Students and trainer made TNT proud at the Cavalier National Specialty qualifying in all rounds. Catherine and Siobhan qualified in Pre-Cd and then got a 189.5 in Novice A for their first CD leg. Trudy and Tis finished their CD with a 192.5 and HIC in Novice A (all 3 of their rounds have been HIC). Maureen and Chipper got 194.5 and HIC in Open B and 197 and HIC in Utility – HIT from the Utility class. Susan and Lucy Maud did not compete as Lucy Maud was in season and was bred on Monday.
Catherine and Trudy were nervous as there was a large crowd and a videographer. But they both did beautifully and Siobhan’s figure 8 was FLAWLESS! Catherine says it was knowing I was watching and that if she dared to look at her dog I’d kill her – so she did “shoulder, legs” and it was gorgeous. See, nagging works!
And yes, experienced handlers get nervous too. As we wound our way through a phalanx of lovely girls to get to the ring Chipper was checking out each one! We lost all points on heeling – his Open exercises were gorgeous – including the dreaded horrible dumbbell bounce on Retrieve Over Jump – 10 feet to the right of the jump and right against a white sign on the curtains. Lindsay couldn’t believe he found it and remembered to cut over and come back over the jump. Much sweating during his lonely sits/downs by the handler – but he did it. With that out of the way I was relaxed in Utility and consequently had a much nicer round. The Eastern crowd really enjoyed seeing our dogs work – they’ve never seen any Cavalier close to the three of them.
Maureen Murray
Leave A Comment