Centennial Trial

Man, am I tired.

Kenny and I, and our fabulous clients, put on the Centennial Retriever Club trial this past week-end.

The weather gods also decided to make this the first uncomfortably hot week-end of the year!  Ugh.

Thankfully the trial went off, mostly, without a hitch.  It was a fun time for all.

It was also a big week-end for the Elmingo kids!!

Congrats to Open placers:
"Turq" (Backwater Smokin Turq-PrimexDarbi) got third and "Libby" (Elmingo's Flip Your Lid-ShaqxMiikka) got fourth!  Turq needs just one more point for his FC and it was the first, of hopefully many, Open placements for Libby!

Qualifying Winner!:
"Sleuth" (Tartan Mystery Man of Elmingo - PrizexDarbi) WON the Qualifying, making him Qualified All-Age!

Derby Jam:
"Gordy" (Elmingos Controlled Power Play - ArsonxMiikka) kept up his consistency and finished yet another Derby.

Way to go kids.  So proud of you all!!

Horses and hounds

Hattie and I spent the day at the Colorado Horse Park today watching my guy Zed in a show.  It is an unbelievable facility!

I don't get a chance to ride Zed as much as I'd like, so I have half-leased him to a girl from my barn and they are having a great time.  My trainer rides Zed on my half of the days that I can't make it...which is often...and Ashley rides him the other half.

Zed was a bit of a spaz at the show today, but Ashley handled him like a champ.  He is a grandson of Secretariat and he showed it today.

Hattie took it all in stride and while wary of the very LARGE horses at first, she quickly settled in and had a great time.  I think a couple dozen people stopped to visit with her and it was great socialization!

Hattie meet Zed.  Zed meet Hattie.

Dirty nose.

Looking good Zed and Ashley!!

Ahh....Canadian Flag.

Turq's Blue

I received a picture of Turq with his owner and his BLUE ribbon.  It's way too fun not to share.

I also just got word that Turq's sister "Harper" (Elmingo's Violence On Request) placed SECOND in an Amateur in Canada in her first All Age stake.  Way to go Harper!!

Apples and trees.

The first night I brought Darbi home as a 7 week old puppy, she slept in a laundry basket beside the bed.

Yes, a laundry basket.

She whined once in the middle of the night to be taken out to pee, but never once did she get out of the basket.

Now, many years and many puppies later, I realize how remarkable that really was.  Miikka didn't last 3.2 seconds in the laundry basket at the same age.

Darbi was just that easy and always has been.

While Hattie may not be spending her nights in a laundry basket...it is very much her place of choice for napping.

If we don't know where Hattie is...go look in the laundry room...I promise she'll be in there.

This has reminded me of my first night with Darbi.  Such sweet memories.

Family Day

My new puppy has arrived!!!

Her name is Tealgrove's Hat Trick..."Hattie".  She is an 8 week old bundle of cuteness.

Here is Grandma Darbi hanging out with Hattie at training today.

Darbi  is enjoying her retirement much more than I expected.  She seems to get that she is done the hard training and is happy to be done.  It surprised me a little bit, but I am so relieved that she is content.  I didn't think she'd let go very easily, but I am thrilled to be wrong.

But of course she doesn't want to be too far from the action yet.  She is shown here supervising me running Boomer on a test.

Three generations!!

Meg, in the collar, is the working stiff in the family now.  You wouldn't know looking at her that she had puppies just 8 short weeks ago.  She is definitely happy to be back at it.  She is a great mom.

Darbi still has a camera aversion, but thankfully the daughter and granddaughter are more happy to pose.

And another Darbi daughter, Asia, (Elmingo's Shanghai Surprise - Prize x Darbi 20011) has come for a visit.  She looks a lot like her mom and is a very intense and intelligent retriever.

Yahoo Turq!!

Just last week we put Turq on a plane to go visit his owner for a little while.

Turq decided to go and WIN an Amateur in Maryland while he was on his vacation.

This qualified Turq for the National Amateur to be held in Wisconsin this summer.

WAY TO GO TURQ!!!!

Momma Darbi and I are very proud.