Saturday, March 29, 2008

Saturday Report

Another grey windy day in Tulsa; but not nearly as cold as yesterday.

The standard run was very difficult. I have not seen the Q rate, but I suspect it was fairly low. Fortunately, Whitney had a clean run. We ran it very conservatively, consistent with the meat and potatoes discipline we are following. After the standard run, Whitney was the 20th ranked dog. (The top 13 dogs from the first three runs get into the finals).

The jumpers run was a lot easier and probably many dogs managed to get a clean run, as Whitney did. As a result of the jumpers run, Whitney's cumulative standing is 16th.

These standings show how incredibly competitive the 16" class has become since we first competed in the Nationals in 2006. There are some unbelieveably fast dogs now in this class. Some of the fast dogs had faults in one or the other of the early rounds, but there are some very fast dogs ahead of Whitney in these standings. Some of it is inevitable. Younger faster dogs are coming forward and pushing the envelope.

Our strategy is not to push hard and stick to the basics in the theory that if we have 3 clean runs, Whitney's natural speed will get her into the finals. In order for that to work, we will have to jump ahead by at least 3 dogs from our current position. It is certainly possible, since we came up 4 spots just from round 1 to round 2. Also two of the dogs that are ahead of us are there because of fractionally better times in the jumpers round.

We are going to stick with the strategy and hope for the best tomorrow. If we get into the finals, we will abandon meat and potatoes and go with a lighter fare. Any aggressive steps we can think of, short of being reckless will be employed.

An amazing thing happened at this trial. A woman came up to us and said that she had seen my interview on Animal Planet two years ago. She said that my comments inspired her to get a border collie and begin agility. When she heard the announcer describe one of Whitney's runs over the loudspeaker system she rushed over to see the end of the run and came up and introduced herself to us. She gushed all over us for describing how accessible agility was. It was a humbling, but gratifying, experience for TeamWhitney.

7 comments:

Blancett Reynolds said...

Sending lots of meat and potatoes thoughts to TeamWhitney for tomorrow. After that it's all foie gras.

Blancett

Anonymous said...

May the meat and potato menu du jour consist of filet mignon and baby fingerling potatoes! Even if it sounds like a boring meal, we know you will find some way to spice it up. Good luck, we're rooting for you....

Millie & Shasta

Anonymous said...

Good luck Tom and Whitney! Thanks for sharing your experience with us at home. "Meat and potatoes" will see you into that final round!

Kerilyn

Katie said...

TeamWhitney, you are great ambassadors for agility! What a wonderful story. Wishing you meat and potatoes from the finest 3-star restaurant in Paris.

Katie and Touki

Anonymous said...

Tom and Whitney, we love you! Along with the meat and potatoes we are looking for a little gravy. Have a great tomorrow. Susan and John

Anonymous said...

Yes..lets try for filet mignon! Way to go Team Whitney! We're proud of you...good luck!
Nancy and the Campanile crew

Channan said...

I think you have a winning plan!

Best of luck tomorrow!