Brax gets Reserve CC at Thames!!

We are so proud of Bracken! We went to Thames show for just the one day this year and didn't expect to do that well as it is such a huge show. Brax surprised us in the morning by getting 3rd in a C6-7 jumping class as it was a fast course and she went wide in a couple of places. She was a bit cheeky in the agility which was the first class of the day but once she was e'd, Matthew used the opportunity to practice layering which is not Brackens strong point!

In the Champs, the courses were very interesting in that there was a good combination of straight runs and very tight turns. Not many dogs went clear and Brax got faults but managed not to get eliminated on the jumping or agility rounds. One of the trickiest bits was a straight tunnel and weaves side by side. In the agility the dog had to go from the tunnel round into the weaves but in the jumping the handler had to call the dog back after the tunnel and start the weaves from the other direction (I know I'm not explaining this very well!) Quite a few dogs got eliminated on this bit but lucky for us Brax has never been that interested in tunnels!!

Matthew was third to run in the final but there were so many good dogs in there that we didn't hold out much hope! He went clear and I don't think I breathed at all while they ran! Watching the rest was equally nerve wracking, although the tunnel into weaves bit still caught a few people out as did a straight line of jumps into a 270 left turn. Anyway, despite the quality of the dogs in the final and a few clears, the only one that went clear faster than Brax was a stunning run by Scout handled by Greg Derrett. To be fair he was 3 seconds faster but he is about twice her size!!

Ironically, when Matthew got presented with the Reserve CC, it had been written out wrong and said 'Matthew Burdett owned by Mountland Made in Heaven'. Hehe, thats about right really!

I am so very proud of Matthew and our little sheltie girlie. He has worked so hard with her to get her consistent in the ring and when he started competing her in Grade 1 a couple of years ago she was a cheeky madam! Ok, she still is but we love her to bits and she will always be our champion :)

JDA Show

We have had a very busy 3 days at our club show JDA. It went really well despite being incredibly hot and everyone involved did such a fab job. I was on ring party and it was fun helping set out the courses and getting to put some faces to names meeting people.

Brodie ran ok but wasn't on full power for the weekend probably due to the hot weather. If I hadn't had a cooler coat on him I doubt I would have run him at all as he is so bad in the heat. Having said that he won the graded 3-5 agility on friday so at least that confirms that him winning at Nottingham wasn't a fluke! He also got a couple of 2nds and a couple of 4ths which I was really pleased with considering the weather.

Bracken had some cracking runs that were just out of the placings but she did get a very well deserved 2nd on a tricky agility course. Well dones must go to Lian and Sizzle who have gone grade 7, Miranda with her amazing shelties who did a 1,2,3 in an agility class, Lisa and Tyler who had some amazing placings and Angie with young Midge who has gone Grade 5. Sorry to anyone I didn't mention but my brain was fried over the weekend!! Thanks to Lian for sending me some funny pics of my two woofs! The final pic is Brodie with two of his relations, Sizzle and Skye - aren't they similar?!

Brodie goes Grade 6!!

Quick update as I have got way too much housework that I should be doing after our busy weekend! Brodie had his first show for a month and it was also his first show competing at Grade 5. I was worried that he wouldn't cope but he only went and WON the graded 5-7 agility!! I'm sooooo proud of him :)
It was a great course as well, probably the most challenging I've done with him at a show. In fact he went clear in all five classes over the two days (Nottingham and Packington) and we both really was enjoying being back doing agility. He also came 2nd in the G5-7 jumping at Nottingham and got a 5th in the C4-5 despite me not having walked the course! Poor dog doesn't have a hope really!!
At Packington he did two classes, he came 6th in the C4-7 agility which I was really pleased with as there were some very fast collies in our class. He went clear in the jumping as well but it was a very fast course and his wee legs just weren't fast enough!!

Brax did really well on the saturday at Nottingham as she got through to the Champ final and came 4th, superstar pocket rocket! The rest of the weekend we don't think she was feeling great as her stomach was making some very odd noises :(
Anyway, better go do some washing...

New cool coat!

Brodie got his new cool coat today and looks very smart wearing it. Typically the weather is now rubbish and cool coat may be redundant for this weekend! At least I'll be prepared! Brodie had a bath today and looks very posh, he had so much dead hair blasted out of him that he looks half the size!

There is a pic of my clean pony who also had a bath this week!

Catch up!

I have felt a bit lost for the past couple of weeks with no agility competitions to do! Having said that, I have had fun doing other things instead. Last saturday I went to Royal Windsor Horse show with some friends and we had great fun shopping and wandering round watching all the beautiful horses.

Brodie had a visit from the physio last week and she found that he was VERY tight in his hindquarters and back. He also had a sore patch behind his shoulders and in his neck. He wasn't sure to begin with but once Caroline produced some treats he decided that she wasn't too bad! She was great and as soon as she had finished he stood up, had a good shake and did his 'meerkat' impression to see what was on the table! He hasn't been able to do that since falling off the dog walk so it was so cool watching him realise that he could move again! His first competition since Vyne will be next weekend so it'll be interesting to see how he copes. He'll probably be wild!!

Brax had a fun day at BATS on saturday and did really well getting a 4th in the C5-7 agility and a 9th in the C5-7 jumping. Considering the size of the classes, she did so well. We have always said that she is solar powered though!! Huge well dones to Lian and Sizz, Megan and Hattie and Lisa and Tyler for their places. Sorry if I missed anyone out, its hard not being able to go when its such a local show!

Matthew and I had a very relaxing day off yesterday. We walked the dogs round the common in our village and there was a fete on which had morris dancers, stalls and a random cow grazing on the common! The dogs weren't bothered about any of it and I think the thing they found most exciting was meeting another sheltie!!

I went for a ride this morning for the first time in two weeks as Max has had a couple of niggles and has also had the physio out who found he was very tight in his neck. He was so hot after walking round the block that I gave him a bath. Wow did he need it! (I have tried to upload some photos but blog is not playing ball so they'll have to wait!)

Beacon and Tunbridge Wells

Brax has had a good but exhausting weekend going to Beacon on saturday and Tunbridge Wells on sunday. She did really well in the Champ jumping coming 4th but got an E in the champ agility. It is those pesky tunnels under A frames, so we must do some more work on obstacle discrimination! Clever sheltie also got a 6th in C5-7 jumping but unfortunately the small ESSC team didn't get placed. The medium ESSC team however, came 2nd so well done to them!

On the sunday, Brax did a very nice run in C6-7 agility to earn another 6th place and she went clear in the team event. I got to run her for the first time in competition in the C1-7 Olympia Agility which was great fun! And we went clear!! We were just out of the places but I was very pleased to get her round quite a tricky course. We have filmed some of her rounds but I haven't worked out how to put them on the blog yet! A big well done to Lisa and Tyler, Lynne and Hattie and Eleanor and Smo who all got top ten placings in the Medium Olympia 1-7.

As for Brodie, he is still not right. He was given a quick assessment yesterday at the show by a therapist who confirmed that he is very tight and needs a proper treatment. He is still not cocking his leg properly or trotting freely so I won't do agility with him until I know that he is 100%.

Brax 1st Champ Class!!

We have had such a busy weekend that I don't know where to start!! On sunday we went to the Sheltie Agility show which thankfully was inside as the weather was terrible. The dogs were soooo excited about all the other shelties being there! Many thanks must go to the working section committee, especially show sec Lian who had to endure the electronic timing not turning up (second time this has happened at sheltie show). We had a great time and Brodie did really well getting a 3rd and 4th (3-5 and 1-4) in the jumping classes and a 2nd in the agility (3-5). The icing on the cake was being awarded Best Medium Novice in show!! He won the Best Medium starter last year so I'm so pleased he is still consistent!! Brax was a good girly and won the pairs with Saturn and also got a 2nd in the 5-7 jumping and 2nd in the 6-7 jumping. After the show a few of us went out to a local pub for a meal which was a nice way to unwind and catch up!
On the Monday we went to Vyne KC show and had a day of mixed emotions to say the least. It was Brackens first champ class so poor Matthew spent the morning looking very pale and like he needed a couple of strong drinks! Brax had an agility class in the morning and despite being e'd early on, he carried on to make sure she got her contacts. Her jumping class was amazing, she absolutely flew and ended up 3rd in the C6-7 jumping against some very fast dogs despite it being a fast dog course without all the turns she needs to make up time!

Brodie on the other hand was not having such a great day. His first class was the C1-7 Olympia agility and the start was jump then dog walk. Well he went off like a rocket and I still don't know what happened but he fell off the top plank. I think it was the wind probably combined with him being in mid air and he isn't a heavy dog, weighing in at just under 7kg. I put him straight back over it as he can be such a nervous boy that I wanted him to 'get back on the horse' and he seemed fine going over again. Not surprisingly he is very stiff today especially through his back so I am going to get him looked at by a physio before I run him again. His wonderful Auntie Lian has lent us a Back on Track coat which is helping his circulation -thank you!! I just hope that when he runs again that he is not nervous about the dog walk.

Anyway, Brodie being out of action for his other two classes meant that I could concentrate on Brax doing her champ class. Matthew felt better having walked the jumping (oooh it was fun getting to walk it without the stress of doing it!!) and Brax went in there and did a stonking run going clear. It rained and hailed between the jumping and agility but fortunately stayed nice for Brax's agility round. I couldn't believe it, she went clear which put her through to the final! The final wasn't held until 6.30pm by which time everyone was frozen and wanting to head home but the Brax fan club were still going strong! We couldn't believe it but again she went clear in the final and ended up 7th which was only one out of the placings! She is the smallest, naughtiest little sheltie with the biggest attitude but we think she is the best girly!! We are so proud of her to come so far, from our first agility dog who would NOT weave or do contacts to going clear in a champ class!! We love you Brax :)
These runs were caught on camera by Colin and Lian