Early this morning, I headed to West Springfield, Massachusetts, to watch the AKC Rally Trials held in conjunction with the Pioneer Valley Kennel Club All Breed and Obedience Show held at the Eastern States Exposition grounds. My Rally trainer, Tibby Chase, has been encouraging me to enter King in Rally competitions. King and I really enjoy doing Rally together, and competing would prompt me to work harder on his training. King needs to be a super well-trained boy because he accompanies me on many of our Bright Spot community outreach events. Training for Rally competitions would strengthen his skills for both Rally and Therapy Dog work. Tibby’s suggestion that I attend the show was a good one.
I just missed the Rally Excellent class. Only a couple of dogs showed up for that class, so it was done and over with very quickly. Next up was Rally Advanced A & B, with about 3 dozen dogs and handlers participating. Plenty to watch.
I found it particularly helpful to watch the dogs and handlers competing in the Advanced B class. These competitors have been through the Novice class and have received three qualifying scores to earn their Rally Novice title. Having moved up to Rally Advanced, several of the day’s competitors had earned one or two legs toward the Advanced title. These dogs and handlers were well-polished in their maneuvers. I watched each handler with great interest. Each gave his/her dog special cues, hand signals, etc. that worked well for them as the team made their way through the judge’s course layout composed of twelve stations. Numbered 1-12, the team must move through the course in numerical order. I found it fascinating to watch all the dogs and handlers. Doing so really sparked my interest to give it a try. At the very least, my goal of getting King very well trained for his job as a Therapy Dog will be achieved. And, too, it would be nice to add another AKC title to his name. He is already an AKC Grand Champion, is currently working on his AKC Therapy Dog title, so a Rally title or two would be great. In the process, we’ll have a lot of fun doing it together.
While I stood ringside, a couple of my friends from the old days of competing in Obedience Trials at AKC shows stopped by. It was great fun reconnecting with them. Makes the old days seem like just yesterday!
I occasionally glanced around the exposition hall and noticed an English Setter here and there up on a grooming table being readied for the ring. As luck had it, Rally classes ended just in time for me to pop over to the English Setter ring and watch the Breed Competition. Again, I met up with several old friends. It was so much fun for all of us to catch up on news. Looks like I may even head to the English Setter National Specialty in October, since its not that far from New England this year. Seeing old friends got me excited about going.
I was having so much fun being back at a dog show, it was tempting to stay longer. There was lots more to watch. Watching the group competition is always exciting. This is where the winners of Best of Breed in each group: Sporting, Hound, Terrier, Toy, Herding, Working, Non-Sporting (I think I got them all…) compete for Best in Group or Group 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The winner of each group goes on to compete in Best in Show. Always a thrill to be on hand for that. But, I had other more important things to do in the afternoon. King and I were due at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts to spend time visiting with the veterans who live there. Saying quick good-byes to my English Setter friends, I headed back home.
King and I arrived at the Soldiers Home a bit late. The other 15 Bright Spot Therapy Dogs had already dispersed throughout the facility to visit. No problem. King and I said hello to our friend at the information desk – she knows us now. We signed in, got our visitors pass, and headed to the Canteen. I will write about the complete visit – and post lots of photos in my next post. Stay tune…. it was a terrific visit!