Chispa and I just got back from Turku, Finland, here we competed at the World Agility Championship for Team USA. It was an amazing competition, and although we didn’t come home with a handful of trophies and ribbons (or even one!), we did learn a lot and had a lot of fun. She did amazingly well for such a youngster; at only three, she’s just a bit older than Solar was at his first World Championship back in 2010, and the courses and training required are far more complicated now than they were back then!
Below you’ll find the course maps from the event, as well as my video analysis for each run, including my thoughts about the course as I watched it being built, and after I walked it, as well as my thoughts on how each run went with Chispa, and how I’d do things differently or better! Each video is 15-20 minutes long, and you can watch it here OR download it to watch later (or both!).
Feel free to leave a comment or ask questions using the comment form at the bottom of this page!
Thanks so much for this super analysis and congrats on some great runs! In the Individual Agility run you mention dogs missing the wall jump due to curving in off the threadle on the previous jump. (And this tendency to curve back towards the handler on a threadle may also have contributed to Chispa’s bar on the way to the teeter as she realized a bit late she needed to turn away from you a bit there). This is an issue I have had with Ruki. I know a big part of the problem is me hanging back to be… Read more »
You’re quite welcome, Giuliana, I enjoy doing this sort of thing. And yes, I totally agree on number two in that last run – so many dogs were crashing the wing or dropping the bar on that jump because of just what you describe. I wasn’t sure whether or not to do the push or the threadle there, and ultimately decided on the threadle to be in a better position for what came after the seesaw. But in hindsight, doing it as a push and staying wide of the jump to make it clear she had to go around me… Read more »
Thank you so much for doing the analysis. It is way above my pay grade, but wow, it will sure help me in how I look at a course from now on. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to learn.
Hi Daisy! So far I’ve just watched your review of Indiv jumping. Can you please explain in more detail what the handling was for #19? I saw other teams do the same thing. Lots of cheering for you and Chispa when you nailed that one! Nice run and analysis.
Thanks Kerry, good question. My original plan was to send to the takeoff side of 19 and then scoot around the right wing and do a blind, but as soon as I did the front/blind at 17 I knew that wasn’t going to happen. So instead, I did what amounts to a send to the backside plus a rear cross. I sent to the backside and then cued a left turn with my verbal and an arm cue, and then slipped behind for the rear 🙂
Daisy thank you so much for this detailed commentary and explanations that are so clear. You make me want to try and lay these courses out but I don’t have the space, so I will try sections. I love how you don’t put your ego into this activity and you show me that my way of doing “what if” alternatives when I walk is not just indecision on my part (most people have told me to make a plan and stick with it, but things happen…). Thank you so very much, love this. Just wish the maps had measurements on… Read more »
@VivienneBoogaard you’re very welcome. I enjoy doing these analyses, I should do them more often. It’s a good exercise for me as well as for those who get to watch the videos. As for the maps not having measurements, here’s a simple (sort of) way to figure things out – I have an ‘overlay’ program on my mac that lets me put an image in to a window and then set the opacity so you can see through it. Then, I’ll open up my course design software underneath it. Usually, if you match up the size of an obstacle like… Read more »
Daisy, I really appreciated your thorough and honest analyses. Beautiful threaded—maybe you should write a book. ?? Great job at AWC with your Chispa. ?
@LizDole Hmm, maybe I will! What should it be about? ?
I think that Landing Side Approaches is a catchy phrase, don’t you think? ?
Re teeter flyoff, test whether the issue recurs when you put a teeter parallel and adjacent to the ring boundary. I have seen dog after dog mistake teeter for the dogwalk in local competition in that scenario because they are so used to the DW being placed along one side of the ring.
Yes, that’s also a thing that happens, although less so at these big FCI events, since there’s so much room where the dogwalk can go 🙂
Many thanks !!! Such fun to see how you planned for good and efficient lines and ability to get where you needed to downstream!!
Planning isn’t always reality, but yes, I try 🙂
Amazing, love the analysis.
Excellent, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Learning so much from this analysis. Thank you Daisy!
I’m glad you found them useful!
LOVE IT FAB
Glad you enjoyed the reviews!