Productive Week-end

Back home from the trial in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Had a very fun week-end.

Darbi finished the Open with a JAM.  She was in very good shape going into the last series, but had a big hunt on the last bird of the trial.  I was very proud of her...and told her so.  She did a few things that made me especially proud.
She tried very hard and went very tight to obstacles (gunner and flyer crates) on the double land blind.  Darbi does not like going tight to anything she thinks may get her in trouble...so I was so happy that she trusted me and took the great cast she took to slide by the crates.
She ran an excellent water blind.  The initial line was past water...another thing that makes her squeamish.  And there were several  dicey water re-entries that she took on her own.  A dog needed to be seeking water on this blind, as they were out of sight at several critical moments.  She was balanced enough to run past water and then hit every piece of water afterwards.  And she did it in only 4 whistles!
I was most proud of her last series.  She went off line on her own going to the last bird TRYING to be a good girl and take an extra piece of water.  Some dogs did this and never recovered.  She ended up deep and upwind of the bird and worked in out on her own.  A real effort on her part.
She didn't even creep!  Okay...maybe she did...but just a tiny little bit.

And Libby got a Reserve JAM in the Derby (5th place).  It was a very fun Derby to run and I really enjoyed it.  Libby needs big water tests to really shine, and unfortunately for us we ran three land series and a little water series.  She is becoming more focused every day and takes her job very seriously.  She does not take life seriously at all though.  She does get happy feet on her land marks, but her hunts are becoming better all the time.  The judge called her a "pocket rocket" which made me laugh...that's my Wibbs.