Fleura made history and I'm still processing it. With the NLCC so close by in Florida, I decided that I needed to go and at least run Fleura. She's at her competitive height, and even though money was tight enough that I couldn't enter any of the Beezers (which had a huge entry!), I decided it was worth investing everything to give Fleura a shot. As I cautiously told people, I believed she could actually be a contender.
The weekend started off with her running kind of sluggish compared to her usual rocket speed. It feels cheap to say that when she ultimately was BOB both days, but it was something that several people used to seeing her run commented on, so I felt safe that it wasn't me glorifying her usual style. Her cousin, Rosie, put in some really beautiful runs and beat her both days in Prelims, but Fleura kept it together in Finals and squeaked ahead. Fleura tends to get better throughout the day as she runs, and on Friday, she had a brilliant course for BIF which was ultimately awarded to the Azawakh. After discussing her sluggishness with Eddie, we decided not to run her in BIF on Saturday to conserve her for the NLCC.
Sunday was cool and beautiful, and Rosie and Fleura ran off over 1200 yards to see who would be the NLCC Finalist. Rosie got some hair hung in the line and we had to stop mid-course, but luckily was fine due to the quick actions of the Huntmaster. Fleura put in a great course, one of her best over the weekend, and moved on to the finals. After seeing her run that morning, I started to become cautiously hopeful again - she was running more like she typically does. When the NLCC came about, Fleura drew the Greyhound and the Borzoi. I wasn't sure what to think. Normally, with her speed, this is actually a good draw for her to show just how fast she is, but I was nervous she would peter out over the next 1200 yards with how she had run the previous days on 800 yards.
It turns out that I wasn't giving her competitive spirit enough credit. Fleura hates when dogs are faster than her, and she rode that Greyhound and refused to give ground. Mid-course, she and the GH took the far corner deep and the lure was pulled ahead of the Borzoi and she started to fall back a little bit on the uphill. Then in the last third of the course, she put on the afterburners again and decided she was going to pass the Greyhound at the top of the hill. She actually pulled ahead for just a moment, then the GH started down the hill just as she was passing and there was a collision. Fleura got her brain rattled around a bit and was mildly sore on a front shoulder, but thankfully it was the very end of the course and neither dog was truly hurt. It was a brilliant course and I was so proud of her, and once again I was cautiously hopeful. There were several other great courses, but she really put on a show. Turns out that the judges unanimously put her as their top score, and Fleura became the first Afghan Hound to be awarded the National Field Champion title. This title is only given out to one dog per year, so this is phenomenally exciting. Eddie was the FTS at the event, so he got to see the scores as they were tabulated and I have no idea how he was able to keep it together long enough for it to be announced. As big of an honor as this is for me as her owner, it's an incredible honor for her breeders, Eddie & Selma. There were lots of happy tears and Selma screaming over the phone, and it was amazing.
The weekend started off with her running kind of sluggish compared to her usual rocket speed. It feels cheap to say that when she ultimately was BOB both days, but it was something that several people used to seeing her run commented on, so I felt safe that it wasn't me glorifying her usual style. Her cousin, Rosie, put in some really beautiful runs and beat her both days in Prelims, but Fleura kept it together in Finals and squeaked ahead. Fleura tends to get better throughout the day as she runs, and on Friday, she had a brilliant course for BIF which was ultimately awarded to the Azawakh. After discussing her sluggishness with Eddie, we decided not to run her in BIF on Saturday to conserve her for the NLCC.
Sunday was cool and beautiful, and Rosie and Fleura ran off over 1200 yards to see who would be the NLCC Finalist. Rosie got some hair hung in the line and we had to stop mid-course, but luckily was fine due to the quick actions of the Huntmaster. Fleura put in a great course, one of her best over the weekend, and moved on to the finals. After seeing her run that morning, I started to become cautiously hopeful again - she was running more like she typically does. When the NLCC came about, Fleura drew the Greyhound and the Borzoi. I wasn't sure what to think. Normally, with her speed, this is actually a good draw for her to show just how fast she is, but I was nervous she would peter out over the next 1200 yards with how she had run the previous days on 800 yards.
It turns out that I wasn't giving her competitive spirit enough credit. Fleura hates when dogs are faster than her, and she rode that Greyhound and refused to give ground. Mid-course, she and the GH took the far corner deep and the lure was pulled ahead of the Borzoi and she started to fall back a little bit on the uphill. Then in the last third of the course, she put on the afterburners again and decided she was going to pass the Greyhound at the top of the hill. She actually pulled ahead for just a moment, then the GH started down the hill just as she was passing and there was a collision. Fleura got her brain rattled around a bit and was mildly sore on a front shoulder, but thankfully it was the very end of the course and neither dog was truly hurt. It was a brilliant course and I was so proud of her, and once again I was cautiously hopeful. There were several other great courses, but she really put on a show. Turns out that the judges unanimously put her as their top score, and Fleura became the first Afghan Hound to be awarded the National Field Champion title. This title is only given out to one dog per year, so this is phenomenally exciting. Eddie was the FTS at the event, so he got to see the scores as they were tabulated and I have no idea how he was able to keep it together long enough for it to be announced. As big of an honor as this is for me as her owner, it's an incredible honor for her breeders, Eddie & Selma. There were lots of happy tears and Selma screaming over the phone, and it was amazing.
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