CPE in St. Cloud

This summer has been good for trialing, but a bit of a struggle at the same time.  Sometimes, Zoe's insecurities have crept up on her, other times, my handling has been way off.  But for some reason, we pulled all of it together for the St. Cloud CPE trial on September 18th and 19th.  We were definitely on our A-game as we went a whopping 9 for 10!!!  As icing on the cake, we were in good company and the weather was absolutely perfect.

We started off the weekend with a quick and accurate Colors run.  This was followed by two perfect standard runs.  We came into the weekend with only 2 of 6 standard Qs in level 3, so I was very proud of her for getting two more.  Next was an awful "jumpers from hell" snooker course, which took a bite out of many competitors.  It was basically a jumpers course full of threadles and serpentines if you wanted the path to flow.  Jackpot was last and I was a bit nervous because Zoe basically refused the Snooker run.  But to my surprise, she did fantastic, even finishing a tough traditional gamble with a distance teeter!  She headed for the teeter at first, but then stalled because she felt uncomfortable.  I coached her on and she eventually did it along with the last jump.  Since this was such a tough Jackpot, many were there watching to see who could get it.  The crowed cheered and Zoe went nuts, totally eating up all of the praise and attention.  Though the trial had lasted until 7pm, doing that run was totally worth it.  I was so proud that she stuck with me and did a tough obstacle on her own.  I knew she could do it and was so glad that she proved me right.  Afterwords, she got a nice walk with our friends Michelle and Taiko and rested up before the next day.

Sunday turned out to be our perfect day.  Despite my clumsiness, she excelled in all 5 runs including two more standard runs.  If a perfect day weren't good already, completing our level 3 standard runs was icing on the cake.  Plus, we got our first level 4 Jumpers Q!  It was so nice to see us perform as well as we do in class.  In addition, most of the Q's we got were clean.  Once Zoe gets motivated, she rarely knocks bars or strays off course.  I guess all of that NADAC competition has served us well!  

All in all I couldn't have asked for a better weekend.  Good company, good weather, good runs.  It was nice to see what Zoe can really do...and I am really starting to learn what works for her in terms of motivation and training.  Right now we are working on our switch command, where she needs to take an obstacle away from me.  This will make my handling easier once she gets to know the direction.

Meanwhile, Breeze started puppy agility class and we are learning lots of foundation work.  Every time I work with her I am impressed at how eager she is to learn and work and how fast she learns.  This girl will be a fantastic performance dog, but she also demands a lot of attention and exercise.  I asked for another project and boy, did I get one!  It will be great to see her progress and the nice thing is that I don't feel one bit rushed as I focus on Zoe's career.

Next up for us is a short trip to Zumbro Falls this Saturday and then a few weekends off until the Halloween CPE trial.