Sunday, February 20, 2011

regionals ...

aren't I a wimp?

I cannot decide what to do with specific reference to regionals. Held every spring I have only made it to one. It was fun. It was great actually and I'd like to do them again someday but I'm not convinced this is the spring to do them again.
Brody could do them and probably he would do me proud (if 20 point gamble classes could be considered proud making!) . If he didn't thrill me he owes me nothing anyhow. He runs agility for me not him though and I'm not sure regionals are a place I want to push him that much.
Sally could manage I suspect - but I am really hesitant to put her on aframes at the moment. I suspect bad habits learned now could last a life time.
Thea will stay home. She has spent too much time living with her sister this winter and too little time doing agility. I will play with her in the spring and trial her in the summer. Hopefully CPE but if not I will do jumpers classes and snookers and maybe even gamblers classes until we have weaves, teeters and dogwalks sorted out.
So I'm torn ... I would like to go on the one hand (and you can be sure all my agility buddies will hoot and holler and say go go go if I ask them) but on the other I'd like to garden, train, and be sure when I do go I'm going for the right reasons. I'd love input .. there really aren't too many folks around me who can even understand why I'm not sure ;)

5 comments:

Sara said...

I think you should only go if your really, really want to.

andrea said...

Thanks Sara - don't get me wrong I do want to go ...I really want to go - but I don't want to go if the cost to the dogs will be too high ... if that makes any sense at all

Helen said...

I'm going, Andrea as a volunteer to pay back all the volunteers for the years before. I'm going to bring Beckett and enter him in the Steeplechase. I could enter him of course but it wouldn't be fari to put all that pressure on him when he has so little experience. There's always next year. Maybe we'll see you there.

Muttsandaklutz said...

I hemmed and hawed as well and finally decided to go (Walter only -- Lucy will come along as a spectator). We are not competitive (both in the sense that we're nowhere near the top teams, and in the sense that we're too casual and laid back to want to be competitive) but I figure it's not forever that I'll have my Walter boy healthy and able to share this experience with me... Plus I love traveling and even though this isn't a particularly exotic destination I find it's always fun to go somewhere new!

Everyone will have their own unique factors playing into the decision and while it would be fun to perhaps meet you there it sounds like this may not be the year for you guys. Lots of time still to decide, though :-)

andrea said...

Lisa - as always excellent points - and you too Helen... for me I actually don't put a ton of pressure on the dogs at any competition- apart from my expectation that we will both do the best we can .. so for me personally there would be no difference between running the steeplechase and the full program (though I understand why you and others feel as you do). I'm with you on the older dog thing too - would I be ok if Brody never gets to play at regionals again? Guess I'd better decide. As for Sally ... I am of two minds with her - no dog reminds me every run could be a last run quite the way she does - I would be devastated not to get to try regionals with her ever. (Brody has one very succesful one under his belt)
Thanks for the input everybody :)