Wyre 2012

I do like this show. I say this every year and it continues being true.

All the courses this weekend were … easy though, except the C6-7 Agility. They all presented minor challenges but nothing really testing. That was sort of disappointing, but I don’t want to complain too much in case I get really hard courses next time!

We went clear in the C5-7 Jumping, which placed to 20th. We did not place. The winner was 25s and Dylan was 30.55s. Eh. There was a section which required three very tight turns in a small space, the kind that Dylan just isn’t suited to. The course as a whole was tightly spaced, so not really Dyl’s cup of tea. His jumping was somewhat clean, but there were a few really stuttering moments. He was keen though, and it just reminded me of uncomfortable Dylan from last year. Now I’m concerned about injuries.

G6-7 Agility had a tricky entry into 9 weaves out of a box of jumps, but other than that, not a problem. Dylan was fine with his dogwalk this week but not his seesaw, but we have had issues with the aluminium seesaw before. We got E’d in the box of jumps (I hate boxes with Dyl, this has been a recurring theme for 4yrs), and then Dylan popped the 9 weaves. Oh well … he wasn’t fast or confident on anything other than his dogwalk and Aframe, which is at least a refreshing change from his usual not-fast or -confident equipment.

C6-7 Agility was actually a fun course, and Dylan set off really well. And then he was terrible, and then got E’d, so we just finished quietly and I hoped no-one was watching. I thought when he came out of the ring that he looked slightly off on his right hind, but he trotted out normally a second later.

Hannah Grantham sets really nice courses, but her G6-7 Jumping was really easy (apart from 9 weaves again. I should actually train those, if it’s going to be a thing next year). I walked it and felt sad; it was the kind of course that Dylan and I usually like, all open spaces and flowing lines. I went home and didn’t run it.

Next stop for Dylan: video all training on Tuesday to confirm it’s an injury and/or tweak, then an appointment with the chiropractor (or possibly physiotherapist, looking into this), and rest over Christmas. Then … we’ll see. If he needs chiro (or physio?) treatment then it suggests he needs looking at every 6 months, which worries me. Is it something caused by agility (or flyball)? How can I tell? If it is caused by agility or flyball, then I want to make it so that isn’t happening. Is it the way he’s trained? Is it the equipment itself? Is it just the general physical stress of repeated running/jumping/twisting with a body that isn’t made for it? Is it something I can control and change? (Welcome to just a sample of the questions constantly running through my mind before/after every run we do when Dyl looks “off”.)