Friday, November 11, 2005
Steeplechase Finals
Posted Wed, Nov. 16, 1 pm----
The Steeplechase finals participants were amazingly fast. All dogs had essentially running contacts, for real for the little dogs and with virtually no hesitation at the bottom of the contacts even for big dogs who might do 2-on/2-off regularly. This was important, as the course required 2 A-frame performances (rather than 2 weaves, which would be the other choice).
The Bay Team had no 12ers in the finals, but other familiar CA names include:
The field included mostly Shelties, 3 JRTs, and one each of Miniature Aussie, Parson Russell Terrier, Swedish Vallhund, and Pyrenean Shepherd.
The thrill of the evening was when the semifinal fourth-place finisher, Bay Area's Ashley Deacon and his Pyr Shep Luka, ran 13th and became the first 16" dog to break 30 seconds, posting a time of 29.57 that even the semi's first-place dog, Susan Garrett's experienced dog, Decaff, couldn't beat, missing by .28 seconds. The crowd was excited and the questions from all directions were "who is this guy? where's he from? where does he train?" (The answers are: he's pretty new to agility, he started training with Gail Mahood at Diamond Bar and now trains with Jim Basic of Power Paws Agility.)
Bay Teamers:
This proved to be a small-dog course; more dogs in the 22" and 26" classes Eed or had trouble negotiating sequences than did the smaller dogs. At this height, 4 dogs went offcourse, but for speed, all but 2 dogs completed the course in under 30 seconds.
The Steeplechase finals participants were amazingly fast. All dogs had essentially running contacts, for real for the little dogs and with virtually no hesitation at the bottom of the contacts even for big dogs who might do 2-on/2-off regularly. This was important, as the course required 2 A-frame performances (rather than 2 weaves, which would be the other choice).
12" (13 dogs)
This class was dominated in speed by Papillons, who took four of the top 5 placements, beating out 3 Pembroke Welsh Corgis, 2 Jack Russell Terriers, 2 Shelties, and a token All-American and token miniature Poodle. Kimberley Sisak and Devo ran first, setting a pace of 28.29 that was not only not beaten by any other 12" dog, but also not by any 16" or 26" dog. In the end, only two 22" dogs beat that time, one by only .01 seconds.The Bay Team had no 12ers in the finals, but other familiar CA names include:
- 1st, Devo and Kimberley Sisak, 28.29
- 2nd, Moso and Roger Coor, 30.56
- Charlie and Anne Platt, 30.72
- 5th, Phoebe and K. Sisak, 32.10
16" (16 dogs)
The 16" class was marked by tremendous speed from all competitors. The range for these 16 dogs was less than 2 seconds difference; they ranged from 29.57 for first place to only 32.33--I am discounting the two times of 32.88 and 33.97, both posted by dogs who ran past the last jump and had to circle back around to take it successfully.The field included mostly Shelties, 3 JRTs, and one each of Miniature Aussie, Parson Russell Terrier, Swedish Vallhund, and Pyrenean Shepherd.
The thrill of the evening was when the semifinal fourth-place finisher, Bay Area's Ashley Deacon and his Pyr Shep Luka, ran 13th and became the first 16" dog to break 30 seconds, posting a time of 29.57 that even the semi's first-place dog, Susan Garrett's experienced dog, Decaff, couldn't beat, missing by .28 seconds. The crowd was excited and the questions from all directions were "who is this guy? where's he from? where does he train?" (The answers are: he's pretty new to agility, he started training with Gail Mahood at Diamond Bar and now trains with Jim Basic of Power Paws Agility.)
Bay Teamers:
- 9th, *Jitters and Mo Strenfel, 32.31
- 14th, *Xena and Marcia Walsh, 30.34 with 5 faults
22" (16 dogs)
This class and the 26" class consisted entirely of Border Collies. It would've been nice to see other breeds. As always, when I discussed the subject with others, some believe that even if the best trainer/handlers got the best dogs of other breeds, they'd never be able to compete with BCs; others believe that if the best trainers/handlers focused more on other breeds, we'd see more in the Steeplechase finals.This proved to be a small-dog course; more dogs in the 22" and 26" classes Eed or had trouble negotiating sequences than did the smaller dogs. At this height, 4 dogs went offcourse, but for speed, all but 2 dogs completed the course in under 30 seconds.
- 1st, Rush, L. Dewey, 28.11, one of only 2 dogs to beat Devo's time
- 2nd, Kahlua, L. Holladay, 28.28
- 5th, *Rip and Sharon Freilich, 28.99
26" (16 dogs)
The 26" dogs demonstrated the difference in speed the the extra air time ("hang time") over the 26" jumps makes. These were all fast dogs, but only 4 dogs managed to break the 30-second barrier. It would be interesting to see how these dogs competed with the 22" dogs if all were jumping 22". Again, the time range was quite narrow, from 29.13 to only 31.21--most dogs between 30 and 30.89 seconds.- 6th, Coty and Greg Leal, 30.31
- 12th, Tala and Greg Leal, 30.87 and 5 faults
- *3rd, Panic and Nancy Gyes, 29.89
- 1st, Frazzle & T Brown, 29.14
