This was our first outdoor & camping expedition of the year, and luckily the weather was fairly good for us! By Saturday evening 'camp' had been set up, dogs fed & walked, and we all made our way to J&M's caravan for a piece of Easter Cake, which Claire's mum had kindly bought us! In typical fashion, talk turned to Pete's big tool, which is battery powered, with hammer action (yes, all the men are jealous), and so it all went down hill from there…………..yet again!
Sunday was Allsorts day for racing. Rachel, Tina, Andy & Becky all came for the day. We were in Div 5, seeded 5th.
Race 1: Allsorts 'v' Extrabuccs (Katie, Beau, Alfie, Spencer) - We got off to a flying start winning the first 2 legs. Then the opposition got their act together, and with some flying passes from Spencer, they took the race 3-2 from us. Best time 20.88
Race 2: Allsorts 'v' Bad Dog Frustration (Beau, Ollie, Spencer & Alfie)- Alfie perked up when we swapped the running order around, but unfortunately not enough to beat the opposition! Lost 3-2, best time 21.20.
Race 3: Allsorts 'v' Melton Foxes (Katie, Ollie, Spencer, Alfie)- A straight forward 3-0 defeat! Best time 20.53
Race 4: Allsorts 'v' B. Bandidos (Katie, Ollie, Beau & Alfie) - Poor Alfie had a dog accidently try to run him down in the first race, and we weren't sure he would run afterwards. Luckily, the excitement of flyball helped him get over the incident, although he was a little wary of it happening again. Lost 3-1, best time 20.83.
Race 5: Allsorts 'v' Marsh Cougars (Katie, Beau, Ollie, Spencer) - Oops, they obviously wanted to win a race, and forgot about the seed time. Won 3-1, best time 19.94.
Overall they came 6th in Div 5, with a new seed time of 19.94! Ollie also gained his Silver Award, so Congratulations to Rachel!
In-between times, I had missed my agility, but Wendy & Angel managed a Clear Round in Starters jumping. Tosh, Meg & Ben all had a go at cleverdogs. Wet weather in the afternoon, gave us slippery condition for cleverdogs. Luckily, I put my 'go faster keep me up shoes' on……………..Pete didn't!!!! He released Meg, who flew over the first jump, whilst Pete tried to take his first step, and ended up face first in the mud!…………Much to the delight of his team mates!! Final result: 1st Tosh, 4th Meg, & 6th Ben in Div 2.
As it was a pleasant evening, we decided to brave it and have a BBQ. Katy had arrived with Merlin for her last race with us on Sunday, so joined in the fun & frolics!! Once the evening started to get dark & chilly, we convened in 'The Large Awning' and proceeded to attempt to play Bop-It Extreme………I think 'attempt' definitely describes how we managed to play!! Although Katy & Claire got the hang of it, by remaining calm………! But the excitement of it was obviously too much for Jeff, as he tried to better Pete's fall earlier in the day. It happened so quickly (probably hoping no-one would notice!), I'm not really sure how he ended up staggering across the awning in a brave effort to remain on his feet. But, as usual, it was great entertainment. It's obviously 'a man thing' to do……………..! (Falling over - just ask Andy & Dave!)
Monday was Hotdogs turn in Div 3, seeded 1! Perhaps we had a chance?……..
Race 1: Hotdogs 'v' Wellingborough Red Wellies (Merlin, Tess, Molly & Meg) - first race Tess ran out, so re-ran her, and all was OK, so decided to try in the second race. She ran well, and completed, but unfortunately Merlin had a double false start. So we were 2-0. We just had to hope for a clean run, but Tess had other ideas, and ran out again. So lost 3-0, best time 34.68!! Hopefully, we could only get better!!
Race 2: Hotdogs 'v' Molton Munsters (Merlin, Tosh, Tess & Meg) - first race went well, then Tess returned around the jumps again, so she was pulled out for Molly. We won the next leg, then a light, and finally managed to win the final leg. Won 3-2, best time 19.94
Race 3: Hotdogs 'v' Ball Busters (Merlin, Tosh, Tess, Meg) - Change of lane, so we kept Tess racing, and she didn't put a paw wrong from here on!! We had a light on the first leg, then drew one back, and lost the 3rd. As it was so tight, we pulled Meg out for Molly, and went on to win the next 2 races by a very narrow margin. Won 3-2, best time 19.92
Race 4: Hotdogs 'v' Molton Meteors (Tosh, Tess, Molly & Meg) - Again some very close racing. We went on to win 3-2, best time 19.42
Race 5: Hotdogs 'v' Maple Leaf Raggers (Merlin, Tosh, Tess & Molly) - this was going to be tight, so we pulled out all the stops…………..Oops, just like Allsorts maybe a mistake! Won 3-1, best time 18.88.
Overall they came 2nd in Div 3, with a new seed time of 18.88! Tosh also gained his Silver Award (unconfirmed!).
I think it was just Beau who went off to do some agility & he came 12th in Starters Jumping.
Katie, Spencer & Bailey all went of to do starters cleverdogs. Elaine done well with Katie considering all Katie wanted to do was flyball!! She unfortunately didn't qualify for the Div's, but she was hard work!! Dave tried to impersonate me, and it obviously paid off, as Spencer came 4th!! And Bailey came 6th.
All in all, an excellent weekend to get us going.