Another awful weather forecast ahead of us, but none the less, off went the happy campers, all arriving Friday afternoon. This time the exception was Bob & Sam, as ‘The Labradors’ were spending the night at the vets, having eaten Paris’s thyroid meds! Luckily they are all well…………….
We made the most of Friday evening, sitting outside, all be it a bit chilly – we were determined to enjoy the outdoors!
We had a lazy leisurely Saturday. The weather wasn’t too bad, we went to look around Losely Park House & Gardens, but were too early so went and sussed out which ring was which, watch some racing, and had a look around the few stalls which were there and by the afternoon it was clear enough for a lovely walk at Frensham Small Pond! In the evening we decided to go to the Barn dance. Everyone joined in, Dave swept me off my feet a few times, and we all ended up knackered!! It was a really enjoyable evening. As usual with these events, the toilets became the first focus of attention on the way ‘home’ We finally arrived home at midnight!.......And it started to rain…….
And rain and rain……..And we had to be up early on Sunday, as we had both teams racing. Vicki arrived bright & early having travelled from Dorset, closely followed by Paula & Simon, Bryan & Harvey, Kevin, Sam & Bob (who had just come to watch).
First on were Hotdogs (Molly, Tosh, Tess, Alfie & Beano) in Div 5, seeded 6th.
Race 1: Hotdogs ‘v’ Mansfield Tricks – (Beano, Tosh, Tess, Alfie). First race, Beano took a ball to the box, so had to stop to arrange them in his mouth before returning. 2nd race Tosh got a light, And 3rd race Tess got her own light. But they were faster than us (with lights!), so lost 0-3, best time 25.35...
Race 2: Hotdogs ‘v’ Barkshire Bandidos – (M, Tosh, Tess, Alfie) – Molly behaved going 2nd. Racing was close, no room for errors, and we managed a win 3-2, best time 20.05
Race 3: Hotdogs ‘v’ Kellington Sapphire Blues – (Beano, Mo, Tosh, Tess) decided we had to have a go at beating these, so pulled in all the collies. The 1st race was close……..we had no room for errors…….the lights went amber, the opposition went, their dog went through the start on the green light, and Kevin woke up, and remembered he had to let Beano go!!!!!!!!!On the 2nd race Kevin dropped his roll up packet, which both Vicki & I were worried Molly would use it as an excuse, but no she sailed right over it. I thought Brilliant! Then Dave picked it up, so Molly ran round! Oops! In came Alfie, and we went on to win the race 3-2, best time 19.69
Race 4: Hotdogs ‘v’ Ball Amazonen – Having beaten Kellington Sapphire Blues previously, we decided to give the 4 collies another bash, just in case the opposition made any mistakes! The racing was extremely close. Both sides got false starts, the passes had to be spot on. If we were to win, Tosh had to be out before their Terv…….it was 2-2, the last race, and Tosh went out behind the Terv. I knew we could only match them for speed then. Luckily they pushed their last pass, and got a light, phew! Another win 3-2, best time of the day 19.16……
Race 5: Hotdogs ‘v’ Podlings – (Beano, Mo, Tess, Alfie) They were running consistently slower than us, so we only had to be consistent (ha ha!). Molly ran out, but we gave her a 2nd chance, making us 2-1 down. In came Tosh. We brought it back to 2-2, no probs! Last race of the day……judge turned to ask if we were ready, Kevin nodded……..Judge turned to the lights……..And I saw Beano had a ball in his mouth……….I tired yelling ‘He’s got a ball, and Kevin merrily nodded ‘yes’ to me, ‘He’s got a ball’ as I lurched forward to try to take it, by which time Vicki had also sussed the problem, and just as the light started the sequence, Kevin realised what we had said. Somehow, Kevin managed to yank ball from Beano’s mouth, just as he was going, so he weaved his way up to the line, behind the opposition. Tosh then played catch up, as did Tess, and Alfie just had to maintain the lead we had managed to create, which he did, no problem, and somehow we won it! 3-2, best time 20.33
Wow! What a day’s racing for us. The amount of mishaps we had, we managed to turn it around to our advantage, except for the first race of the day. And so we came 2nd in Div 5, best time 19.16……..
Allsorts (Katie, Archie, Spencer & Meg – and Willow in the warm up) were seed 1 in Div 7. They also had some good close racing, but without the mishaps we had!
Race 1: Allsorts ‘v’ Mansfield Tantrumz - Archie ran 2nd at this show, to save his legs! So we had to sort out his passes. He ran brilliantly (no mistakes this time!), but we still lost 3-0. Best time 20.40
Race 2: Allsorts ‘v’ Quicksteps – And yep, they were just too quick – but only just! !Lost 2-3, best time 20.51
Race 3: Allsorts ‘v’ Racing Herts – Another session of close racing, this time with a win to us! Won 3-2, best time 20.62
Race 4: Allsorts ‘v’ Maple Leaf Stampede – Decided it was Maple Leaf Stampede to beat us this time out!!!!!!!! Lost 2-3, best time 20.42
Race 5: Allsorts ‘v’ Extrabuccs – Yet more close racing. Harvey had got his eye in with passing (and without my help!), and managed to win 3-2, best time 20.71
And so the Allsorts came 4th in Div 7, best time 20.40. Elaine & Katie should have gained their Silver Award, so well done to both. As yet we don’t know for sure if Katie is the first GSD to gain silver, or whether a ‘Northern Dog’ has pipped her to the post……………..well done anyway!
I think we all bought some great photos of the dogs, we received medals for racing & pens. Despite the weather, it was a great w/e of racing. Wished we could’ve watched more of Div 1 on Monday, but at that point we were all well & truly wet!