Well October was a mixed month with some big lows but massive highs. The month started with a very unexpected visit to A&E, surgery and a message to take things very easy for a month. As you can imagine this is not easy when working on a farm and training dogs, but I made it work with a little help from my fellow trainer Jo covering classes so there was no interruption to training.
The biggest hurdle was what to do about the hoopers workshop and shows I was going to?!? Well, this is where the amazing hoopers family came to my aid. I’ve already mentioned in my first blog how lovely they all are and how I got numerous hugs and bits of cake passed to me. What was also great was that Bolt had to step up to a challenge – I couldn’t run with him at all, in fact my handling was reduced to as few steps as possible and limited moving. I went to the workshop expecting very little as he had done nothing since Tri-score and would probably get frustrated with me not supporting him. I was so very wrong, he worked like a dream and ran with drive and distance I could only dream of. So on to the show, surely the workshop was all luck and we would mess this up. Nope, he ran four great runs, I made a silly mistake in the hoopers and looked at the challenge line (something I have never even attempted before) so that was my fault. For the tunnellers and touch-N-go not only did he fly around but I managed bonus points. I even got an applause from the crowd for my handling. Zoe was in a different mood and just zoomed at every chance, poor Jo had to keep on her toes to get Zoe around.
On to the next show, judging this time indoors but still managed to get soaked! Great group of competitors, lovely to watch the improvements made by more regular guys and lots of new people there giving hoopers a try. Some of my students were there and reached their personal goals which makes me so proud. I set-up a handling focused tunnellers course and a faster touch-N-go course, both of which saw some great clear rounds and bonus points. To my horror Bolt not only continued his distance and drive ensuring I didn’t have to move much from the start line, but he got two great clears. I have now come to the conclusion I need to step up to his level and keep pushing forwards with him. Zoe once again had fun, lots of zoomies but one lovely clear round to finish the day.
What this month has taught me is that I have to see the opportunity in every set-back. Without the restrictions on my mobility I would not of discovered just how much Bolt has developed in hoopers. It just goes to show how important foundation skills are and how much they can drive us all forwards.