Great day for Peanut

Bizarro world continued on today.

The land blind was 475 yards!!  I was a little freaked out because Miikka has always had stopping issues.  No way, no how, does she do this blind I thought.

She did it!  AND...stopped.on.every.whistle.

She was called back to the water blind along with 17 other dogs of the original 50+ that started the trial.  It was a very hard, very long blind in a stiff cross-wind.  A number of dogs picked up.  Miikka was doing great until the last piece of land and she decided she was going to play it safe by staying in the water and not get out on the point.  She sliced past the point, and I knew it wouldn't be good enough to play.  Only 7 dogs ended up doing the blind and being called to the last series.

But I was SOOO happy to see her running like the dog she was last year and she was all smiles too.

Bizarro World

So...I'm at a field trial in Lincoln, Nebraska this week-end.  It was a pretty difficult first series the judges set up yesterday.

Darbi had to handle and was dropped, and Miikka PINNED all three birds.  It was a wow moment.

Ever since Miikka lost her brain after having puppies, it was always the expectation that Darbi would be back and Miikka would do something weird and be dropped.

I'm going to start walking backwards and put my clothes on inside out, in case this is a reverse universe.

Well...my little Peanut is on to the second series today for the first time in a long time.  Finally.

I knew she was coming around.  Here's hoping the wheels don't come off quite yet.

Alberta Sunrise

Looks like Miikka's kids had a great time during an early season Alberta hunt.

On the left is Lili (Shaq x Miikka 2007) and on the right is Teah (Shaq x Miikka - 2009).

The sunrise was breath taking.

Tired

The "girls" enjoying their last night in BC before heading back to Colorado.

I would assume Darbi is a lot more tired than Miikka though, as Miikka didn't run the National.

Out

Lost Darbs in the seventh series today.  It was a bummer as she was running so good.  After I got over my initial disappointment, I reflected on how good she was doing up until that point and the fact it was our first National.
Way to go Darb, ya done good.  It was an honor to stand beside you.

Fifth Tomorrow

Darbi is running great!

She is still "clean" through 4 series...and lots of dogs have handles.

We still have six series to go though...so we're not even half way there yet.  My goal was to make it five series in my (and Darbi's) first National, so fingers crossed for tomorrow.

We started with 70 dogs are there are 39 left going to the fifth series.

National Starts

Had fun at the first day of the National today.  It was a tough, tough test.  Short, tight and tricky.

Here's a little video of the test as test dog ran...probably hard to see I'm sure.

Darbi did a great job!  We figure that 40% or more of the dogs handled on the first test and she was clean.
After the marks, the dog had to run a little land blind, so it was a combined 1st and 2nd series.  She two whistled the blind, but no dogs really had problems on this part of the test.
I'm glad to get that first series over with.  Now on to test #3 tomorrow!

Pre-National

I'm in Merritt, BC to run the Canadian National Retriever Championship.

A LONG drive to get here from Colorado, but well worth it.  Amazing scenery.
We have only been here to train for two days before the National starts tomorrow.  I am running Darbi myself, which was a tough decision.  I thought about asking Kenny to run her as she runs so well for him and he is obviously much better then me...but I really wanted to experience a National myself as a handler and chose to give Darbi a "handicap" by running her myself.  I sure hope I don't mess it up.  She is running well and training great.

Kenny is running 5 dogs; Arson, Ollie, Rosie, Sinner and Tea.

Here is a pic of where we trained two days ago.

And another pic of Saturday's training grounds.  If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the two white coats we used as part of the test.

Me and Momma D (one of Darbi's many nicknames) running a land blind.

Below is a picture of the grounds from today's training.  You can see the holding blind we were using for the poison bird gunner.

And we were looking down upon Merritt from where we trained today.  Gorgeous.

Finally a pic of the line.  We had a good sized group today and had lots of fun.

Fun part of my day is that I got to meet "Eider".  Eider is Elmingo's Pacific Eider and I have not seen him since I put him on a plane at 8 weeks old.  He is from the 2007 Shaq x Miikka litter and he is here all week as one of the "set up" dogs for the judges.  Eider completed his Master Hunter last week-end and he looks just like mom.  Was so fun to see him.

Cheyenne Trial

Having a lazy Sunday morning.

The Open finished at the Cheyenne, Wyoming field trial yesterday, so it will be a nice day off.

Darbi finished with a JAM in the Open.  She ran a great trial!  It was actually a 5 series field trial more or less as the judges decided to run a second water blind before moving on to the water marks.  Darbi's water blinds were incredible, but she had a hunt on the last bird of the last test to finish out of the placements.  She sure is running good!

Miikka ran a very respectable first/second series.  It was a double and a blind.  After picking up the flyer, one had to run the blind and then go out and get the long retired.  She had a long hunt on the flyer, ran a great land blind and then went about 50 yards deep of the long retired before coming back and picking it up.  The two hunts weren't good enough to move on to the next series, but I was thrilled!  Miikka is training like a new dog and it's beginning to show at trials!

Leaving in a few days for the Canadian National.  It will be my first National and I am both excited and nervous.

Miss Libby is currently on the "T" in her yard work.  According to Kenny, she is "flying" through her Basics!  She still thinks it is all very funny.

And CONGRATS to Darbi's son Turq for getting a Derby third this week-end in Cheyenne!!

Close...

Had a good week-end with the dogs at a trial in Red Deer.

Darbi got a Reserve Certificate of Merit in the first open (5th place).  I thought she ran a great trial.  Her land blind was a little rough (it's our weakness right now), but she did great on the water blind and last series.  She also had a great set of opening marks on a HUGE test.  She was one placement away from a title...but we'll get there someday.  Entries were over 50 dogs, which is very large for an Alberta trial.

I scratched Miikka from the Opens as she is running weird.  But, I did run her as test dog on the water blind and water marks.  She had a very good blind (better than Darbi and Ollie I thought) and tried very hard on the marks!  She popped on the "go" bird (which is her thing now), but pinned the two retired marks!

Ollie got third in the Open the first day!  His water blind and water marks were not as good as Darbi's, but his first two series were amazing!  He was in great shape after the land blind in the second Open, but because of the big entries, the Open was being carried into today...so I scratched him.  I'm hitting the road back to Colorado this afternoon and decided I didn't want to spend another day at a trial.

I'm a little trialed out.

We're running another trial this week-end in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Kenny will be taking over Darbi the rest of the year in hopes of qualifying her for the US National.  She needs two more points to qualify now that she has the win.  And Ollie needs one more point to qualify as well.  It will be extremely difficult, but here's hoping!

Good Qualifying Week

I just got word that "Shadow" (Elmingo's Cedar's Shadow - Tiger x Darbi 2006) WON the qualifying in Manitoba this past week-end!

Shadow has not run in a field trial until this year and she is entirely Amateur trained and handled.  She has a few passes towards her Master Hunter title as well, running in only one or two tests a year.

Congrats to her and owner Alan!!

This comes on the heels of Matti's second and Meg's third in the qualifying.

Here is a picture of Meg and owner Jill running the Qual in Ontario.

Way to go Elmingo puppies!!

Back in the mother land

I'm back in Canada for a little while and enjoying seeing friends and family.

On the way up I spent a few days training in the "middle of nowhere" (AKA Wyoming).

Miss Libby is still a star, at least in my eyes.  She is going through Basics with tail wagging and a great attitude.  She thinks everything is funny and for her benefit, just like her mother.

While in Wyoming I took a few pictures with my zoom lens of Libby marking a bird I threw.  I run her 99% of the time, but once in a while it is nice to get out in the field and watch my dogs from a different vantage point.

This past week-end I ran a field trial in Alberta.  I had three dogs entered; Darbi, Miikka and Ollie.  Ollie is FC Mr. Oliver D. Place and I brought him up with me in the hopes of qualifying him for the Canadian National in September.  Ollie and I got SECOND place in the Open, which qualified him!!  Nice to get that out of the way early.

We ran two opens on the week-end.  Darbi was having a great trial up until the last bird of the last series in the first open...that's how trials go sometimes.  And she had two hunts in the first series of the second Open, which was not good enough to play.  She sure is fun right now and I'm having a great time running and training her.

Miikka went out in the first series both days.  Still not herself of course, but I did see a big improvement...I think we're on the right path.

And a BIG congrats to "Matti" (Elmingo's With One Twist - Shaq x Miikka 2007) who was second in the qualifying this past week-end!!

I had two goals when I came up here to run the trials.  One was to qualify Ollie, which I did.  The other is to finish Darbi's titles.  We have three more Opens to run in the coming week, so I still have time.

Fingers crossed.

Yeah Meg!

Congrats to "Meg" (Elmingo's Prime Suspect - Prime x Darbi 2008) for not only finishing her FIRST qualifying, but getting THIRD place!!

Meg is not yet two years old and also has some Canadian Derby points.

This was also the first time that owner Jill ran her in a field trial.

Way to go Meg & Jill!!

Coming around...

So...about Peanut.

I've been writing about what a frustrating spring we've had with her.  She hasn't been herself since she had her puppies.

We've tried playing nicey nice with her and we've tried digging into her too.  Nothing was working.

Well...it seems we've turned the corner.  She has been training gang busters the last couple weeks.

Fingers crossed, but it seems Miikka is back.

Happy Campers

All smiles today.

FIRST and third

Darbi WON the Open at the trial in Colorado this week-end!!!!  Her first US Open placement is a win and I'm over the moon.

Darbi and I have had a lot of bad luck this year and I asked Kenny run her hoping to change her luck.

It worked!

Big thanks to Kenny as usual.  He is behind all our successes in the past couple years.  When he got Darbi he told me "she's a nice dog, just not very well trained".  A blow to my ego, yes, as I had done most her training myself, but it opened my eyes.

And Pedro was THIRD in another stakes race this week-end.  He ran hard, but was battling on the front end in fractions that were too fast for him and he tired at the end.

Three goals for Darbi this year now:
Qualify for US National
Finish her Canadian titles
Have a good showing at the Canadian National

I have a full waiting list for Darbi's fall litter, but it looks like the litter will have to wait until we see if Darbi qualifies for the US National or not.

Pictures to come...

Another fourth!

I got to run Turq in the Derby this week-end in Colorado and we had a blast.  He was such a good boy.

We received a 4th place and I am very proud of his efforts.  There was more than one occasion that he reminded me of running his mother in Derbies many moons ago.

I ran Darbi FIRST of 80-plus dogs in the Open and we didn't do the test.  She was a bit wild with me on line and that is a first for her.  It did make me giggle, but it also showed me that she needs to be nailed down.  Kenny is going to run her all week and in the trial next week-end.  That will burst her bubble a bit I think.

Miikka is still acting weird.  She is also nesting here at home and showing signs of false pregnancy from her heat cycle a couple months ago.  I'm hoping she comes out of it soon and we're nursing her along as best as we can right now while her brain seems to be on vacation.

My training group had another great week-end!  First, 3rd and Reserve JAM in the Open!
Arson (the dog I won with in Canada) WON and this titled him in the US.

Miss Libby continues to be a star and she's starting to run the Open marks as singles now and doing great!  She still makes me laugh every single day and I love her personality.

Fourth and Fourth

Congrats to "Turq" (Backwater's Smokin Turq - Prime x Darbi 2008) who got a Derby fourth this past week-end!  He is 3 for 4 in finishing US derbies so far!
It was a great week-end for my training group.  Kenny and "Ollie" WON the Open and Joe and "Rosie" WON the Amateur.  There were smiles all around on Sunday.

And my racehorse "Pedro" was fourth in his Stakes debut.  He ran against stiff competition in the Graduation Stakes in Manitoba.  Horses shipped in from the US and Canada to run the race. He was in the lead until the final few jumps and was only a length behind the winner at the wire!  I really thought we had it...and he ran so well.

Pedro is being shipped to Alberta to run in the Alberta Sales Stakes for his next start August 14!

Ping's first ribbon

Congrats to Ping (Shaq x Miikka 2009) and owner/handler Peter for passing their first NAHRA started test!!

And also congrats to Pie (Ping's older "sister") for completed their MHR with Peter's daughter Morgan!

Way to go!!

Lazy days of summer

HOT here in Colorado.  Annoyingly hot.

We're still getting in lots of good training though, gearing up for a stretch of trials starting this week-end.

But, it's not all work and no play for the girls.  They seem to be enjoying the heat more then I am.

From left to right:

Libby, Miz (FC AFC Mizpah Miss), Miikka and Darbi.

Sadly, Miz was retired this spring due to a cruciate tear at 9 years old.  Being the 3 time US National Finalist that she is, she deserves her days in the sun.  Miz is also the "cranky" dog that bit Libby on the tongue...they get along famously now.  I guess Libby is less of a pain, but if you asked me I'd say the jury is still out.

Pedro in the paper

Pedro made the news!

What a fun article about him.

I'm sure it's not  stretch for you guys to figure out Elmingo Stables is me.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/horseracing/what-a-bunch-of-babies-98586199.html

Pretty In Pink

Miss Libby got a new pink bumper from Auntie Barb (Prime's momma).

And Libbs wanted to show off how good she is at "hold".  She is working through force fetch now.

Pedro Wins!

I know it's a lame photo, but it is a picture of a video off the computer.

Pedro made his FIRST start at Assiniboia Downs tonight and he WON!!

His "real" name is Cactus Cut and it was so much fun to watch the race and cheer him on.

I don't know when his next start will be, but he's looking good for two year old stakes races.  It was a Maiden Special Weight race for Open company...meaning any two year old on the track could enter.

Go Pedro Go!!

You and I

Ping's (Shaq x Miikka 2009) owner sent me this great shot of her and her big "sister" Pie.

Pinch Hitter

I'm back home in Alberta.

And exhausted.  

10 days on the road with 19 dogs can wear a gal out.  Feed, air, water, train, rinse and repeat.

I'm having a jammie night tonight and will probably be in bed by 8.

Had a fun, but not very successful week-end with my girls.  Darbi went out after a weak water blind on the first day and in the opening series the second day.  Darbi has been getting looser on her water blinds each week, so it's time to address it.

Miikka went out in the first series the first day and after the land blind the second day.  She still is not back to where she should be, so back to square one with her again.  We have some ideas...we will see if they work.

Fun part of the week-end is that I ran a different dog on the second day.  Kenny asked me to run his very nice dog Arson, as he was already qualified for the Canadian National.  Kenny, in turn, ran my two girls on day two, as well as his other dogs.

Well, the "plan" to give Arson a handicap by having me run him back fired.  Arson and I WON the Open on the second day.  He was so much fun to run.  The win titled Arson in Canada and he is now a Field Trial Champion.

Thanks for the ride Arson...it was an honor to stand beside you.