This afternoon Chico and I had our first crack at a top level USDAA Jumpers course. And if I do say so myself, we did great.
The course map looked sort of icky, so I decided to just walk it and make a plan based on how it felt, and live with it. I certainly didn’t pressure myself with any expectations. Everyone called it “hard” and I conjured up Julie’s voice, giving advice years ago, telling me to “just get out there and muck around,” I ignored the handler saying “Oh my god; oh my god; oh my god” as she walked behind me (OK, maybe I told her to take a deep breath because she was freaking herself out).
I got my dog, I petted him and played with him; we went in the ring and nailed it.
And now he has a belly full of tripe and is snoozing on the hotel room bed next to me.
Two days of trial, seven classes, three clean runs and some good stuff in the other runs. Works for me.