KETCH Day 1

We had a great time at the USDAA trial in Tampa today - Peyton was such a good boy! Aside from being slightly naughty with some of his contacts (he really thinks he should have a running a-frame), he was very focused. We finished the day with 2 qualifying 1st place runs in Standard and Gamblers and got some good experience running Grand Prix and Speed Jumping (our first time).

Here's our Gambler's run (a slight delay near the end because I couldn't tell if the horn was for us or the other ring):

Next was Standard - despite a few late cues on my part, he did great:

A little later we had Grand Prix. This was one of the more difficult courses we've seen in a trial so I was really pleased with how well he did. I did get a little discombobulated after he decided not to stop on the a-frame (tsk, tsk!), and didn't make it to where I had planned a front cross, but otherwise it was a pretty nice run for us.

I was however a little annoyed to see that Peyton got called on his upside dogwalk contact. I know that USDAA has smaller contact zones, but for big striding dogs this rule is a bit ridiculous. Seriously, do you see anything unsafe about this dogwalk approach? Not blaming the judge because I know he's just doing his job, but I think it would be great to see USDAA reevaluate their upside contact criteria.

We finished the day with Speed Jumping and what a fun, fast course! The opening was two slightly offset jumps to the weaves and even with me way behind, Peyton did a great job collecting and nailed the entry. It was lovely...so lovely that I got caught up watching him, was late on my send and then got behind on the next line causing a off-course. Boo. Since we (I) already blew the chance for a clean run, I attempted a tricky (for me) rear cross on the weaves at the end and Peyton stayed in. Good boy! No video for this run...

Peyton seemed much more confident going into the ring today...he was still a little crazy, but not quite as stressed as he can be. Overall, he seemed really happy. As for me, I really liked the courses today - partly because they were pretty friendly for not having a startline stay (we probably won't be so lucky tomorrow), but I also thought they were fun too.