My trialling last year was incredibly frustrating. I missed two and a half trials due to my poor health (bronchitis and agility do not mix well) and then missed another trial due to my dog's diarrhoea and gale force winds making tenting impossible. So out of 7 trials I had planned, I made it to 3 and a half.
I received one pass only in those trials, although I was only just missing out on many of my runs.
I have been to my first trial for the year last weekend, and had a great time. Three Qualifying runs in one trial, a much better result. All were first places (although we jump in a height class that usually has between 1 and 5 competitors, so first is not that hard), but on two of our clear runs, there were only two qualifying runs out of all the competitors. One more pass and Oscar will have his JD (jumping dog) title. My next trial is a home trial, so fingers are definitely crossed for a home title.
Even if I can't manage any more passes for the year, this will still be a better year. While I hope to move out of novice jumping at our Easter trial, I do not expect to reach high titles with Oscar. It is more that he has fun!
There are definitely things to work on, including Oscar's start stay (an ongoing saga), and I am definitely not the smoothest handler, but we did it and it worked!
I hope these links work, I have never posted a link before like this. Or posted on YouTube either.
