GWPCA AGILITY MATCH The
1 st
When looking at the catalog of results from our first GWPCA Agility event, the bare numbers do not do justice to the fun we had. Sure only one dog out of 17 received a qualifying score but did you see the also-rans? There was the dog that circled the ring three times, took a tunnel twice and leaped over 3 obstacles to rejoin his handler. There was that priceless moment when a ballistic Wire teetered on one paw on the Pause Table trying not to fall off and managed to pull it off. There was the dog fresh out of the hunt test who knew there were quail under the Uhaul and jumped the ring gates to look for them. There was the puppy that jumped on the judge, did three obstacles, licked the ring stewardfs face and did three more obstacles. How about young Stacie Dec and her speed demon dog J.J .. And what about the dog whose down on the table was more like a slow roll-over with a grin on her fuzzy face? You had to be there. Judge Nancy Williams said, "This is the most fun I've ever had." She started the Jack Russell Terrier Club in this sport but the GWPs put on a show to eclipse those little maniacs. The spectators were wonderful with laughs and cheers to egg the dogs on to greater deeds of agility mayhem. Those dogs really love a crowd.
Congratulations to Carol Piette and Buckwheat in garnering the only qualifying ribbon for 20" Jumpers with Weaves. Congratulations to all the competitors who gave it their all and patiently waited while we set course after course. Thank you to Barbara Boes and Dick Piette for doing that score table job that nobody else wanted. Carol Piette did double duty as course builder and scribe. Len Stirling timed for most of the match until he had to leave for the hunt test and then Randy Berry was recruited out of the audience. Thank you Sheri Graner Ray for capturing the fun on video and staying to support us even though the dog stayed home. A big thanks to the green shirts from Michigan for their support and help in reloading that Uhaul (Linda Blanchard, Barbara and Bob Hein, Pat McGowan, Lori Sargent, and Sue Owen). What a super group of people! Chris Buck and Adele patiently ran the gate and made those great dog cookies. Carol Anderson
helped whenever Linda Strothman
she could. Thanks for those adorable
Halloween squeakie toys. Linda Krepak set up, packed up and ran her first open course all in the same day, and Eileen Newsome saw to it that we had gorgeous orange sweatshirts to wear. A big thank you also to Judy Cheshire and Bernee Brawn who lobbied to have agility at the Nationals and got it done. Nancy Williams rewrote all of her courses to accommodate the altered ring configuration and then guided her crew through course-building and other tasks with patience and humor. She really enjoyed our dogs. We had a good start. Agility is on the agenda for the next Nationals. You may have to compete with otl1er breeds but there will be legs and titles to be garnered. And as we learned at Sumerduck, all the handlers end up doing something at the show to make it work. Regina Schwabe, Agility Match Chairman