2013 AGILITY TRIAL YEAR REVIEW

2013 was a good year for us in the agility ring.

The end of January found us in McKinney at an AKC trial. Marley finished off her Excellent JWW title. She had a good Master Standard run going until she stopped in front of a jump to cough. She also earned her first Master JWW Q but I caused a refusal in her Standard run.

March was Monroe AKC. Marley was phenomenal!  She Q'd every Standard run and earned her first QQ. Miss Kalea-Kate debut was in Monroe at the age of 16 mo. She came off the start line in her very first agility run and earned her first Q, Novice FAST. She proceeded to earn 2 Novice JWW legs with well over 4 yps. She had some great moments in her Standard runs but had some issues with the panel jump (never practiced it). She had a great rookie debut!! The very next weekend we went to Shreveport for another AKC trial. Marley earned a couple of Q's before coming up lame and I had to pull her from the trial. KK earned her Novice JWW Title (3 times in the ring, 3 Q's). She also added another Novice FAST Q to her weekend. KK decided that contacts were optional and didn't do a single one all weekend.

Marley continued to be lame and stayed on hip rest until the end of May. She was Xrayed form nose to tail to see if there was any other skeletal issues besides her HD that could have been causing the lameness. They found nothing. Then she had a mass appear suddenly on her shoulder. It was aspirated several times and a sample was finally sent to Texas A&M. The results came back as an infection within a fat pocket. Since she was already on antibiotics for her tummy, she didn't require any additional treatment. The mass disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The vet confided in me after the results came in that she thought it was going to come back as cancer.

KK and I went to Memphis AKC in April. Mar came along for the trip. KK earned her Novice FAST Title and Open JWW and FAST Q's. Her contact issues continued.

While Marley was sitting out on rest, I was notified by the AKC that Marley was the #1 AKC All American dog in Arkansas!! Very proud of my blue eyed girl!

Marley was cleared to run again so we went to Tulsa for another AKC trial. She ran well all weekend and earned a Master JWW Q. KK earned her Open JWW title and finally her contact issue was solved. She ran a smoking fast Novice Standard course on her last run of the weekend for a Q. We went to Springfield in June and ran on turf for the first time. Marley had a fantastic weekend going 3/4 with another QQ. KK earned another Novice Standard Q.

We were back in Monroe for more AKC in late June. Marley just wasn't herself. She was back on antibiotics for her stomach issues and had some lackluster runs. She did earn a Master Standard Q with a ton of MACH points. KK finished her Novice Standard Title. She also earned an Open Standard Q and an Excellent JWW Q. Her JWW run was over 5.3 yps!

July found us in Franklin for USDAA, my favorite agility venue. Marley was only entered in 4 runs. I caused 2 NQ's in Master Snooker. She missed a running contact in Advanced Standard one day and the second day we just weren't in sync. KK had a phenomenal weekend going 6/10. She ran a Starters Jumpers course in 20 seconds! Another great rookie debut.

July was a NADAC trial. Marley was just entered in Tunnelers and earned her Novice Tunnelers Title. KK had a great trial and went 5/10. KK got to see her foster mom too.

We were back in Springfield for another AKC trial in August. Mar earned a Master Standard Q but was not running as Mar. She began another round of hip rest. KK earned Open FAST and Standard Q's.

Marley stayed home in September when KK and I went to Shreveport for a USDAA trial. KK continued her steady agility performance. She earned 2 Titles: Starters Gamblers and Jumpers. Her Gamblers Title was 3/3 Q's.

I took Marley to the University of Missouri vet school for a hip replacement in October. Her HD had progressed but at the last minute I changed my mind and opted to manage her medically for now. She tore a pad on her foot after we got back and we spent a month trying to get that healed. KK finished her Open Standard Title in Carthage and her Open FAST Title in Little Rock. She also earned her first Excellent Standard Q. We also went to Holly Springs for some USDAA. KK had a great weekend earning a Starter Standard, Advanced Gamblers, Advanced Jumpers and Steeplechase Q's.

Our last trial of the year was December's Shreveport AKC trial. KK earned an Excellent FAST and Excellent Standard Q's. She had some great runs with just a bobble here and there. Our distance work is coming along and we are getting our act together as a team.

It was a good year for us. Marley earned 2 Titles  and the honor of being the #1 All American in Arkansas but was on hip rest for the majority of the year. I will continue to run her but on a very limited basis. Kalea-Kate debuted at 16 months and proceeded to earn 8 titles in just 9 months of competing. 2013 was a good year indeed!!