to walk each course which was actually nice as you couldn't obsess over the courses. The problem was you might have to walk 4 courses and then run them so you had to just keep the current course in your mind and get rid of the other 3 or so but then remember them as soon as you ran the next one. Sometimes I felt so stressed that I didn't really have time to be stressed if that makes sense, but my little chart of times helped me and mom helped me tons. We had a spot in the crating area, but it was pretty far away from the rings. USDAA nationals is so big, they have dock dog diving, lure coursing, herding, disc dog, and flyball all going on at the same time so the agility is kind of stuck in the middle of all that. Mom did a great job of going and getting miller and pottying him and basically being my kennel bitch.

The first day we just had one class called european standard. I thought the course had some really cool challenges and we had our first clean run! I was really shocked that he kept his bars up as i had to do some pretty tight front crosses but we were really in sync and did well. I think we came in 6th out of all of the P22 inch dogs. Oh let me back up though. Right before we headed down to run, i got a call from one of our KS folks that was coming down that said my teammate's dog had broken his leg. I am really surprised I performed well at all because I think I was in shock. I knew that it had to happen to alot of teams so i figured that they would just re-assign me to another team, but in the back of my mind, I was really scared that I wouldn't get to run at all except my one individual run. I also knew we couldn't leave early because we had someone staying in our RV but I really didn't know how i could sit there and watch everyone else when I wanted to be out there running. I felt so bad for my teammate too because she thought she had stepped on him and that was what had broken his leg (he is a JRT) and I knew it could just as easily have been miller with an injury. I talked to someone in administration right off the bat and they told me not to worry that I would be assigned a teammate by the end of the day but to check back later to make sure it got taken care of. Well, I checked back 3 times and they kept telling me to come back. I was getting fairly worried by the end of the day but they kept telling me not to worry.

Day 2 was a very busy day with three walks and runs including the quarter finals of PNS which was the only individual run I had. I was lucky because I walked all three and then ran them fairly quickly instead of like several of our friends who walked in the am and then didn't run until 4 or so in the pm. The weather was really, really hot so keeping the dogs cool and comfortable was a chore. We were lucky to have the RV and that is probably the main reason miller did so well. Anyway, I had jumpers, PNS quarter finals and snooker to run that day. Without knowing my teammate, i decided to be conservative with my runs. Miller knocked the first bar in jumpers which is weird but in team events, it isn't as big a deal. We were clean in PNS quarter finals and actually won 2nd place which was really cool. Snooker was a good run too, but I didn't go for all sevens like I normally do not knowing who my teammate was. I ended the day well, but still not having a teammate after they told me I would.

Day 3 dawned and I still didn't have a teammate and the USDAA folks were getting a little tired of me, but I was getting tired of them. They finally told me a name and when I looked in the book, that dog hadn't done very well, but I felt like miracles could happen and that miller's good runs could help us. We had standard and the semi-finals of PNS to run so I had to focus. PNS finals were that night and I just knew we could do it. We ran standard first and it was a very tricky course. I got through the hard stuff and was on the homestretch when I felt myself start to freak out, but i managed to pull it together and get a clean run out of it. That course killed alot of teams so I was really proud to have a clean run. I had PNS semis next and felt really confident and relaxed. I really didn't feel nervous or anxious when I stepped to the line. Miller and I were going great and I was again in the homestretch when I sent him over the wrong jump and was eliminated. In PNS, you can't have any wrong courses or bars or missed contacts. I was devastated and of course our whole group was there watching and cheering me on. I went back to the RV and cried for an hour, I was so upset. I really didn't feel like my nerves had a part of it, but I really can't explain what happened. I hope i wasn't overconfident and I really don't feel like I forgot the course as I went to that wrong jump as if it was right. I hope this isn't a trend of choking at national events. We went that night to watch the finals which was very hard for me to do. We had a member of our group in the finals so I had to go and cheer her on, no matter how i felt about myself and my runs. It was so hard sitting there and wondering what would have happened had i not sent him over the wrong jump. Amanda did great and I am so proud of her and her aussie Gunnar.

Day 4 dawned with me getting a new teammate for whatever reason in the book, and she had been eliminated on a course so again we were screwed. I decided to just have fun with gamblers and had a great run with miller. I am so proud of his runs and his performances and this encourages me for AKC nationals. I decided to let him do lure coursing as a reward but he didn't really get it till the end and then it was over. They had so many events that the dogs could do and I really wanted him to do herding but was afraid he might kill the little bitty goats they were using and I can't afford a goat right now, nor did i have a big enough cooler to haul a goat in. We again had a different set of finals that night in which my trainer was in and we had a great time cheering her on. She ended up getting 2nd place with her dog Bode and winning some money. We are so proud of her and her accomplishments with both her dogs!

Day 5 dawned with one event left, european jumpers. Again we had a very fun and fast course and I decided to just push miller and see how fast he could run it. My pushing cost me a bar but he did great and had a good time for as old as he is. I just hope he is competitive next year as he was this year. We really don't know how old he is so I hope that we still have a good competitive year left. We had yet another final to watch and lori had both of her dogs and got a 3rd and a 7th place with skye and bode. Bode would have kicked major butt but he knocked the second to last jump.

Part 2

So i am finally getting around to part 2 of my usdaa nationals blog. I am wide awake because I had a huge glass of sweet tea at about 8:30 tonight so it may be a long night. Where was I....... Oh yeah, nationals was a blast but i ended up having several weird emotions and thoughts. You see, the majority of the dogs at most national events seem to be either border collies or shelties. I have resisted the urge thus far to get either of these breeds because I love aussies. They are a perfect fit for me in all ways, and I have always wanted to be successful in my breed and not just try and take the easy way out. Now, I do have alot of friends with shelties and borders and they assure me that it is not the easy way out and i believe them, but you should hear the groans when people with other breeds show up with their cute and cuddly border collie puppy, "oh looks like he/she has gone over the to the dark side!".

So here i was watching the finals for Grand Prix and Steeplechase, going "wow, i want to be out there", but not seeing my breed represented at all. Last year at AKC nationals, there were a few other breeds represented, but the majority of the finalists were borders in my height division and a border collie won i think 16 inch, 20 inch, 24 inch and 26 inch division. I found myself saying, "I want to be out there", and i" want the dog that is going to get me out there." Suddenly I was looking in the border collie rescue tent admiring the nice dogs they had there. What is wrong with me???? What happened to doing the best i could with the breed i have? I feel like a giant traitor for even thinking these things. You know what though, there is a red and white border collie in our town's shelter right now, coincidence? Don't know yet but I am going to meet her this weekend.

I use to think that i would be content with just going to nationals and having clean good runs, but I sure am not feeling that way now. Maybe I would have felt differently had I gotten to the finals, but here is the other issue. Miller is in performance level which is still competitive, but the really good dogs are in Championship level in USDAA. Now in AKC, we compete with the awesome dogs because they jump the same height as miller does. USDAA does their measurement differently so miller would have to jump 26 inches in championship and have a higher a-frame angle, whereas he jumps 20 inches in AKC. USDAA courses are different than AKC courses because in my opinion, they are bigger, spread wider and cover more ground, which is great for big strided border collies. They eat those courses up and they are a ton of fun to run on because you can really open up and run. Again, in my opinion, AKC courses are very tight, twist and turny, and cater to more precision handling with a little bit of opening up to run occasionally. They really cater to miller's style of running because he is very handler focuses and tends to not take traps (hope i didn't just jinx my self) and he typically turns and jumps very tight. I guess the point i was getting at was that miller can be competitive more so in AKC than in USDAA, even if i could jump him at 26 inches. And i was also trying to get at that I want a dog that can run in championship and be competitive with those borders. Granted, I have seen some really awesome aussies that can give them a run for their money, but I have never seen them beat those border collies, at least not at a national show.

My other feeling/fear is that I feel like miller's competitive career may be winding down and I don't want to waste any courses with stupid handler mistakes. We really don't know how old he is, he was a rescue and they thought he was 2 at the time i got him, which makes him 9 now. I know dogs have been competitive up in their double digits, but i really feel like this is the last year we may be competitive in any venue. I feel like we need to make the most of every national event we go to. Injuries happen in this sport and can happen at any time and end a career, so I had really hoped we had been in at least one final, either team or PNS. I was disappointed with myself as a handler but very pleased with him. I hope we can make the most of this year, do well in AKC nationals and maybe go back to USDAA nationals and stay injury free. Now that we don't have lots of land for him and harley to run on, he hasn't had any injuries thus far (knock on a huge piece of wood). I hope to keep it that way and have a good year in both venues. My main focus is to finish miller's MACH and qualify for as many nationals as I can.

Well, still not sleepy, so I guess i can write more. Another fear I have is that harley is never going to get it together. He is a speed demon, but lacks maturity and although we have seen a ton more this year (he is 5), i still haven't seen consistency that I thought he would have now. He is going to be the type of dog that needs total focus and I can't do that right now with miller running too. With his speed, if we can get consistency, I do think he will be competitive at national events, but I just don't think he is where he needs to be at this point in his life. I do see some awesome parts to runs still, but he still has very huge blow up, ugly runs too. He just isn't miller and I am going to have to get use that and move on. He is extremely obstacle focused and fast and I am use to handler focused and medium speed. He will take a huge adjustment some day when I run him exclusively. I have been trying to run them both, but I really want to do multiple venues with miller and go to more AKC shows, plus nationals, so that is taking the bulk of my money and time.

Okay so now it is midnight and I guess I need to get to bed. Mom and I made a top 10 list of things we learned on this trip, except it is more than 10 and in no particular order so I guess I will end with that.

22. Ghost towns do exist!
21. There really is a subway in every single little town, even more than there is mcdonalds!
20. Dogs can learn to pee and poop on rock and asphalt. There really is no grass in AZ or NM.
19. What the heck is petrified wood and why is it available at every gift shop, truck stop, trinket store, and gas station in AZ and NM.
18. You really can go from desert to scrub to full blown mountains in less than an hour.
17. Sometimes you can be so stressed that you don't have time to notice that you are stressed.
16. Gas really is cheap in KS no matter how much we complain about how high it is here!
15. When at usdaa nationals, have a catchy team name so they play a cool song for you before you run in the finals.
14. Driving an RV is easy. You are so big, people fear you and get out of your way.
13. Does anyone other than people in Tx know what the heck a musscat is?
12. Trust the lady on the GPS except when she says keep left or keep right.
11. YOu can pass really easily in TX and OK because it is really flat and you can see forever!
10, Dalhart TX stinks! Get ready to hold your nose for about 10 miles.
9. At usdaa nationals, some of the vendors give away free stuff so go see the vendors as soon as you get there and they are set up.
8. I have sucker written on my forehead in big letters and photographers know this and take lots of pictures of my dogs knowing that i will buy every last one of them.
7. When you are bored to death riding through TX and OK, running over tumbleweeds and "killing them" is a fun game.
6. When you are out of poop bags, prairie dog holes make a good place to kick poop.
5. YOu can make it through 4 states in one day if you try hard enough.
4. Mom can drive, use the cruise control, pour a cup of coffee, and smoke at the same time.
3. Pumping out an RV is actually very easy, just be sure to take gloves!
2. Don't let your dog pee on an indian reservations. They have stickers in the ground everywhere. How did indians ever go barefoot?
1. I can not drive in the mountains. I get horrible panic attacks coming down 7% grades. Note to self: AZ can be very mountainous in parts!