May
25
South Central Regional Recap, and Big Bummers
So, the South Central Regional was a lot of fun, and we had our good and bad moments. I’m so proud of both my girls–they were fantastic! On paper, Trip did great! She earned a PVP Q (Top Mini dog Team), as well as Semi-Final Byes in both Performance Grand Prix and Speed Jumping. So, she met all my goals in that respect. But, and it’s a big but, she regressed in how she was running. Over the past 6 weeks, ever since Nationals, she’s been running fantastic! Flying all over the course, happy, etc. We haven’t been clean all the time, but the attitude and enthusiasm was there, and I was so thrilled to have my happy girl back. The first run this weekend was like that–she was super fast, dropped a couple of bars, but was super enthusiastic. Then, as the weekend progressed, she became more and more hesitant. Round 1 of Steeplechase was probably the worst–we trotted through part of it, and were lucky to advance to Round 2. But I wasn’t able to find anything wrong with her. I was also lucky that we didn’t have any more jumpers-type runs, because I don’t think she would have done then. Everything had contacts in it, so she was more excited. But still not 100%. I’m at a loss. I suspect it’s mental, but I can’t prove it. Still, it was very discouraging. Now, I have to decide if I take Trip to Cynosport in Colorado–I won’t decide until the release the schedule.
Ticket did really REALLY well. She earned her AD title by getting that elusive Jumpers leg. She was SO CLOSE to a Grand Prix Q on Friday, on a tough course, but with an AMAZING run. It felt so good, and I was still proud of her. She also dropped 1 bar in Round 1 Steeplechase, but still made Finals, and had the fastest time in Finals, but called on the broad jump. SO close, but again, still managed to earn a Semi-Final Bye. It is highly unlikely she’ll be using that Bye, but we’ll see how the rest of the year goes. Ticket’s bad news this weekend actually came on Monday. I took her to Dr. Beale, and he confirmed a partial tear of her RIGHT ACL. The leg that she did NOT have a TPLO on. I was strongly suspicous based on a couple of things, and so I wasn’t surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised. No arthritis, and no instability yet. Obviously, it doesn’t bother her that much, based on her weekend’s performance. I’m going to go ahead and continue competing for another month or two, and see if we can manage to make any progress towards qualifying for Tulsa. It’s not likely, and if we can’t get it done, then I’ll shut it down and proceed with surgery. And of course, that’s all dependent on her continuing to remain pain-free and sound. The surgery is the same whether we pursue it now, or in a couple of months, so prognosis doesn’t really change based on waiting for a bit longer. It’s not something I can put off indefinitely, and I certainly want it done before the tear becomes complete, but I will continue to monitor her closely and do everything I can for her. Currently she’s getting laser therapy and acupuncture weekly, and I’m managing her training schedule closely so as not to overdo it. On the plus side, we don’t have a heavy show schedule, so plenty of rest days in there.
This weekend, we’re doing 3 days of AKC out in the summer heat. Last outdoor show until Fall for us. It will be hot, but it’s one of Trip’s favorite arenas, so hopefully she’ll be happy about that. And hopefully both girls will manage some QQs this weekend. Hey, we can hope.
Here are some runs from the weekend…
