2009 Borzoi Nationals

Immediately after our Mother's Day AKC trial I switched attention to my planned travel to the borzoi nationals in Frankenmuth, MI. I was looking forward to this for several reasons and all in all had a good time. Reason 1 was of course - it is the Borzoi Nationals - and at this annual event one gets a chance to put faces to names, renew old friendships, and make new ones. I got to see many beautiful hounds and delighted in meeting their owners/handlers. 2nd - friends from my navy days lived close enough (Detroit) to visit. I have not seen them since my wedding 16 years ago and it was a true highlight to pick up where we had left off way back then. Gary and i met 40 years ago at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center and we have been like brothers ever since. 3rd - since KC & I lived for 10 years in Germany I was looking forward to having our Nationals at the Bavarian Inn Resort. Well, from the outside it looked German, but the wait staff and worker bees there knew very little about German customs. Also they had little in the way of German cuisine and drink but I made the most of what they had to offer. It was also disappointing that the resort had no laundry facilities. All in all however the grounds were very nice, the hotel rooms were small for the price but clean and the wait staff courteous. The grooming area was adequate and well thought out. the bathing facilities left a little to be desired. Fortunately we were blessed with wonderful weather and the facilities were just fine. Had the weather turned south I think there would have been difficulties. There were a few folks doing a tremendous amount of work. Especially the Steele's. My hat is off to them. Lyn from the local coursing group brought several folks to help at the LGRA meet and that was a huge help. It was nice having a set of dedicated foul and finish line judges.

The hotel sat adjacent to a large pasture which turned out to the the FAV walking area for several of us. We had one incident with PETA but nothing bad happened. The impromptu gatherings were a lot of fun and I got to meet more folks than I can remember names of.

Our hounds did pretty good but there was some disappointment. In the first run of the ASFA trial Nitro injured a rear leg. Not enough to cause lameness but enough to take him out of running 100%. It was really evident during the LGRA meet as he was not running his normal self. He still completed all of the meets and got a couple days rest before he had to enter the conformation ring. His son Jazz took 4th in Futurity 9-12 dog and 3rd in 9-12 sweeps. He did not place in the puppy class on day 3. Nitro took 4th in Am Bred Dog Class. I was very happy with the way both Nitro and Jazz presented themselves. They both have a good potential in conformation. Shannon Hall groomed and handled them both for me and she did an excellent job with them. There is no way I could have experienced the successes without her expertise.

So another national is under the belt and I find myself looking forward to Ft Mitchell, KY in 2010.

If it can go wrong it will

Well, we got through the AKC LC Trial weekend. It can be a lot of fun planning, preparing, and executing a running event. It is especially nice when everything runs as planned. This weekend was not to be one of those. Being an organizer of sorts I had worked each day for a week leading up to the trial on the field making sure  the equipment was maintained and in good shape, new string, field safe, equipment placement for the best visibility of the field, parking planned, gas for tractor & gator, trash cans, porta potty placement, etc etc etc. Friday afternoon I started to set up Saturday's course. I took off the old string from the take up reel and broke out the brand new roll that I had purchased last year. I got the last pully in place and when I put tension on it, snap. I tried again, snap. The string must have been old. I jump in the car and go to Home Depot, then Lowes looking for rolls of string. The best they had were 1000 foot rolls so I got 3. Got it home and noticed that it was not as thick as what had been on it so I did not even try. I called the equipment person from CLCA and asked if they had a roll I could purchase. I'm in luck, they have a new roll just come on over and get it. I did just that and went home. Daylight is gone now so I decide that the field is laid out all I'll have to do is sting the line in the morning, add a couple of hold downs, and we'd be in business. Morning came and people started showing up and final details needed worked out. I gathered some help and out we went to finish the field. Two people were holding the new roll of string on a makeshift axle while I started transfering the string to the take up reel using the motor. Things were sailing along just beautifully....I thought. Just as the confidence built up that this was going to work the reel with the new string came apart (the ad says indestructable reel) and left us with a large tangle. After a few minutes it was clear the untangling process was not going to go well so I had the brillant idea, Cut out the tangle, find the end and be back in operation in minutes. I cut the tangle and what we found after was endless 3 foot lengths. The more that was undone the more that the remaining tangled. Panic was creeping in. I have no string nor the ability to get more string on such short notice. I ask for volunteers to continue to work on the tangled mess while I decide to use the lesser strength new string. After stringing the field and putting tension on the first thing that happend - snap. Oh no - what now. It turned out to have been an improperly tied knot. So we got tension and we were able to run it around with a bag. Now try 3 bags. Now the test dog - no breakage so finally we got the trial underway and the rest went well - until Sunday. A day of running was a bit much for that string because Sunday we were troubled with multiple breaks but all in all people kept a good humor and hung in there. A few restarts were required but all in all we faired better than expected based on the quality of the string used. Lots of lessons learned  and no damage done. 

I'm Tired!!!!

Overload

Sometimes it is hard to keep things going in the order they are meant to be. I should be getting ready for the RMBC Mother's Day AKC LC Trial this weekend since it is on the ZoiBoyz Ranch but first: the drive home from the ASFA I.I. held in Oklahoma, otherwise known as the mud bowl. The I.I.s are fun even with adverse conditions. We get to visit with old friends, watch good dogs run, learn new things, watch good dogs run, make new friends, watch good dogs run, learn how to keep new digital camera's dry, watch good dogs run, process thousands of photos, watch good dogs run, party with strangers, watch good dogs run, try to keep the inside of an RV livable at the same time it has become an office, watch good dogs run, eat and drink like no-one is watching their waistline, cholesterol, etc, watch good dogs run, meet challenges of adverse weather conditions, and did I mention, watch good dogs run. 

The Best of II runs were exciting to watch and for once I actually agree with the final decision. Sally and Don's afghan Yousha was just amazing to watch. The hound closest in skill to this great afghan was the brilliant borzoi, Iris. What a hound she is. I liked her more each time she ran. I was very proud of our two entered hounds, Charger (2nd both days) and Nitro (3rd and 4th). Each gave their all and I cannot ask anything else from them. We got to see a couple relatives, Capsicum and Shelby, compete and they were exciting to watch. I think Shelby got the short end of the stick a couple of times but ran true and made her owner proud. It is always fun watching the youngsters perform. Leo's Py made one of his patented takes in the field and then after the restart ran very good but got overlooked by the judges. So it goes. The run off for Sunday's 3rd 4th and NBQ was tight.

So the I.I. is over and we push home. Once home we learn that the some crud is running through the pack. Now most of the youngsters just go off their food for a day and everything returns to normal. But our oldsters get hit pretty hard with this stuff. Ambassador worried us but is on the rebound now.

So then I start reviewing emails and list(s) news. I start seeing a post on the lists from someone that they have taken bunches of photos at the I.I. and anyone can have them free. Isn't that generous. But wait a minute, there were two official photographers engaged by the ASFA to shoot the event. These professional go to great expense and expend many many hours trying to do the best job they can. There is nothing wrong with people taking photos for personal use but this is akin to robbery. So when I voice my opinion on these lists I get reprimanded by the list moderator and post removed for my attacks. My attack - I wrote that it is bad form and wrong to do such a thing. This was, I think, outrageous.

So now I will go back to prepping for the Mother's Day Trial. I need a drink.