#asca nationals 2023

[theadventurek9]

Holy shit. Aayla just won Novice Finals.

[schoolsformedicalbilling]

The Annual ASCA Conference occurred May 17-20th, 2023, uniting 1,200+ ASC specialists, specialists, and suppliers from around the nation. Throughout 4 days, guests checked out the current developments and patterns, spoken with a remarkable lineup of speakers, and connected with likeminded people who deeply appreciate the success and durability of the ASC market. Today’s episode…

[theadventurek9]

Please hold. I'm going to keep crying about this dog.

Aayla stepped into the Utility B ring at Nationals and pulled out her best and got a 198/200 only a half point behind the winner with some impressive competition. Some of the biggest names in obedience for Australian Shepherds and Aayla ranked second, only a HALF POINT behind.

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Obedience High Score Veteran. 🥲

[theadventurek9]

"She is probably eligible for Finals in Texas" is something I clearly remember my friend saying as Aayla got her Novice title in ASCA this past April. It wasn't even something I knew about or was on my Radar. I just wanted to hurry through novice and open to start working on her UD like I was for AKC.

Due to a barky run, she had one 193, it was suggested that I replace it for a higher score. Then I got offered a ride to nationals and was told I could stay for cheap in a stall in the obedience area. The spark there started thinking I could make this happen and we could go.

I entered in novice B for a fourth time in May to get a 196 and secure Aayla's spot in Novice Finals. When the standings came out, Aayla was dog #4 in novice with a 199, 196.5 and 196. The dogs ahead of her were in the 196-200 score range. Two dogs were scoring similar to her as well. So I was excited to go and hoped to place in the middle of the 10 dogs that were attending.

Except for a weird judge issue that caused an NQ for the first pre trial, the second pre trial went well and Aayla got her highest score in utility to date with a 195. Her heeling was doing great and I was really looking forward to finals.

For finals you do two full runs under two different judges and combine the score. NQs on an exercise are just points loss not NQed from placing. So we did our two group stays first then started our individual exercises.

Aayla got a 195 on her first run. She two slow sits that lost us our 5 points. I somewhat watched the other runs, thinking we did well in the group of people. After everyone finished my friend ran up and told me that Aayla was in the lead by several points. Even if everyone else got a perfect score, Aayla would only need to get a 196 on the next run to win overall.

For the next run Aayla only had one slow sit, but had an auto finish on the recall. She got a 194. A few of those dogs had a history of getting 199-200 scores in novice before so I held my breath.

My friend (the obedience chair, who can't wait for any surprises) came up, grabbed me and said we got it.

Aayla was the Novice Finals Champion.

[theadventurek9]

It's been work trying to figure Aayla's in between exercises routine. I want her to know that she is doing everything right and that I'm happy with her. Her main constant has been nose touches and chest or hind leg scratches. Trying to find a line of not demanding play from her but encouraging something fun. I still have work to do in between exercises but I'm happy she will play.

Photos by John Beal

[theadventurek9]

Down to sit!

Aayla does so well with her signals when I'm on top of my game.

📸 John Beal

[theadventurek9]

Utility directed jumping exercise!

[theadventurek9]

There are going to be so many photos I have to share of us in the ring from Nationals. I am so excited to have so many fun photos of rally and obedience.

📸 John Beal Photography

[theadventurek9]

This run had a bunch of rear crosses and it just flowed smooth.

[theadventurek9]

Directed retrieve! I've been so worried about this exercise but it all went smoothly during the three utility classes we were in.

[theadventurek9]

We are in Bryan Texas for the 2023 ASCA Nationals!

It's hot and humid but is supposed to get cold on Monday. Aayla got taken off Carprofen two days ago and is her normal self, no signs of pain! So we are going forward with the obedience and rally trial tomorrow and seeing where we go from there.

She has assimilated well into my friend's group of dogs. (five others, with minimal issues).

Take a peep at Aspen this blue merle, who holds the record for the most amount of OTCHs with ASCA. (He has OTCH13!!! He also has an AKC OTCH and an ASCA ATCH)

[theadventurek9]

Pre-Trial #2 is wrapped up!

Aayla was a lot better today and felt more confident. So proud of her!

She rocked her rally Masters run with a 199/200 and a second place out of 30 something dogs!

Then she got her first Utility Leg with ASCA with her highest score yet of a 195/200! She took fourth place out of about 10 dogs.

[theadventurek9]

For a dog that doesn't practice agility she sure remembers a lot!

I do think we need to practice some handling exercises. She doesn't remember her directionals and her distance handling is pretty much gone. (gamblers did not happen at this trial!) I think we can practice with bars on ground exercises this winter.

I'm also rusty with my timing and cues. Yet I was very happy with both of her regular runs. She got two Qs and her YPS was still the fastest out of anyone in the open class, not just the ace senior class. (Which was just her)

[theadventurek9]

Elite Jumpers round 1

God I just love handling her in these classes. I often worry about off course obstacles but she runs so smooth and in tune with me.

[theadventurek9]

ASCA Pre-Trial at Nationals Excellent B 198/200

Such a good girl. Points off were one for bumping on a left turn and a bump on a u-turn. I gotta work on a left turn pivots more. Judge marked a smiley face on her back up! 😄