Okay, maybe "grace" isn't the right word to describe Riley's jumping style, but she was responsible for most of the bright moments at the Atlanta Obedience Club's agility trial last weekend. Luckily, she is not affected by the weather so she handled Saturday's storms with no problems. Our first run was Novice Jumpers. She ran the first half perfectly. I debated heavily in my mind about how to handle the opening. I decided to have faith in her training and go with the more technical option and it worked beautifully. As I call her over the first jump after the tunnel, she collects herself for the sharp turn. You can't see it as well on video as I could when she was heading straight for me. Mid course, I got in the way and she landed on me. That messed us up for much of the 2nd half. We did not qualify.The second run is Novice Standard. Riley misjudges the teeter, but unlike Reagan it doesn't ruin her day and she teetered correctly the next day. She also had a refusal (running past an obstacle) at the weave poles. Refusals at weave poles don't count in Novice, but they will in Open. We qualified in this run earning her first agility title, Novice Agility (NA). All in all, another good agility trial day for Riley!
Photo taken by Gary Depp - In Motion Photos.
