TTCC Trial

It was the Tibetan Terrier Club of Canada's CKC Agility trial at Dreamfields at the weekend.
Power was off on Sunday morning so all the jumpers runs took place outside. Weather was gorgeous! So pleased they ran outside because it meant I could take photos and not have them grainy as hell with a colour cast.
Here they are http://www.muddypawz.net/ttcc_1008
I am also trying out a new service at photostockplus. They have some really nice items at a reasonable price. Shipping's a bit steep for small items, but a bargain for the larger stuff. Here's the same trial on photostockplus
http://muddypawz.photostockplus.com/event_231660

I also took a few head shots of Carol's Stoney. He's 11 and has an oral tumour. Such a handsome boy.

Tyra ran in excellent and get 3 Qs. Two JWW and one Std. She would have had another standard Q if I hadn't been so sick with this cold. First run of the day, I couldn't beat her out of a straight tunnel and got a refusal on the chute :-( . We did all the hard part on course too!

Lots of Ribbons!

It's been ages since I updated the blog and lots has happened over the summer.
The biggest news of all is that Tyra got her ATChC in July with a tremendous performance at AARF. She didn't just get the 3 standard Qs needed for her ATChC that weekend but came home with 4!


Then, we drove to New Brunswick in August for the AAC National Championships. Had a great time and did fairly well on all the courses. The icing on the cake for us was reaching the Steeplechase finals!
Latest news is that Tyra did it again and achieved her Bronze award of merit on Friday again at AARF. Obviously her lucky venue!

Meltdown

Funny how stress creeps up on you and makes you do strange things. We had an agility trial at the Quarryplex Soccer Dome in Kingston this past weekend. Not many Qs but some fairly important ones.
Tanja was recruited to run with Trudy in team. They had earned 2 Qs together at Dreamfields in November. Trudy just needed one more for her title. They had three chances to get it on Sunday. First run, both dogs not very fast, but clean Trudy wouldn't go back in the box for the exchange so that ate up time and we ended up 5 secs over time. Next run, Trudy ran first again. Same thing, wouldn't go back in the box. Finally Michelle caught her and shouted "Go, Go! Go really fast!". Well, we tried. Really stepped on the gas. Unfortunately didn't make up the delay and finished up over time again. Third run. This time Tanja was running first so Michelle wouldn't have to catch Trudy at the end of her run :-) . Well we did it! Michelle happy to have her title at last!
Next tale - Tyra and Keya were partnered in team. Neither dog had any Qs, both needing three for their title. First run, Keya clean, Tyra knocked a bar. Thought we might have been fast enough to make up the fault but didn't dare celebrate until we found out for sure. Turned out we were ~20 seconds~ under course time!! Next run was fast and clear for both teams. Batting 2 for 2 with one to go. Well, the stress was too much. The course looked brutal on paper and we were far from confident. Heather & Keya ran first - the pressure would be on BIG TIME if she ran clean - after all it was for our titles and Keya's ATChC. Stress won out. Heather crossed when she shouldn't have and sent Keya into the wrong end of the tunnel. Game over, pressure was off. It didn't matter how Tyra ran our half of the course. So we ran it with a big smile and threw in some faults of our own along the way :-)
We'll get another chance in April. Stocking up with valium in advance.

Fun Match!

Spent today at an agility fun match at Redgate. Paul ran Indy then had a go at running Tyra. Didn't do half bad! I tried to run Indy but she was more concerned about where Dad was!. Hmm. Will have to try a bit more training with just her in future.

Fun Match

Ran in a fun match this afternoon. Courses were the 2007 Cynosport Grand Prix Finals and the Steeplechase Finals. Did pretty well on contacts but Tyra was struggling with doubles again.

Back to Work

No more vacation days left this year, so in work again.
Anyway, guess what - It's snowing!
Looking pretty white again out there. Should make for interesting driving home and out to RedGate for agility practice. Better make the effort.
Premium lists are out for all Dreamfields trials up to end of May. It's official - my name is written down in black and white - I'm a judge! OK, just a probationer, but still a judge. I know I have loads of time but should think about designing my courses now.

Photo Session

Natalie came round today to show me what she'd learned at a recent lighting lesson with a local photographer. We set up the lights. Main was fairly low, bounced into umbrella with the light set horizontal and positioned to the side of the subject. Fill light was also horizontal, bounced into an umbrella but set as high as possible and placed in the centre behind the camera. Fill light should be set about 1 stop less than the main. I think the lights were set to output a bit too much power. Note to self: Dial down a notch next time. Flash meter was reading f11 at 1/125 and ISO 120. I was aiming for f5.6-6.3 at 1/125 and ISO 100 as ideal. With the overhead room light switched off and just working with ambient and modelling lights, the Mk3 had no trouble focusing. Looking at the preview, noticed a grey rectangle on the lower left of the display. Switched cards and it still appeared so switched over to using the Mk2. Focusing the mk2 was much more difficult in the same light. Shot some pics of Tyra, Ivan and Natalie's dog Sparky. Many mediocre shots. A couple of nice ones but there were some hot spots because of the lights being set to too high a power. Practice makes perfect :-)
Went out to agility practice afterwards and on to Mexi's in Carleton Place. Ready to sleep it off now.

The day after the storm

Sunny but cold. The agility equipment is almost buried. The jumps with the top bar at 26" show how deep the snow is. The upside - the wind isn't as fierce. It's still cold at around -12C but the sun is shining. Makes all the difference!