On Friday evening, I began to have my doubts if both teams would be racing. Bazil had gone lame, Badger had been bitten on the foot, and I wouldn't like to rely on Breeze for a full days racing, not forgetting Jan who had 'bumped' her car, and needed a lift - my car was full up! Luckily Tina and Andy came to the rescue, and we all got there safely (in the gale force winds, even if Jan and Jim had to drive under a tree trunk to get to Claire!)
Allsorts (Molly, Eddie, Badger, Breeze, Ben & Lady) were in Div 2, with their current seed time of 19.99, which I didn't think we would be to far off, if we had Bazil on the team! Our first race was against the Wolf Pack. We were on the blue lane, when Eddie decided he didn't really care to play on that lane today! But when he ran as 5th dog he was paw perfect! We lost 3-0. Next up were the Killa Bytes. Today they didn't have Oggie, which was to our advantage, and we won 3-0. Our final morning race was against Malvern. Again we were on the blue lane, and we had some very close racing, with Eddie teasing us, as to how he was going to play this race! We did manage to win this one 3-1.
Hotdogs (Abby, Spencer, Monty, Barley & Boots!) were seed 1 in Div 1. First up, the Jumping Jacks, and we managed to win 3-0. Next up the Buccaneers, and again another good win 3-1. The teams had some excellent racing, with only about 0.03sec separating them on two occasions!
During the lunch break, we had starters pairs. First on were Boots and Rosie. They both raced well, and won their first two races. They then had a short break for the next 'div', which Ollie and Bailey were taking part in. They lost the first race, and the next pair were NFC, so in effect Ollie and Bailey won that one. Again, both dogs ran extremely well, (much to Rachels relief I think!). Back came Boots and Rosie. They won the 3rd race, but lost the 4th. Even so, they both ran well, especially Rosie, who hardly looked at the opposition (although she was aware of them!). They came 2nd with a best time of 11.56. And finally Ollie and Bailey. They lost the 3rd race, and looked to be on for a win in the 4th race, when it was declared to the other pair, as Bailey had been handed the ball. They came 4th in their Div with a best time of 11.76. Both dogs ran brilliantly, as they have never competed in such a difficult environment before. It certainly didn't seem to faze them. Well Done to all four!
Back to Allsorts. Anything could happen in the next 2 races. The two teams we were against had both been more than a second faster than us, but also slower than us. So it was really a matter of luck, that we would choose the right dogs, and what dogs they were using! First we were up against the Knights. Again, on the Blue lane, Eddie made his presence known! We lost 3-1! And so finally a new team to us, Snatch and Grab. Racing was very close, but Lady just managed to bring it back for us each time. We won 3-0. Having won 3 of our races, we went into a three way run off.
Hotdogs was on a roll! They returned to the afternoon racing with a win over Bristol Ball-istics. Not that it was uneventful. Barley was having trouble triggering the box, so we had a re-run, once we managed to borrow a box from the Knights. Our hardest race of the day, and the one I expected to loose out to, was Penants Pack. Again, this race was a little eventful, when we managed to break the box we were borrowing! The really awful thing was, that no one wanted to offer us another box! I really don't understand why! So Gwain quickly altered ours just to finish the day off. But as it happened, we lost 3-0 to P. Pack, and you've guessed it, went into a three way run off!
Our first run off was against a tiring Wolf Pack, and we managed to beat them. Then up against the Knights, and having broken their box, it was probably 'sweet revenge' that they beat us! So over all we came 3rd in Div 2, with a best time of 21.33.
And finally, and the end of a very busy day, Hotdogs managed to beat the Jumping Jacks in their run off, but we lost to Penants Pack. So over all we were 2nd in Div 1, with a best time of 18.45.
Out of interest, while Andy was left to watch Hotdogs passes, I missed the racing, to record the dogs' times. Although I think Dave was King of False Starts with Spencer, but when he did start, they were good! They ranged from 0.015 - 0.176. We will have to try and do that again, as it makes interesting reading!
And finally, a big thank you to Tina and Andy, for coming along at such short notice. It was very much appreciated! Breeze and Abby may have gained their new titles - Breeze FDa, and Abby Gold Award. This has not been confirmed, but if they haven't got there, they won't be far off! And to end this eventful day, the exhaust fell off my car coming along the M4! Luckily I had Jan with me, as my mobile battery then ran out whilst speaking to the AA! We eventually arrived home at 9.15pm!