Advanced Class Course - 2009-Sep-15
18 Sep 2009
So if you are looking for an ugly course this is one of them. As I’ve mentioned before I usually make up my courses from the equipment that is already out and their approximate locations during the minutes between the previous class and my class. When I saw the broad jump and the weaves it reminded me of a hellish weave approach from a European jumpers course I saw a couple months ago (some of us will set it up in the next few weeks and I’ll report back) so I figured, let’s go for it! My students are game for most anything…
The spacing is a little close around the triple and spread jumps to be legal, adjust the spacing to suite your skill level. There are two sequences, they are the same from 1-10 and then you can choose the white or black numbers through to the end. Here is the course:
How will you handle the approaches to the weaves? It turns out the white circles 10-15 was trickier than it first walked/looked because the dog’s thought that the broad jump was the next obstacle… Figure out your handling before you see how we handled it.
Sequence 1 White Circles - First Half
Here are some handling thoughts.
- Dog on left all the way to the A Frame
- At the green X it is handler's choice which cross to use. All the dogs in class were running A Frames so we all Rear Crossed Learning the Rear CrossRear Cross. With a 2o2o contact you could Front Cross Learning the Front Cross - VideoFront Cross.
- The green handler path from 7-8-9 shows the handler supporting the dog over the broad jump and then decelerating to Rear Cross on the landing to turn the dog into the weaves.
- As Meeker was approaching the broad jump I verbally cued "Weave" and he took the broad jump already turning and actually landing and turned into the second pole opening. That allowed me to take the blue path and not have to go to the entrance of the weaves. I was pretty amazed that he did it...
Sequence 1 White Circles - Second Half
Continuing…
- Some handler's tried to
Shoulder Pull/Post Turn from 10-11, but that put them behind their dogs for the remainder of the sequence with poor results. - The green line shows the handler moving across the face of the jumps and picking up their dog on their right arm after the tire. By decelerating on the approach to the triple the dogs didn't jump extended and out to the tunnel.
- All the dogs in this class were faster than their handlers so we were all "stuck" with a couple Rear Crosses to get to the teeter.
- A Front Cross
Jump Wrap got a tight turn over 16 with the dog on the handler's left to the end
Sequence 2 Black Circles - Second Half
So the same handling as the white circled sequence through jump 10.
- The key to avoiding the off course number 5 entrance of the tunnel was handler motion to the correct entrance.
- Handler's picked up their dog on their left arm coming out of the tunnel.
- Then it was a choice of Shoulder Pull and Rear Cross (blue line) or running and Front Crossing (green line). The green line was faster, but the handler had to beat their dogs. The 90 degree Off Side Weave Entrance was a little harder with the Front cross because the handler could "hide" the weaves from the dog.
- There is probably another handling approach where the handler takes the purple line and chooses from a couple crosses, but I'd be afraid the dog would go wide out of the tunnel and have a bad line to the tire...
- The rest of the course is straight forward dog on right with a wrap over 18 as in the previous sequence.
I hope you give these ugly sequences a try and report back!
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