It was really great to meet some of the west coast Afghans - they are all extended family and some brilliant runners. I'm really proud of how my girl hung in there.
This was an amazing event! It was so well put together and while we didn't end up with many Ibizans this time, we had an amazing Afghan entry of 15 of very likely the fastest Afghans in the United States. Dean won both meets and Niko actually pulled off a second place in LGRA, in addition to his High Scoring Veteran at age 8. Fleura had some awesome races and really had to earn her third place in LGRA - there were a couple races where she was defeated by a muzzle. She pulled a couple bad breaks to the outside in NOTRA, but still had some really brilliant moments in her second and third race. If she learns to stay on the rail, I think she could be a contender.
It was really great to meet some of the west coast Afghans - they are all extended family and some brilliant runners. I'm really proud of how my girl hung in there.
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We had a super fun weekend running NOTRA with our friend Kayla in Camden. We ended up staying at her house Saturday night, and the dogs were all very good house guests, despite my anxiety about not having crates. It was quite chilly, but nice during the afternoon in the sun. Dean was the meet winner both days, which finished both his Oval Racing Champion and his Senior Oval Racer. The senior titles in both NOTRA and LGRA are a nice addition, as they are based on merit vs just a participation title like the junior variety of each. They have to finish in the top half of the meet in placements to each a leg.
Dean had strong races each day, and left no question he was the fastest, as he was generally a third of the track in front of the others. However, he also showed that there's more to racing than speed, as he had a race each day where he was defeated or almost defeated due to having a softer temperament. On Saturday, he ended up boxed in by two of the girls due to a strange moment where he slowed up suddenly without obvious cause. Once he was boxed in, he wouldn't push his way through to pass them. On Sunday, Evie pulled a brat move and started harassed him right out of the box. He moved all the way to the outside with her, and then ended up behind two of the other girls. In a similar move to Saturday, once he was behind them, he would not pass them. It made me realize that he's always been so far ahead of the other dogs during racing that he isn't used to being in the middle of a group and he just doesn't know what to do with himself once he's there. Regardless, he won both his other races both days by a very long lead, and ended up as the meet winner for both days. Evie has been retired from racing - she's just too easily distracted by the other dogs when she's muzzled, and she tends to play fun police. Fortunately, she enjoys lure coursing even more than racing anyway. Another win of the weekend was watching Kayla's girl, Azula, come into her own. Azula was a very timid girl and lacked the confidence to run with other dogs a few months ago. Evie was a huge boost to her confidence in general, and specifically in lure coursing. Azula has been gradually getting more and more confident, and she was a strong runner all this weekend. It was a treat to see! I got the exciting news today that I achieved my goal for Dean this year, and he was the #1 Ibizan Hound in both LGRA and NOTRA, which makes him the #1 Racing Ibizan overall this year. What's more is that he is the #9 All-Breed LGRA dog, which is really exciting. I didn't even think of all-breed rankings when I decided to attend more racing in 2020. Dean finished the year almost undefeated in LGRA, with the exception of one race where he got intimidated by something and hung back. I'm proud of Aiden for hanging in there as well, as almost a veteran and still running strong. We will continue to attend as many racing events as we can in 2021.
NOTRA:
Fleura also ended the year #1 in LGRA for Afghans. We had another great weekend with a split of LGRA and NOTRA. Good friends and nice, slightly too warm weather, and the usual excitement of racing. Dean picked up some more points toward his SGRC by winning the LGRA meet, and Aiden squeaked into third for another half point. He's chipping away at that title. Fleura ran with her sister, Frielle, and won the LGRA meet. Frielle won the NOTRA meet.
In NOTRA, Dean won his first two races, but backed off suddenly in the final high point race for some unknown reason. He seemed reluctant to pass the two wild girls ahead of him. Evie ended up winning second in the high point race -- she was majorly supercharged and fresh from not running LGRA the day before. Unfortunately, she was just out of the points, but I was proud of her. This past weekend we had a mixed LGRA and NOTRA meet. Dean had a bad incident in the box on Saturday where there was a long delay and he turned himself around. He couldn't figure out how to get out the box at first and finished last in his first race. He still managed to pull off second place in the meet. Sunday was the NOTRA day and he won the meet. Aiden finished third for more points as well in both LGRA & NOTRA! Fleura made her debut racing with competition and won both meets for her first points. We had a wonderful weekend of racing and hanging out with close friends. Dean was the meet winner again!
We managed to squeeze in one day of racing this weekend. It was a first for Dean, Evie and Niko and they all learned about the boxes. Dean was the winner each race, picking up a couple points toward his ORC, and Evie was second place to pick up her first point.
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