I knew there was potentially a disaster waiting to happen for this show, 10 days previously. And sure enough, Claire phoned to confirm that both Barley and Badger were not 100% fit having been lame. I was unable to contact Tina and Andy for an SOS, so we were going to have to cope with the dogs we had. And cope extremely well, we did!!
The first problem was we had both teams in Div 1. The second problem was we only had 8 dogs, and thirdly, Dave wouldn't be able to run both Molly and Spencer in different teams, against each other! So we needed another dog to act as Molly on this occasion…………….
Robert and Kay kindly took Hilary, the box and balls to Petersfield! I ran my own little taxi service, squashing in Jan and Eddie in the front of the car, Rachel and Breeze on the back seat (yes, I did put the seat back up for Rachel!) and in the cage was Tosh and our 'Molly stand in'……………….Daisy Dunnit!
So the teams were - Hotdogs - Spencer, Abby, Monty, Breeze and Rosie, Allsorts - Toddy, Bazil, Eddie, Molly and Daisy. With Hotdogs jumping full height, I was almost expecting Allsorts to be slightly faster, with the 3 collies we had. But I still thought both teams would struggle in Div 1. I wasn't sure of the seed time of Snatch and Grab, so I was hoping we could possibly win a race there.
Race 1 - Allsorts 'v' Hotdogs, at least we would get it out of the way! We had our two 'stand by' dogs racing for each team. In the warm up, Daisy looked very keen, and Rosie didn't run out. So onto racing. Toddy put in some good starts, keeping up with Spencer. Baz gave Eddie a slight lead, and he just lost it on the line to Monty, so it was down to the anchor dogs. Daisy reached the box first, but on the return, Rosie just caught site of her, and ran round. The same happened in the second race, so Breeze was brought in for Hotdogs, and we got 2 legs back. It was all down to the last one. Abby got a light for Hotdogs, and it was all over! Allsorts won 3-2. Allsorts's fastest time, with Daisy Dunnit and Hop-a-long Hilary was 21.73 - Brilliant!! Hotdogs managed their fastest of the day 19.96.
Race 2 - Allsorts 'v' Snatch and Grab. Molly took her place back in the team, but we had to try and run her last, as Toddy is at his best going first. And as he has only been to flyball once since his accident (I think?) we decided it was best to keep him first. Although Dave had to 'bowl' Molly down the lane from a short distance, she done very well. And Allsorts managed to beat the opposition 3-2, with a best ever time of 19.47.
Race 3 - Hotdogs 'v' Buccaneers. We didn't have much hope against these today. And lost 3-1, with a best time of 20.31.
Race 4 - Allsorts 'v' Test Valley Raiders. This time, we didn't have much of a chance on flat out speed, but with a little bit of luck (for a change), they kept getting lights, and we won 3-0. Best time 20.18.
Race 5 - Hotdogs 'v' Snatch and Grab. After Allsorts's win, I hoped we were going to have some good racing here. And we did! The 3 collies had to give Breeze a bit of help with a lead, although she seemed able to out stride their last dog on the way back. Racing was close, but we just managed to pull it off, winning 3-2, with a best time of 20.03
Race 6 - Allsorts 'v' Bristol Ball-istics. This is a team that Hotdogs can have some fun racing with, so I wasn't sure how Allsorts would do this time. It probably turned out to be the most exciting race of the day. They were so close. Dave had to push his pass a little more, as their 4th dog was getting out before Molly. But being the good little dog she is turning out to be, she raced it home all the way. We won 3-2, with our best time of the day, and a new best ever time of 19.33.
Race 7 - Hotdogs 'v' Test Valley Raiders. After Allsorts's bit of luck, I was hoping for it to continue for Hotdogs in this one, but not today! In fact this whole race was a disaster for us. We lost 3-1, with a best time of 31.48!
Race 8 - Allsorts 'v' Buccaneers. They were much faster than us, and Anton side tracked me, to ask about Thame, although I think Robert was also watching passes then. We lost 3-0, with a best time of 20.20.
Race 9 - Hotdogs 'v' Bristol Ball-istics. Again, Allsorts managed it, so I hoped we could. Unfortunately this time, the collies couldn't quite give Breeze the lead she needed and we lost 3-1, with a best time of 20.35.
Race 10 - Allsorts 'v' Bad Dog Racers. No hope here, they are 2 secs faster than us. But we must have had them worried as they were getting lights! We lost 3-2, with a best time of 20.07.
Race 11 - Hotdogs 'v' Bad Dog Racers. Again, no hope, unless they pushed their passes again. Rosie was given a chance to race, and she done brilliantly. She got very excited about racing, and watched her team charge up and back, and then done like wise, with out putting a paw out of place! I think it made Kays day! We lost 3-0, with a best time of 20.54.
Rachel had a very busy day. Not only box loading in almost every race of Div 1, but she went on to handle lead dog for Grey Wolves (a Wolfpack team). Robert also box loaded for them.
I think it was probably one of the most enjoyable shows we've had for a while. Our potentially disastrous day, turned out to be brilliant, particularly for Allsorts (who only had one light - not inc. starts! - when Eddie ran round a jump, but only because a dog was too close to the box ). And particularly well done to Toddy, Molly, Daisy and Rosie for running so well (and Hilary for hobbling), not forgetting Eddie, who is making Jan work as hard as he has to!
And where did we come? Allsorts 3rd, best time 19.33, and Hotdogs 7th, best time 19.96. And Molly gained her FDg. Well Done!