Course Practice

I really wanted another crack at the Mia Grant Masters Series course that we ALMOST ran right last weekend. Here's the original version: 

Everything went great, until he came out of the tunnel under the dog walk looking at me, and I had to step in and support 9 longer than I wanted to. Then as I stepped back to clear the tunnel, it cued him to take the tunnel. We muddled along for a bit, trying to get back in rhythm, and by the weaves we got it, and 13-19 was lovely. So I really didn't want to try to run the SAME course, but I wanted to try that bit again, in the middle of A course. So here's a variation I came up with, with no teeter or A-frame:

And again, 1-7 was perfect, and I loved the ending, our progress on wraps in situations like 15 has really come a long way and I loved how a simple move, just shaping the line with a V-set at 18, made a really nice efficient line, no spinning required. But getting him to send to jump 8 while staying back enough to be able to cue the dog walk AND get to the end was the tough part. At the trial, the judge even said (after we all ran) she left that part set up for her students for a long time, working all the variations. And the key was to get the send to that jump from a distance. It was especially tough in this trial, since it was off in a corner against a wall. They didn't see it very well, light colored jump against a solid white concrete wall. Very tough and something to work on. But I love the skills he's showing on the rest of this.

With Spy and Marron I ran it more like the original, since they didn't run the masters series. Had issues in the same area, Marron I kept getting the tunnel on that discrimination, had to hold back and really push her line, then race to the end of the dog walk, which I just barely made it for the back side. That's ok, we don't do much international stuff, I'm ok with her not having that skill but it was fun to play with and figure out what she would need. I also loved the original ending with her, sending to the back side of 18, trusting her to take it and taking off for the tunnel. A tough skill for her, so I was proud she did that well. I think I'm really using my feet to handle the wraps/reverse wraps much better than I used to. Spy's problem area was actually the discrimination the first time through, 6-7. I was handling the tunnel with dog on my left, then rear crossing it. I eventually figured out how she needed me to cue it, but it's weird, I had to be facing her, completely parallel to her line coming to the tunnel, but cue the tunnel with my left hand or she pulled off it completely. Any rotation of my feet or chest back towards the right and she went up the dog walk at the very last second. But strangely, she had no problem going up the dog walk at 9, when normally she completely defaults to the obstacle closest to me. I can see how at 7 she might go up the dog walk, since once I rear crossed, the new "closest obstacle" would be the dog walk instead of the tunnel, she'd feel that pressure even in the tunnel. So not something about her that I understand. We had a little discussion about the 2o2o on the dog walk. I started mixing up stop/running a few weeks ago, and when she got it perfectly, I thought she would be done training it. Never really practiced the stop in full sequences, so I guess that will be the project going forward.

Two weeks until Regionals. Getting really excited. Practicing my "make mistakes and let them go". I think we'll be ready.