Reflecting, Not Dwelling.

Solei.  Where to even begin?  She has been the light of my existence the last 6 years.  There are only a handful of days where she has not been by my side and it would take hours to calculate the miles we have traveled together over this planet. She is a sweet, wise, old soul and has convinced me to believe that there really is such a thing as a “heart” dog.

I have been reflecting on our Cynosport experience and the second time Solei and I were oh-so close to winning a major national title.  With the scare of her being injured on Saturday, I am thankful we got the green light to run on Sunday (Thanks David and Ria!!!).  She did the best that she could and I am so very proud and grateful for our 2nd place, don’t get me wrong, and she did end up the top 22″ team dog at the event, so I think that is something to be very proud of, too.  However, a nationals win is the one honor that has eluded me in my agility career.  I know, greedy, right?  But isn’t it something we all dream of?  My dogs and I have been bridesmaids many times with multiple 3rd and 4th placements at AKC Nationals, 2nd and 3rd placements in Steeplechase and GP finals.  And, dang, I couldn’t have asked for a better finals course. I literally almost fainted when I saw that tunnel at the end of the dogwalk on our course map.  Oh well…

Thankfully, I am an eternal optimist.  Instead of dwelling on what could’ve/should’ve been, I think back to the amazing things my little blue girl and I have done together.  This month, we have achieved representing the USA on the “trifecta” of international teams at the major international championships; 2012-2015 WAO, 2014 IFCS and 2015 FCI. As much as I hate math, I do love looking at statistics, so here are a few figures on our international experiences together:

• 48- the total runs we have had in international competition.
• 36- the number of individual runs (10 being snooker/gamblers classes).
• 12- the number of team runs (all agility/jumping/relay).
• 82- our Q rate percentage of clean runs in agility/jumping/relay classes 31/38 (Yes, I rounded up).  Our 7 non-clear runs were normally only 1 fault.
• 92- our Q rate percentage of clean runs in team classes.  11/12 with only 1 fault.
• 11- the total number of medals we have earned (4 Team, 7 Individual).
• 4- Gold medals (3 Silver, 4 Bronze).
• 45- the number of different individuals I have had the honor of calling teammates.
• 6- amazing, dedicated team coaches.

And the 3 numbers I am most proud of:

• 6- the number of times we have had the honor of representing USA.
• 1- the minimum number of trips to the podium we have had at every event (the most was 3 at 2013 WAO).
• 0- yes, that is a big, fat ZERO for off courses we have had in any of our international runs!  I think that is a huge testament to the teamwork and communication we have developed together.

Have I mentioned how much I love running with this amazing dog?  Stay tuned… we are looking forward to adding many more numbers to this list. 🙂