No matter how hard I tried we just couldn’t seem to Q Novice JWW. I started joking that we’d have MACH points before we got into Open or that I was going to just hang out and wait for Nova to join us but it was really starting to bug me. Honestly the biggest issue seemed to be the wide-open courses. We don’t train for NADAC and the 25 feet between jumps was kicking my butt though most of the time if I was “there” I was in the wrong place and caused an off course or a bar down.
Since I decided I had a much better shot at tighter courses I made a point of entering the trial the Durango club puts on every year because Sheila Kauffman was the judge. Vega got her first jumpers Q under her and I knew she would have courses that we could do.
We stayed in a Days Inn in Cortez that was old but turned out to be right across the street from a really nice park and lake. Turns out all three BCs LOVED going there every morning and evening and quickly had a pattern of fetch the ball in the park then fetch the ball in the lake (to cool off). There was a nice playground for Fred to play on too. 
Saturday they changed the running order and we ended up running JWW around 11 and immediately did Masters Standard. Since we’re in Exc A we ran around 1:30 so it was a lovely short day for us.
That Novice JWW course was absolutely perfect for us and I was excited to go. It started out 2 straight jumps into a pinwheel and then a tunnel. Vega came around to the 3rd jump of that pinwheel and I said tunnel and there she went… right past that jump into the tunnel. What a good girl, damn it.
Oh well we finished that course and I learned (something besides holding up and support longer). I walked that course managing a jump after a tunnel on the landing side of the jump because I was sure I couldn’t get there. Then I ran it and forgot to go to the landing side and I was right where I thought I couldn’t be. On THIS run I decided I don’t ever have to think “I won’t get there” again because I can and do more often than not. We may not have Qd this run but it was really good for me to figure this out.
We had a really nice standard run and if I’d trusted Vega to stay in the weaves while I rear’d them I think we’d have Qd it too. Another note to self…
Sunday was a VERY long day with the pressure of “I NEED TO GET THIS Q”. We got to the park at 7am. We ran standard at 10am. It wasn’t good. Vega was giving me hell at the turn from 2 to 3 and went past the jump. I’m sure she never even saw it since she was so busy being in my face! We finally pulled it together at 5 and had a nice run but, of course, NQ.
It was 95 degrees and we waited 7 hours for the JWWW run.
It was miserable. All of the dogs were bored (you can only play ball so many times and do so many hides). Fred was bored. There was no one at the playground and we’d forgotten the cards.
The day seemed to take forever.
We finally got to walk at about 4:45pm. It was a tougher course than Saturday’s and Vega was over-the-top wound. The opening was okay… 2 jumps, front cross to jump, tunnel. I remembered to hold up at a jump after the tunnel so Vega wouldn’t run by it. Perfect weave entry, I chickened out on a front cross after that and did a rear. Good news is she had a REALLY wide turn because she didn’t read my rear cross at all. That gave me a huge head start on the speed circle coming up. That speed circle four jumps across the back and a jump coming in towards me (the kind Vega lives to run by). I was so far ahead that I just slowed up and called her in over it and then back out over another jump and back in a little for the finish. YAY!!! We did it.
I turned around to tell Sheila thank you and she was cheering too. VERY COOL Silly but I was tearing up when I took my very, very awesome little dog to play. Attempt number 14, according to my cohorts, is just not that many but it sure felt like it to me and it was really a great feeling to finally get it. Fred tried to videotape but got so excited there was more grass on the video than the run.
We went to Dairy Queen, then the lake one more time to celebrate and then made the long drive home. We finally got home at 3:30am. I had to work that next morning so it was a really long couple of days but totally worth it.