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. 🙂
Title is just a word
By: Bev Thorsteinson on October 27, 2015
at 12:37 pm