Saturday, November 04, 2006
Saturday at the Nationals
Original sender: Ellen----
The Performance Speed Jumping and Championship Steeplechase finals were this evening, and it was quite a show of speed and handling. The weather was sweater-cool but calm, perfect for sitting in bleachers and cheering your favortie dogs and handlers.
In fact, it's been sunny and in the high 70s to low 80s all week--sorry all you Bay Areans who are apparently enduring rain. Sunrises and sunsets have been gorgeous every time. I have a couple of photos--actually I have about 500, but who knows when I'll actually sort through them and post them online. Maybe Monday if I'm not wiped from the trip home.
I wrote all the dogs' names and times and places, but it's already 11:30 and I have to be up at 5:30 to shower, pack everything out of the hotel room, stop for ice and cash, and be at the site at 6:30 with enough time to get the dogs settled in, pick up course maps, and be ready for walkthroughs of Power and Speed at 7:00. So I'll just hit some highlights.
Performance 12" won by Spike, a JRT, with a time of 33.75. No Bay Teamers involved.
Performance 8" I didn't write down, shame on me. No Bay Teamers involved.
Performance 16" was particularly exciting for the handlers' drive, the speed of the dogs, and the bay teamers competing. Steeplechase events run in reverse seed order based on their earlier placements, and the first two dogs Eed, then Tooney the Aussie set a pace of 36.98, beaten two dogs later by Bay Team's Dave Grubel in another athletic handling experience with Tahoe, coming in clean at 35.37. Mesa the ?? gave it a good shot but couldn't beat Dave & Tahoe with a time of 35.99, then Bay Team's Jim Basic ran Wicked with a smooth and experienced handling style, racking up a beautiful 34.42 time with 1 dog left to go--who had problems with the weaves and fell way back, placing Wicked 1st, Tahoe 2nd, Mesa 3rd, Tooney 4th, and Max 5th.
Performance 22" had several Es, including Linda Mecklinberg's experienced champion Awesome and Bay Team's Sandy Roger's young but zippy Ty. The interesting thing about this class was that not one of the three top placers onthe finalist's podium was a border collie--Jazz the flat-coat was first at 35.17, followed by Gracie the Aussie and Player the Golden.
Steeplechase 12" had 8 dogs, none of them bay teamers. The class was won by Whim the JRT at 34.64; 2nd with Bailey the JRT at 34.77; 3rd with Charlie the papillon at 34.92.
Steeplechase 16" had 12 competitors. Dustin the sheltie ran first with a time of 35.62, which the next 4 dogs failed to beat. Susan Garret with Decaff finally bested them at 35.24, but immediately followed by Marvel the Sheltie (Joe Lavalle) with 34.89 and, 2 dogs later, Taz the Sheltie (Jean Lavalle) at 34.67, and the final dog, Sizzle, stunning the audience with a flawless 33.07 second run.
22" was the largest class with 20 dogs. Razzle the BC started the class with a challenging 33.28, which QUick tried to beat but missed at 33.55. Argos was slower, then a little black dog (Annie?) came in at 33.40. Three dogs later, Bay Team's Silvina Bruera and Maja displayed lovely teamwork with a run of 32.62, raising more cheers from the rowdy crowd. Flash the BC follwed, also breaking 32, at 32.84, leaving Maja the leader even when Bay Team's Jim Basic and Wicked blazed through the course at 32.75, with 11 dogs stilll to go. How low can you go? The next 6 dogs either had bobbles or Es, including Bay Team's Nancy Gyes' youngster Mace, who Eed early, but Nancy showed the amazing resilience and resolve of an experienced handler and used the rest of the run to proof their Aframe contact and handling around the course. With 4 dogs to go, Lightning, purportedly a Sheltie, broke the bank at 31.96 with no faults, and although Typhoon the BC came in at 32.64 and Sybil the BC at 31.10 (but got called on the Aframe) and Pickle at 32.51 gave it a try, Lightning held the 1st place, followed by Pickle, Maja, Typhoon, Spy, Flash, Jazz, Annie, Quick, and Sterling.
26" had 12 competitors, with lots of Friends of Bay Team (FOBT) and Bay Teamers. BTer Rob Michalski and Hobbes started the group with a time of 39.19, followed by FOBT Greg Leal and Coty (father of Bay Team dogs Boost and Bette and who knows how many others) at 36.28. FOBT Aiko ran at 36.37 but got an Aframe call, FLash got an Aframe call, then Linda Mecklinberg and Steller came in at 33.11, setting a new pace for the 26ers; the next 2 dogs couldn't beat it, then BT Nancy Gyes and Panic drove the audience to a frenzy with a time of 32.69; FOBT Rachel Sanders and Fable drove hard and handled smoothly all the way through but just missed Panic's time, coming in at 32.86. Slick followed with a bar down, and then Juice shut them all down with a clean 31.69 for 1st, putting Panic 2nd, Fable 3rd, Stellar 4th, Jester 5th, Coty 6th.
Several Bay Teamer teams will be among the 30 championshipi and 10 Versatility teams advancing to the final relay rounds tomorrow. I just couldn't keep up with everything going on, but if you want to read about my own personal experiences and how our team is doing, you can do so at http://www.finchester.org/dogs/dog_diary/
The Performance Speed Jumping and Championship Steeplechase finals were this evening, and it was quite a show of speed and handling. The weather was sweater-cool but calm, perfect for sitting in bleachers and cheering your favortie dogs and handlers.
In fact, it's been sunny and in the high 70s to low 80s all week--sorry all you Bay Areans who are apparently enduring rain. Sunrises and sunsets have been gorgeous every time. I have a couple of photos--actually I have about 500, but who knows when I'll actually sort through them and post them online. Maybe Monday if I'm not wiped from the trip home.
I wrote all the dogs' names and times and places, but it's already 11:30 and I have to be up at 5:30 to shower, pack everything out of the hotel room, stop for ice and cash, and be at the site at 6:30 with enough time to get the dogs settled in, pick up course maps, and be ready for walkthroughs of Power and Speed at 7:00. So I'll just hit some highlights.
Performance 12" won by Spike, a JRT, with a time of 33.75. No Bay Teamers involved.
Performance 8" I didn't write down, shame on me. No Bay Teamers involved.
Performance 16" was particularly exciting for the handlers' drive, the speed of the dogs, and the bay teamers competing. Steeplechase events run in reverse seed order based on their earlier placements, and the first two dogs Eed, then Tooney the Aussie set a pace of 36.98, beaten two dogs later by Bay Team's Dave Grubel in another athletic handling experience with Tahoe, coming in clean at 35.37. Mesa the ?? gave it a good shot but couldn't beat Dave & Tahoe with a time of 35.99, then Bay Team's Jim Basic ran Wicked with a smooth and experienced handling style, racking up a beautiful 34.42 time with 1 dog left to go--who had problems with the weaves and fell way back, placing Wicked 1st, Tahoe 2nd, Mesa 3rd, Tooney 4th, and Max 5th.
Performance 22" had several Es, including Linda Mecklinberg's experienced champion Awesome and Bay Team's Sandy Roger's young but zippy Ty. The interesting thing about this class was that not one of the three top placers onthe finalist's podium was a border collie--Jazz the flat-coat was first at 35.17, followed by Gracie the Aussie and Player the Golden.
Steeplechase 12" had 8 dogs, none of them bay teamers. The class was won by Whim the JRT at 34.64; 2nd with Bailey the JRT at 34.77; 3rd with Charlie the papillon at 34.92.
Steeplechase 16" had 12 competitors. Dustin the sheltie ran first with a time of 35.62, which the next 4 dogs failed to beat. Susan Garret with Decaff finally bested them at 35.24, but immediately followed by Marvel the Sheltie (Joe Lavalle) with 34.89 and, 2 dogs later, Taz the Sheltie (Jean Lavalle) at 34.67, and the final dog, Sizzle, stunning the audience with a flawless 33.07 second run.
22" was the largest class with 20 dogs. Razzle the BC started the class with a challenging 33.28, which QUick tried to beat but missed at 33.55. Argos was slower, then a little black dog (Annie?) came in at 33.40. Three dogs later, Bay Team's Silvina Bruera and Maja displayed lovely teamwork with a run of 32.62, raising more cheers from the rowdy crowd. Flash the BC follwed, also breaking 32, at 32.84, leaving Maja the leader even when Bay Team's Jim Basic and Wicked blazed through the course at 32.75, with 11 dogs stilll to go. How low can you go? The next 6 dogs either had bobbles or Es, including Bay Team's Nancy Gyes' youngster Mace, who Eed early, but Nancy showed the amazing resilience and resolve of an experienced handler and used the rest of the run to proof their Aframe contact and handling around the course. With 4 dogs to go, Lightning, purportedly a Sheltie, broke the bank at 31.96 with no faults, and although Typhoon the BC came in at 32.64 and Sybil the BC at 31.10 (but got called on the Aframe) and Pickle at 32.51 gave it a try, Lightning held the 1st place, followed by Pickle, Maja, Typhoon, Spy, Flash, Jazz, Annie, Quick, and Sterling.
26" had 12 competitors, with lots of Friends of Bay Team (FOBT) and Bay Teamers. BTer Rob Michalski and Hobbes started the group with a time of 39.19, followed by FOBT Greg Leal and Coty (father of Bay Team dogs Boost and Bette and who knows how many others) at 36.28. FOBT Aiko ran at 36.37 but got an Aframe call, FLash got an Aframe call, then Linda Mecklinberg and Steller came in at 33.11, setting a new pace for the 26ers; the next 2 dogs couldn't beat it, then BT Nancy Gyes and Panic drove the audience to a frenzy with a time of 32.69; FOBT Rachel Sanders and Fable drove hard and handled smoothly all the way through but just missed Panic's time, coming in at 32.86. Slick followed with a bar down, and then Juice shut them all down with a clean 31.69 for 1st, putting Panic 2nd, Fable 3rd, Stellar 4th, Jester 5th, Coty 6th.
Several Bay Teamer teams will be among the 30 championshipi and 10 Versatility teams advancing to the final relay rounds tomorrow. I just couldn't keep up with everything going on, but if you want to read about my own personal experiences and how our team is doing, you can do so at http://www.finchester.org/dogs/dog_diary/
Friday, November 03, 2006
Original sender: Ellen----
More results from Thursday.
Correction from Wed's Time Gamble: Annie Alles did not place 7th; it was another Annie. (I double-checked the entry number and did a bad job of it. Sorry about that.)
All of Thursday's results are posted at http://usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=357. And there are Friday's course maps, analyses of the courses, and more at http://usdaa.com/news.cfm
The preliminary round (semifinals) of the Steeplechase seemed to be designed more to eliminate competitors than to create a spectacularly fast course, and eliminate they did. Many fine dogs bit the offcourse tunnel straight after obstacle #2, a straight tunnel pointing right at it. There were other interesting places to go offcourse in that same section of the course, both at the beginning and the end.
Bay Teamers and friends (again, near as I can tell; too much of a crowd and limited access here at the site for me to leisurely read results...will check online tonight) making the cut for the finals:
The finals will be held Saturday evening.
This is the Performance Steeplechase. Bay Teamers and friends moving on to the finals:
This is the oldies-but-goodies Grand Prix--dogs over the age of 8 who have previously made it to at least the semifinals of previous Grand Prixs. They run only a semifinal and a final. So yesterday's reports (Junior, Heather, Cruiser, Riot, and Wicked, Pivot, and Wog, all made the cut for the finals in the Vet Grand Prix.
The Performance Grand Prix runs like the regular grand prix--quarterfinals, semis, and finals.
crud, need to recheck AGAIN...
Four reds were required in the opening, and the high-point seven consisted of a jump-wrap to the weaves, so it wasn't practical for anyone to do four 7s in the opening--it became a handling course, which is nice, compared to simply a speed race through the 7-pointer.
Bay Teamers and friends in the ribbons:
Huh--my notes aren't making a lot of sense. Dbl check.
Flint Mahood 8" 2nd
The first part of the course lulled you into a false sense of doability, then threw in some tricky tunnel call-offs and serpentiney thingies that caught a lot of people.
Another challenging course, although the most-challenging part was another serpentiney thing going into the hard side of a tunnel afterwards.
Sorry I don't have individual results for the team events. Several Bay Team teams were in the vicinity of the top 20 of 208 teams (20 will be in the finals on Saturday), but I didn't write them down, either; required way too much time sitting in front of USDAA's official computer screen trying to read it before it scrolled on to something else. So I'm behind...
Bay teamers & friends qualifying for the semifinal round tomorrow (this doesn't include those who previously earned byes into the semis).
26" Aiko Cochrane 2nd
26" Kidd Chadwick 9th
26" Ana Bickel 12th
26' Cappuccino Richards 23rd
26" Coty Leal 31st
26" Trane Kambeitz, 33rd
26" Brenn Chandler, 34th (38 dogs moved up)
Very sorry, didn't get the rest of the heights.
Scribbled some notes but I think I'm getting indecipherable even to myself. I think you'll have to hire a new reporter.
Several Bay Teamer dogs were in the semifinals but I never did find the list onsite.
The final round ran this evening starting at 7:00. Gail Mahood and good reliable Flint were the 3rd seeded 8-inch dog going into the finals, and ran a solid, clean run that only one other dog managed to beat, so they took a 2nd place in the Performance National Standard (Grand Prix) championship, topping a week in which they won all of their events at the Corgi Nationals and ended up as the #1 corgi for the show. Pretty good for an ancient dog!
In the 16-inch group, Sharon Freilich showed her usual grace and confidence on course with Rip, running nicely except for one unfortunate offcourse, on a course that caused a large percentage of dogs of all heights to go offcourse or knock bars or miss weave entries in an attempt at phenomenal speeds.
Also at 16 inches, Dave Grubel turned his baseball cap backwards, set Tahoe up, and flew around the course performing crosses hitherto unknown to mere mortals. Their run was flawless, but missed first place by .01 of a second, still taking an awesome 2nd place.
Watching these performance dogs and handlers move around the course, it became clear that this is not your father's performance dog event--these are superb competitors and phenomenal dogs, just running at a lower jump height and with that lowered A-frame.
More results from Thursday.
Correction from Wed's Time Gamble: Annie Alles did not place 7th; it was another Annie. (I double-checked the entry number and did a bad job of it. Sorry about that.)
All of Thursday's results are posted at http://usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=357. And there are Friday's course maps, analyses of the courses, and more at http://usdaa.com/news.cfm
Thurs. Steeplechase Semis
The preliminary round (semifinals) of the Steeplechase seemed to be designed more to eliminate competitors than to create a spectacularly fast course, and eliminate they did. Many fine dogs bit the offcourse tunnel straight after obstacle #2, a straight tunnel pointing right at it. There were other interesting places to go offcourse in that same section of the course, both at the beginning and the end.
Bay Teamers and friends (again, near as I can tell; too much of a crowd and limited access here at the site for me to leisurely read results...will check online tonight) making the cut for the finals:
- 26" Fable Sanders, 3rd
- 26" Panic Gyes, 4th
- 26" Aiko Cochran, 9th
- 26" Coty Leal, 11th
- 26" Hobbes Michalski, 12th (twelve 26" dogs made the cut)
- 22" Spy Basic, 12th
- 22" Maja Bruera, 14th (twenty 22" dogs made the cut)
The finals will be held Saturday evening.
Thurs. Performance Speed Jumping Semis
This is the Performance Steeplechase. Bay Teamers and friends moving on to the finals:
- 22" Ty Rogers, 1st
- 16" Wicked Gyes/Basic, 2nd
- 16" Tahoe Grubel, 4th (eight 16" dogs made the cut)
Thurs. Veteran Grand Prix Semis
This is the oldies-but-goodies Grand Prix--dogs over the age of 8 who have previously made it to at least the semifinals of previous Grand Prixs. They run only a semifinal and a final. So yesterday's reports (Junior, Heather, Cruiser, Riot, and Wicked, Pivot, and Wog, all made the cut for the finals in the Vet Grand Prix.
Thurs. Performance Grand Prix Quarterfinals
The Performance Grand Prix runs like the regular grand prix--quarterfinals, semis, and finals.
crud, need to recheck AGAIN...
Thurs. Team Snooker
Four reds were required in the opening, and the high-point seven consisted of a jump-wrap to the weaves, so it wasn't practical for anyone to do four 7s in the opening--it became a handling course, which is nice, compared to simply a speed race through the 7-pointer.
Bay Teamers and friends in the ribbons:
- 16" Luka 4th, 52 pts
- 22" Mace Gyes, 1st, 57 pts
- 22" Maja Bruera, 2nd, 55
- 26" Panic Gyes, 5th, 52
- 26" Fable Sanders, 6th, 50
Thurs. Veteran/Performance Snooker
Huh--my notes aren't making a lot of sense. Dbl check.
8" Junior Auzenne 8" 2nd (ribbons only 1st place)
12" Heather Leggett 3rd (ribbons only 1st)
16" Cruiser Johnson, 2nd
16" Wicked Gyes/Basic, 5th
16" Riot Gyes, 6th
22" Wog Gaiser, 5th
Thurs. Performance Team Snooker
Flint Mahood 8" 2nd
Fri. Team Standard
The first part of the course lulled you into a false sense of doability, then threw in some tricky tunnel call-offs and serpentiney thingies that caught a lot of people.
Fri. Team Jumpers
Another challenging course, although the most-challenging part was another serpentiney thing going into the hard side of a tunnel afterwards.
Fri. Team Overall
Sorry I don't have individual results for the team events. Several Bay Team teams were in the vicinity of the top 20 of 208 teams (20 will be in the finals on Saturday), but I didn't write them down, either; required way too much time sitting in front of USDAA's official computer screen trying to read it before it scrolled on to something else. So I'm behind...
Fri. Grand Prix Quarterfinals
Bay teamers & friends qualifying for the semifinal round tomorrow (this doesn't include those who previously earned byes into the semis).
Very sorry, didn't get the rest of the heights.
Fri. Veterans Grand Prix
Scribbled some notes but I think I'm getting indecipherable even to myself. I think you'll have to hire a new reporter.
Fri. Performance National Standard Finals
Several Bay Teamer dogs were in the semifinals but I never did find the list onsite.
The final round ran this evening starting at 7:00. Gail Mahood and good reliable Flint were the 3rd seeded 8-inch dog going into the finals, and ran a solid, clean run that only one other dog managed to beat, so they took a 2nd place in the Performance National Standard (Grand Prix) championship, topping a week in which they won all of their events at the Corgi Nationals and ended up as the #1 corgi for the show. Pretty good for an ancient dog!
In the 16-inch group, Sharon Freilich showed her usual grace and confidence on course with Rip, running nicely except for one unfortunate offcourse, on a course that caused a large percentage of dogs of all heights to go offcourse or knock bars or miss weave entries in an attempt at phenomenal speeds.
Also at 16 inches, Dave Grubel turned his baseball cap backwards, set Tahoe up, and flew around the course performing crosses hitherto unknown to mere mortals. Their run was flawless, but missed first place by .01 of a second, still taking an awesome 2nd place.
Watching these performance dogs and handlers move around the course, it became clear that this is not your father's performance dog event--these are superb competitors and phenomenal dogs, just running at a lower jump height and with that lowered A-frame.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Thursday USDAA Nationals Notes
Original sender: Ellen----
I didn't get most of the results from today yet; they weren't posted when I left the site.
In Wednesday's Time Gamble, Bay Teamers finishing in the ribbons and trophies (1st place) that I noticed were:
16" Linda White and Echo, 1st place; C. Dwyer and Callie, 7th. 22", Annie & Kathleen Alles, 7th. 26", Cate-E and Leslie Bickel, 6th. Performance 16", Milou and Caroline Winata, 1st; Tahoe and Dave Grubel, 7th. Performance 22", Diva and Linda Greene, 6th. Complete results are posted here: http://usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=354.
Making it to the finals of the Performance National Standard (Grand Prix) were Cruiser and Sarah Johnson, Riot and Nancy Gyes, and Wicked and Jim Basic. And I think Heather & Kathie Leggett, but I didn't double-check the entry number.
Also running today were the Team Snooker and round 1 (semifinals) of the Steeplechase. I have no results from that yet.
I didn't get most of the results from today yet; they weren't posted when I left the site.
In Wednesday's Time Gamble, Bay Teamers finishing in the ribbons and trophies (1st place) that I noticed were:
16" Linda White and Echo, 1st place; C. Dwyer and Callie, 7th. 22", Annie & Kathleen Alles, 7th. 26", Cate-E and Leslie Bickel, 6th. Performance 16", Milou and Caroline Winata, 1st; Tahoe and Dave Grubel, 7th. Performance 22", Diva and Linda Greene, 6th. Complete results are posted here: http://usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=354.
Making it to the finals of the Performance National Standard (Grand Prix) were Cruiser and Sarah Johnson, Riot and Nancy Gyes, and Wicked and Jim Basic. And I think Heather & Kathie Leggett, but I didn't double-check the entry number.
Also running today were the Team Snooker and round 1 (semifinals) of the Steeplechase. I have no results from that yet.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Wednesday and Awards Dinner
Original sender: Ellen----
Today's "Time Gamble with a Twist" challenged people in a different way. It's described here: http://www.usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=351, with a course map, too, but the essence is that you had to complete a numbered course--with some obstacle choices (somewhat like CPE's Wildcard class)--in as close to 30 seconds (time plus faults) as you could manage. Most folks I spoke to had trouble bringing in a time of much over 20 seconds on the course, and people with faults were ending up closer to the tops of the heaps.
A couple of people's views are expressed in the USDAA blog here: http://blog.usdaa.com/?cat=3
I don't believe that results had been posted here by the end of the day, and I don't see where they're posting results on the web site, but they claim they'll be posted at some point.
The awards dinner showed just how much the sport has grown. With so many dogs competing and so many opportunities to compete, they posted a list of over 50 dogs who had earned their lifetime Bronze awards, about 30 who had earned their Silvers, 21 Gold earners, and seven new Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award earners.
Bronze requires 150 Masters (or P3) Qualifying scores (with certain distribution among classes required). Silver requires 250, Gold is 350, and Platinum is 500. So this is a lot of course walking!
Bay Teamers and local Friends Of Bay Team on the lists:
Bronze:
Cindy Glantz and Jagger
Karey Krauter and Bump
Kathy Leggett and Heather
Katy Robertson and Twig
Sandy Rogers and Brink
Sharon Freilich and Rip (?)
Tania Chadwick and Kidd
Bill Gignac and Bert
Silver:
Candy Gaiser and Bounce (?)
Erika Maurer and Chase
Sarah Johnson and Cruiser
Gold:
Candy Gaiser and Pivot?
Gail Mahood and Flint
Nancy Gyes and Riot
Rob Michalski and Hobbes
Platinum:
Jim Basic and Swift
The Bay Team also had quite a few Top Ten dogs but I'm tired, it's late, I have to be at the site about 6:15 tomorrow--so good night!
Added Wednesday, November 8:
Today's "Time Gamble with a Twist" challenged people in a different way. It's described here: http://www.usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=351, with a course map, too, but the essence is that you had to complete a numbered course--with some obstacle choices (somewhat like CPE's Wildcard class)--in as close to 30 seconds (time plus faults) as you could manage. Most folks I spoke to had trouble bringing in a time of much over 20 seconds on the course, and people with faults were ending up closer to the tops of the heaps.
A couple of people's views are expressed in the USDAA blog here: http://blog.usdaa.com/?cat=3
I don't believe that results had been posted here by the end of the day, and I don't see where they're posting results on the web site, but they claim they'll be posted at some point.
The awards dinner showed just how much the sport has grown. With so many dogs competing and so many opportunities to compete, they posted a list of over 50 dogs who had earned their lifetime Bronze awards, about 30 who had earned their Silvers, 21 Gold earners, and seven new Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award earners.
Bronze requires 150 Masters (or P3) Qualifying scores (with certain distribution among classes required). Silver requires 250, Gold is 350, and Platinum is 500. So this is a lot of course walking!
Bay Teamers and local Friends Of Bay Team on the lists:
Bronze:
Silver:
Gold:
Platinum:
The Bay Team also had quite a few Top Ten dogs but I'm tired, it's late, I have to be at the site about 6:15 tomorrow--so good night!
Added Wednesday, November 8:
Bay Teamers Arrive in Scottsdale
Original sender: Ellen----
Well--we're here. Diana and I drove through the day Tuesday, arrived about 10:00 last night. The trip was completely uneventful; didn't even encounter traffic worth mentioning going through Los Angeles.
Today Ellen isn't competing, so she'll have to register after noon; Diana is competing in the Time Gamble with Callie (the only event scheduled for today), so she'll have to check in before noon and then walk the course and, eventually, run it this afternoon.
So today it's mostly finding our crating area and setting up, and then the awards dinner in the evening. That's the news on the spot...
Well--we're here. Diana and I drove through the day Tuesday, arrived about 10:00 last night. The trip was completely uneventful; didn't even encounter traffic worth mentioning going through Los Angeles.
Today Ellen isn't competing, so she'll have to register after noon; Diana is competing in the Time Gamble with Callie (the only event scheduled for today), so she'll have to check in before noon and then walk the course and, eventually, run it this afternoon.
So today it's mostly finding our crating area and setting up, and then the awards dinner in the evening. That's the news on the spot...
Monday, October 30, 2006
Bay Teamers Packing and Heading Out
I count 52 Bay Teamers who will be competing or attending the USDAA Cynosports Agility World Championships in Scottsdale, AZ this week. Some are leaving today, some (including me and my rideshare, Diana) heading out early Tuesday, still others leaving later on Tuesday and driving down leisurely over two days. Some of it depends on whether they entered the optional Time Gamble event on Wednesday; many of us didn't, so don't actually start competing until Thursday.
This will be an unusual trip for me because my right knee's medial and lateral menisci are torn, I'm in pain, and I'll probably have arthroscopic surgery sometime after I return. It will be hard--if not impossible--to run with my dogs, despite having worked hard to qualify Tika in everything again this year. Had I known that my knee would go out, I could've saved a ton on entry fees and classes! Why does no one fill me in on these things? The pathetic knee could make it--um--interesting getting around the huge site and competing. On the other hand, if I choose to use the really potent drugs in my suitcase, everything might just have the rosiest glow ever. Between the knee and the drugs, this all might give me a unique perspective on the whole event.
I've been staring at the "whittled down" stack of stuff that I need to fit into my car along with 5 decent-sized dogs and all of Diana's necessary stuff, too. Even with a car-top carrier (thanks, Arlene!), I don't know how this will all go. It's even more challenging now that I'm trying to also fit (because of my knee) a bicycle, a pair of crutches (which I hope I won't need), and a large cooler to hold plenty of ice for icing.
Plus there's the computer, the video camera, the nifty digital SLR camera (thanks, Erika!)...and Diana's computer, video camera, and regular camera... clothing changes for 6 days; the black pants in case I ever make it to a final round (extremely unlikely this year in particular) but otherwise will never wear; dogfood for all the dogs for 6 days; sheets for all the hotel beds; softcrates and shade fabric and clips; frisbees and riot tugs; running shoes; spare shoes; 6 days' supply of human-style bottled water and diet noncaffeine sodas; water bottles and buckets for the dogs; chairs for us; ... it just goes on and on and the car is bursting at its little welded seams. I even went so far as to remove all maps that I wouldn't be using on this specific trip and I got radical and vacuumed so that those little bits of gravel and twigs wouldn't take up perfectly viable molecules of packing space.
Well--here goes, anyway. If I get a chance, I'll try posting briefly Wednesday morning before we head out for the Westworld equestrian center.
Read Karey's and Tania's and other official USDAA reporters' USDAA blogs here: http://usdaa.com/news.cfm; they will also in theory post results as they're available.
This will be an unusual trip for me because my right knee's medial and lateral menisci are torn, I'm in pain, and I'll probably have arthroscopic surgery sometime after I return. It will be hard--if not impossible--to run with my dogs, despite having worked hard to qualify Tika in everything again this year. Had I known that my knee would go out, I could've saved a ton on entry fees and classes! Why does no one fill me in on these things? The pathetic knee could make it--um--interesting getting around the huge site and competing. On the other hand, if I choose to use the really potent drugs in my suitcase, everything might just have the rosiest glow ever. Between the knee and the drugs, this all might give me a unique perspective on the whole event.
I've been staring at the "whittled down" stack of stuff that I need to fit into my car along with 5 decent-sized dogs and all of Diana's necessary stuff, too. Even with a car-top carrier (thanks, Arlene!), I don't know how this will all go. It's even more challenging now that I'm trying to also fit (because of my knee) a bicycle, a pair of crutches (which I hope I won't need), and a large cooler to hold plenty of ice for icing.
Plus there's the computer, the video camera, the nifty digital SLR camera (thanks, Erika!)...and Diana's computer, video camera, and regular camera... clothing changes for 6 days; the black pants in case I ever make it to a final round (extremely unlikely this year in particular) but otherwise will never wear; dogfood for all the dogs for 6 days; sheets for all the hotel beds; softcrates and shade fabric and clips; frisbees and riot tugs; running shoes; spare shoes; 6 days' supply of human-style bottled water and diet noncaffeine sodas; water bottles and buckets for the dogs; chairs for us; ... it just goes on and on and the car is bursting at its little welded seams. I even went so far as to remove all maps that I wouldn't be using on this specific trip and I got radical and vacuumed so that those little bits of gravel and twigs wouldn't take up perfectly viable molecules of packing space.
Well--here goes, anyway. If I get a chance, I'll try posting briefly Wednesday morning before we head out for the Westworld equestrian center.
Read Karey's and Tania's and other official USDAA reporters' USDAA blogs here: http://usdaa.com/news.cfm; they will also in theory post results as they're available.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Random Facts for your Trip to Scottsdale
Tidbits about Scottsdale:
(Note that you can click any of the linked text for more information.)
For those traveling from California:
(Note that you can click any of the linked text for more information.)
- Scottsdale elevation: If you're coming from sea-level areas, and you or your dog feel a bit winded when you first arrived, you could blame it on Westworld's elevation, which is around 1500 feet. By comparison, Placerville (where some CA competitions occur) is at about 2000 feet--but most of us haven't been there in a while to practice our higher-altitude acclimatization.
- Scottsdale history: The area was inhabited by Hohokam ("vanished") peoples from about 300 BC to 1400 AD, who built some of the most extensive & ingenious irrigation systems known. When Anglos arrived in the area, the site was a Pima village. In 1868, Jack Swilling set up the first Anglo company to do business in the Valley of the Sun area as the Swilling Irrigation Canal Company, making use of the existing network of canals. In 1888, a U.S. Army chaplain named Winfield Scott bought the area for $2.50 an acre, and his brother, George Washington Scott, started the town known briefly as Orangedale before being renamed Scottsdale in 1894.
- Geology: The McDowell Mountains rise dramatically above Scottsdale, formed from Precambrian basaltic rocks dating back about 2 billion years. The tallest, McDowell Peak, is about 1230 meters (4023 feet) above sea level.
- Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright established his winter home at the base of the McDowell Mountains in 1937, eventually building Taliesin West. He designed many buildings in the area, and there is a Wright memorial in northern Scottsdale. In 1951, Scottsdale had a population of about 2000; today, it's 222,000.
For those traveling from California:
- Tejon Ranch: You might have noticed that there's a "now entering Tejon Ranch" sign a ways before you start up the Grapevine to Tejon Pass, and also that the rest area near the top of the pass is still within the ranch. How big is that place anyway? According to its web site: "With over 270,000 acres, Tejon Ranch is the largest contiguous expanse of land under single ownership in California. Its 426 square miles make it larger than the City of Los Angeles and about 40% the size of Rhode Island."
- Windmill farm on I-10: This windmill farm, located in the San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs, has over 4000 windmills generating electricity for Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. If you happen by when you're not in a rush, you can get a tour of the place.
