Well, I can't even remember Championships anymore! LOL I got caught up in life and never finished the story. So here is the Cliff Notes version of events:
At some point during the week, Sharon gave out the Top Ten Awards for 2007. Mojo was #6 Touch-n-Go dog, #2 Weavers dog and #1 TUNNELERS dog in the country!!! I had made such a point to get those weavers legs that I never gave Tunnelers a second thought... Miss Luxx made it into the Top Ten as well, #9 Tunnelers dog!! Pretty cool for the crazy red girl. The rest of Champs went swimmingly, we had a hiccup here or there, but Mojo ended up making it into the FINALS!!
8 dogs made it into the finals, Mojo was in 7th place. I had no pressure on me at all except to try and run clean because up until this point Mojo had run clean in EVERY run so far. But I had ZERO expectations. They usually run from last to first place in the finals, but not this time. So I had to wait a long time to run. It is SOOO quiet during the finals. It's really weird. The crowd is the biggest it has been all week, but you could hear a pin drop. We finally made our way to the line and started our run. Jump, jump, A-frame, jump, jump, tunnel, jump (WIDE turn looking at an off course a few dogs took), jump, weaves (holy crap we might do this...), jump serpentine, switch out, back through, pull into the tunnel, out tunnel (so close, so CLOSE!), COME WALK IT!! (I was sweating this one for some reason), get your feet in that contact buddy, go on, go ON!! YEEEEESSSSSSSS! He did it! Our 14th out of 14 clean runs at the Championships!! I couldn't help but leap into the air and skip. I could hear my friends cheering for us and my heart was just bursting with pride in my boy!
It turns out we finished in Second place in the final round! SECOND place out of the 8 top dogs to attend this year. A DOBERMAN in a sea of Border Collies and Aussies.... To say I was pleased would be the understatement of the century! I was pretty bummed because this year Sharon did not give out ribbons for the finals round as she had last year... I had so looked forward to that special red ribbon. But I wasn't sweating it and we went to watch the Overall Champion awards given out. My friends that I came with did very well, Paula won 16" Skilled with Split and came in Second in 20" Pre-Elite. Tom won 8" Superstakes with Maddie and came in Third I think with Piper in 16" Elite. They finally got around to announcing the 20+" Elite dogs. Starting with 3rd overall, Nicole Bailey and Mojo!!!! I almost fainted I was so surprised!! I just started to cry and cry, it was a little overwhelming. I knew he had done well in the finals, but I didn't think it was good enough to bump him from 7th to 3rd place!!
It was like a little fairytale come true for us. I had NO expectations at all when I went to Champs this year. Moj just isn't fast enough to be competitive at the National level. But he can be bloody consistent, and that and his better than average speed carried us into the top 3. Let's just say that I spent a lot of time glancing back at the ribbon hanging in the van on the trip home to make sure it was all real. :)
So that's it, that's our big trip! I'm already fully involved in plans for this year's Champs. Same place... AGAIN! But I can't wait, I love to see all the Canadian and West Coast people that I never see and met through going to Champs these past 2 years. It's a really cool experience. I have made some very cool friends out there that I look forward to seeing again!
To finish off, here are the rest of the pics of note from our trip, ENJOY!
Mojo Proudly displays his loot, his Top Ten Medals (Tunnelers #1 around his neck), his High Scoring Doberman award, his Triple Superior Versatility Award (clear thing) and his ribbons from Regular. Just look at that purdy third place rosette!
One of the mornings we arrived at the Camplex, there was the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen! It was also the BIGGEST! Wyoming is so open and expansive, I could see the whole rainbow, from beginning to end arching over me. It was an amazing experience. You just don't get that on the east coast!
Little Pup-Pup is hauling ASS! (and overjumping... LOL)
#2 Weaver in NADAC struts his stuff!
Patriotic Pup-Pup, she kinda does have a lovely head...
Brother and sister, posing pretty.
Handsome lad, he looks so thoughtful in this pic.
Our team this year, "Screw Loose and Fancy-Free". Tom & Piper, Nelson & Hattie and Luxx and I make our "Reservoir Dogs" entrance into the arena.
Nelson shows us his "agony of defeat" face... ;)
More with the agony... NICE SHIRT though! I wonder who designed those shirts??? LOL
Luxx shows us exactly how you run to get 5th place in Touch-n-Go! My little girl is DRIVING!
She knows she's doing well, just look at that smile! :D
Yes indeed, I WAS skipping with joy. He caught me mid-bounce to go and hug my BOY!!
