Wow! What a great year at NADAC championships! As you can tell by the above picture, Mariah and Brisco did awesome! Jumping to the end result, Mariah competed in the Double Digit small dog division (dogs 10yrs and older) and she took 1st place overall! The double digit class is getting larger every year and it was fun to have all our older dogs out there playing and having a good time. :)
Brisco ran in the Silver Stakes division. Silver Stakes required 60 bonus points from the year in order to enter and even though Brisco was out injured for 4.5 mos, he still managed to pick up 60 bonus points! All height and levels of dogs competed against eachother in Silver Stakes and we ran the same courses as everyone else, but we had two different lines on each course that were worth different points if you handled your dog from behind the line. Brisco and I had our ups and downs, but in the end, Brisco finished in 1st place overall and had the highest proficient bonus points!
The interesting thing about both dogs is that neither one of them earned a single 1st place finish in the individual runs. We came very close and took lots of 2nd place ribbons home, but no blue. I guess finishing in 1st overall makes up for it. Consistency definitely pays off when it's time plus faults scoring.
We had such a blast at Championships this year. This was my 6th year attending champs and it was by far my favorite year. Not just because my dogs rocked, but the entire atmosphere was really different and special. We had a set run order all week so things ran really smooth. The courses were fun and the competitors were friendlier than ever! I met a lot of new friends and miss them already. The Silver Stakes group was amazing and the most supportive group I've ever competed with. Silver Stakes was an emotional rollercoaster (for those of us who are competitive). We were all running our dogs at distance and it was hard to get a 100% clean run. Some runs were just a minor off-course that was quickly corrected and others were crash and burns. Dogs that started out in the lead had one crash and burn and placements changed drastically. Brisco started out in 6th place on day 1, then moved up to 4th place by day 2, then jumped to 2nd place by the end of day 3! Going into the finals, Brisco was sitting in 1st place. The final course was a tough one for distance and we had our fair share of mistakes. It was definitely a tough way to end the week. After the run I was pretty upset and was sure that our crash and burn had taken us out of 1st place. Thank goodness for Catherine and Ed (other Silver Stakes competitors) - they gave me a ton of support and got my emotions back in check so I could cheer on the Super Stakes teams. At this point I figured we were down in 2nd or 3rd, so when they finally got to Silver Stakes awards, I patiently waited. They announced the high scoring bonus points dogs and I was shocked when they called Brisco's name! I had handled behind the farthest line as much as possible, but with a knocked bar here, an off-course there, I didn't think we'd be close. Then came the overall awards and they announced 3rd and 2nd and he didn't call us, so there was a glimmer of hope! Matt got to 1st and he called Brisco's name and I was so proud of my boy!!! What a way to end the week! Earlier in the year I didn't even think Brisco would be able to compete at champs because of his injury, but here we were with 2 trophys!
Now to Mariah. My good 'ol 10 year old pup who's responsible for all of this... Mariah easily qualifies for championships with her consistency. She's not always the fastest, but she's solid and fun to run (and I have to run with her). Mariah ran awesome at champs! The first 3 days, she was running faster than she had most of the year! She was paying very close attention to me and any handler mistake cost us a bobble or off-course. With her speed, those bad handler mistakes weren't too bad for our overall results. Mariah sat in 2nd for most of the week and by the finals, she had moved into 1st with a 20 pt lead over 2nd place. I usually don't track where my dogs sit from round to round, but this year I just threw the numbers into a spreadsheet and kept track. It's good and bad... good because it's fun to see where everyone sits and how placement changes from run to run. Bad because when you're sitting in 1st going into the finals, the pressure is on to run aggressive and clean to stay in the lead. By the finals, Mariah was tired and it was her slowest run of the week. She was practically walking through the weave poles! I made sure we stayed clean though since speed was not our friend. At the end of the run, Tom & Maddie (in 2nd place) were there to congratulate us and shake my hand. That was such a sweet gesture and made me appreciate NADAC handlers even more! During awards, I was happy to accept Mariah's double digit plaque and ribbon. She took 1st in Vets 2 years ago when we last attended champs. I'm proud of my little girl!
It was a bit anti-climatic coming home to an empty house and a Colorado agility community that was raving about DOCNA nationals, so we were far out of the limelight. It's not every day someone can go to a championship and win with 2 dogs. It doesn't matter though because every time I think about champs, I get a smile and get a little emotional. I'm proud of what I've accomplished with my dogs and I can't wait to continue with them and am excited to see what kind of team Trek and I will become.
At the end of awards, Amy with Great Dane Photos always sets up a backdrop for awards pictures (picture at top). She also took many great photos throughout the week which can be seen below.
Mariah: Mom - do I really have to sit by him?!
Brisco: Where's the tunnel?!
Congrats. SOunds like fun!
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