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Sanctioned Agility Trial

November 2, 3, and 4, 2007

Mallary Building, Big E Fairgrounds

West Springfield, MA

(indoors, 2 rings on mats, enclosed with snow fencing or equivalent)

Our wonderful judges were Art Malott and Paul Stusalitus - THANK YOU!

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NEWS - November 11 - Results, and Survey

 If you have any pictures of the trial - either the general layout or any dogs running - would you be willing to share your pictures with me?  I never got a chance to take pictures, and want to put some shots of the trial up on my website.  Email me if you can help, thanks!

Please fill out this survey if you attended the trial.  Any and all opinions are welcome!!  Thank you

First Name  
Last Name  
Email  
Dog(s) you attended trial with (name and breed)  

Please check all days you competed at the trial
Friday, November 2    
Saturday, November 3 
Sunday, November 4

Did you bring your RV?
Yes   No

              If so, was the location and service adequate?
              Yes No

              Comments about RV parking:
              

 Did you work out of your car any/all days?
Yes No

             If so, was the location and availability of a spot adequate?
            Yes No

             Comments about working out of your car:
             

Did you crate in the building any/all days?
Yes No

             If so, was the location and availability of a spot adequate?
             Yes No

             Comments about crating in the building:
            

Mats

We used mats provided by a sponsor of the Pet Expo, and brought in and laid down by Jeanne Emge (info@worldofpets.org) and her crew.  The mats were, contrary to what some people thought, not the same mats installed at other places, but a brand new product called True Blue K9 Training Mats, 20mm thick EVA foam, interlocking design.  The manufacturer is www.therubberman.com and they are provided through Emge Equine Services, 800-467-7321; their website is www.earthhorse.com.

These mats have never been used before for a dog agility event, so both myself and the manufacturer and distributor want any and all comments to improve the product and for quality control.  As most you are aware, the only 2 issues that came up with these mats were static electricity (mostly early the first day and on Saturday before the storm came in) and some slipping by bigger/heavier boned dogs, more so later in the weekend as some dirt/dog hair accumulated on the mats.  I will forward all information to the manufacturer and rep so that they can improve upon this new product.

Please check any/all that apply to you and your dog(s):
my dog ran faster on the mats
my dog ran slower/slipped on the mats
my dog had an easier time gripping on corners
my dog had a hard time gripping on corners
my dog got an electrical shock on the mats
         Where/how did this happen?
I ran faster on the mats
I ran slower/slipped on the mats
 

Central Area

The idea when setting up was for us to use the central area for warm up jump, scoring, judge's area, key worker crating, ribbons, worker gifts, and food/drinks.  When we set up on Thursday night and Friday morning, we were told that we couldn't have any electrical coffee pots/warmers as per Big E rules, nor could we have any food displayed.  We moved the food to just outside the building, and did not make coffee.  We ended up having a large open area where the food had been intended to be set up.

For next time, I'd like to keep the key things in the middle, but perhaps put the scoretables on one side of the posts so that they're in a long line (which will minimize the traffic flow through the middle of the scoring area).  Alternately, we could change the traffic flow so that people have to walk around that block of tables.

In addition, we had an unused area where the food had been that can be used differently next time.

Please provide your thoughts about the traffic flow through that area, any congestion you noticed, and thoughts/ideas for organizing the center area next time:

 

Entry, tickets, etc

This was a totally new system for me, and I did not leave enough time to do the tickets properly.  For next year I will have individual tickets emailed to each person running a dog, with your name on them.  The pet expo people, while understanding about letting extra people in, also needs to make a profit, and in some cases folks had an extra 3-4 people in addition to the one running a dog getting in for free.   So, for next year I will allow some maximum number of people per dog to get free entry, and each person needing an extra ticket will need to have one individually sent by me with their name on it.  Also, I'll more clearly state next year the deadline for emailing me for extra tickets.  I was at the site starting at Thursday midday this year, so several people emailing me at the last minute did not get the message through to me and confusion and sometimes frustration resulted - I'm sorry for that :-(

Here's your chance to give your thoughts and opinions on the system this year and about my idea for improvement for next year.  Any comments are welcome!

 

Workers Schedule:

By necessity, we had a fill in worker's schedule for Sunday, whereas on Friday and Saturday we had the schedule pre-filled out.  Please give me your comments if you were there on Sunday as to how you liked or disliked the "fill in your own" style of worker's schedule.


Pet Expo Events and crowd:

Did you see or experience any problems with the crowd in the bleachers and area around there watching agility?
Yes     No

            If so, please describe:

Did the noise, either of people or other animals/events, ever bother you or your dog?
Yes     No

           If so, please describe:

Did you participate in any of the seminars or demonstrations?
Yes      No

           If so, please list what you participated in:

Did you try the new product Chologel that was an anti-inflammatory for older dogs?
Yes       No

          If so, please describe any benefits you think your dog(s) might have gained by using the product:
         

Any other comments about the Pet Expo itself?
        


THANK YOU for taking the time to fill out this form!  Please click Submit below to send it to me.

Results and Titles

Major Titles were earned by the following teams - congratulations!

C-ATE - Wendy Gregoire and Ziggy

C-ATCH - Judy Cheron and Penny
C-ATCH - Rich Dennison and Gabby
C-ATCH - Sue Gervais and Crumpet
C-ATCH - John Heffernan and Wyatt
C-ATCH - Mary Emmott and Minnie
C-ATCH2 - Sheila Vara and Willie

Other titles earned over the course of the weekend, in no particular order:

 

Results
All are in PDF format; just click on the underlined class to open or download the results for that class

Friday, November 2

Colors Levels 1/2 Colors Levels 3/S/4/5/C Jackpot all levels
Standard - Level 1 Standard - Level 2 Standard - Levels 3/S
Standard - Levels 4/5/C Jumpers Levels 1/2 Jumpers Levels 3/S
Jumpers Levels 4/5/C Wildcard Levels 1/2 Wildcard Levels 3/S4/5/C

Saturday, November 3

Colors Levels 1/2 Colors Levels 3/S/4/5/C Snooker Levels 1/2
Snooker Levels 3/S/4/5/C Standard Round 1 - Level 1 Standard Round 1 - Level 2
Standard Round 1 - Levels 3/S Standard Rd 1 - Levels 4/5/C Standard Round 2 - Level 1
Standard Round 2 - Level 2 Standard Round 2 - Levels 3/S Standard Rd 2 - Levels 4/5/C
Wildcard Levels 1/2 Wildcard Levels 3/S/4/5/C  

Sunday, November 4

FullHouse Jackpot Levels 1/2 Jackpot Levels 3/S
Jackpot Levels 4/5/C Jumpers Levels 1/2 Jumpers Levels 3/S
Jumpers Levels 4/5/C Snooker Levels 1/2 Snooker Levels 3/S/4/5/C
Standard  Level 1 Standard Level 2 Standard Levels 3/S
Standard Levels 4/5/C    

Catalog now available - click to open, right click to download

Friday                      Saturday                       Sunday

Worker's Schedules:

Friday - note that there are holes in the schedule, particularly for Jackpot all levels big dogs and scoring in both rings all day.  This is because I shifted some class orders to help avoid conflicts for your runs, but you may not be available to work as many classes!  There are also many of you I could not fit into the schedule.  Please fill in when you can, thank you so much!

Saturday - can I say DITTO ???  Similar to Friday, to make it easier for you, I made it hard on the schedule.  The first class in ring 1, Standard 45C, will need workers for the small dogs (12", 8", 4").  Also, we'll need more scorers all day, particularly in ring 1.


This agility trial will be held in conjunction with the first annual World of Pets Expo at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA, similar to one that has been held successfully in Maryland for the past six years.  I was lucky enough to have found out about this after it was discovered that AKC would not be able to hold an trial there due to another event within 100 miles on the same weekend.   The organizers of the pet expo were thrilled to find someone to host an agility trial that allowed all dogs to participate regardless of breed or pedigree. 

The website for the World of Pets Expo is www.worldofpets.org/MAmain.htm . Check it out; the list of seminars, demos, and performances is growing every day.  I only wish I'll have the time to go see some of the other events going on, but know I'll be too busy with the management of the CPE trial, not to mention running my own dogs !!

Here's a map of the Mallary building - we'll be located at the left side; we will have our own entrance/exit door (center left side, next to the crating area) and a barrier between us and the bleachers and rest of the exhibit area.

If you want to know more about these brand new dog agility mats being used, here's the scoop:
 The mats that will be used for this event are a brand new product called True Blue K9 Training Mats (bright blue in color), 20mm thick EVA foam, interlocking design.  The manufacturer is www.therubberman.com and they are provided through Emge Equine Services, 800-467-7321; their website is www.earthhorse.com.  Feel free to email or call them with more information.  The mats will be available for purchase after the show at a discounted rate.



NEWS - October 29th

Map of Big E Fairgrounds

CONFIRMATION LETTER

Hello everyone!  Thank you for entering the first (and hopefully annual!) Agility Trial in conjunction with the Pet Expo at the Eastern States Exposition, November 2-4, 2007.  This letter details everything you’ll need to know for this weekend.  We have a total of 270 dog and 202 people entered, for 695 runs on Friday, 774 runs on Saturday, and 725 runs on Sunday.  I think we’re going to have a lot of FUN this coming weekend!!

There is a lot of information contained in this letter.  I have tried to cover all the details and questions that you might have, but please email me if you still have questions after reading this entire letter – Trisha@agiledogs.net

Volunteers:
Thank you!!  We expect there to be a few conflicts between rings, but don’t worry!  If you’re scheduled to work a class and are afraid you’ll miss a walk through, we’ll make sure you don’t miss it.  We appreciate each and every one of you, and could not run the show without you.  There will be a worker raffle each day and lots of worker snacks and drinks.

If you signed up to help with Setup on Thursday, THANK YOU!  Please plan on arriving by 2:30pm.  We will have lots of equipment, supplies and tables/chairs to unload, as well as putting together fencing and marking off areas both in the crating area and barriers and outside in the parking lots.  You’ll be able to set up your crate before 5pm if you’re on the Thursday setup crew list (I’ll be emailing you all separately to confirm this assignment).

Food Vendor:
Speaking of snacks: there will be no food vendor at our show.  However, there is a vendor for the Pet Expo.  They will have the following items available for purchase: breakfast sandwiches (bacon,egg & cheese); donuts, muffins, bagels, juice, coffee, tea, cappuccino; lunch - burgers & dogs, etc., fries, soup, salads, deli sandwiches, etc; also, popcorn, fried dough, hot pretzels, soda, wine, Mike's hard lemonade, beer, chips, cookies. 

It’s unsure at this time if they’ll be open for us early in the morning (she’ll be getting back to me soon), but I’ll post that on my website as soon as I know.  They will be there on Friday starting at 1pm, and Saturday and Sunday starting at 9am, unless they decide to come earlier for us.

Entry into Fairgrounds:
Either gates 2 or 9 may be used, both should be open even for late arrivals (campers) or early arrivals each morning.  If for some reason gate 9 (the closer one to us) is closed, just go onto gate 2 farther down the road – see directions below.

Campers:
You’ll need to pay the attendant at the gate a $15 fee when you arrive, and will in return get a parking/camping pass.  Try to use Gate 9, but if you’re late getting in and they have closed that gate you can continue on down to gate 2; there is a 24 hour attendant at that gate.  When you drive on to behind the Mallary Building, there will be several places throughout the parking area around the Mallary Building with electric hookups.  I will try to have signs and tape up to mark up the best area for RV’s to park.

Parking fees:
The Big E charges a per-car rate of $5 per day at the gate when you enter – I have no control over this (I’ll be paying the fee too!).  So, be prepared each day to pay and get a parking pass.

Passes into the Pet Expo:
The other attachment, your “ticket”, needs to be PRINTED AND BROUGHT WITH YOU – it’s the only way you’ll be able to get into the agility area of the arena without paying the Pet Expo entry fee. 

Please email me if you need an additional pass for a second person (if husband and wife both run dog and I only send you one total, if a spouse/companion isn’t running a dog but is working as a volunteer (thank you!), or if you need a helper to take care of your dog).  I’ll be giving a list to the attendant at the door, so if you haven’t told me you need an additional pass and I haven’t added you to the list, he may not let you in.

When you arrive at the main agility door for the first time (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday morning, no one will be there on Thursday evening), you’ll be asked to present your printed “ticket” and in return receive a wristband which you must wear each day while at the show site.  This wristband allows you to come and go from the agility door.  There will be an attendant there all weekend that will allow us to come and go, but will prevent the public from coming into our area.  So, it is very important that you always wear this wristband!

If anyone is coming with you and does not have a ticket, they will have to go to the pet expo exhibitor entrance and buy a ticket to get in.  It’s $8 per adult, $5 children 5-12, under 5 free

Crating:
If you’re planning on crating in the main area between rings, please be space-conscious.  If you use an x-pen, please put more than one dog in it or reduce its size.  You are welcome to work out of your car if you so choose, and we will have designated signs outside for parking for those who wish to do this.  We will have spots marked on the floor in the building for crating and for walkways.  Remember, this center area will also be used for worker food, ribbons, and scoring/announcing areas, so please only set up crates/etc in areas marked for that purpose.  You may set up any time after 5pm on Thursday – please, don’t come in any earlier than 5pm to set up your crate, we won’t be able to accommodate you before then!

Pet Expo hours:
We will be starting each day much earlier than the Pet Expo.  Therefore, there are a few rules we must follow, for security, liability and safety reasons.  We may go past our agility area to use the bathrooms (located at the center of the building) and to come and go from the food vendor.  We may not stray into the vendor booths or demo areas, as they will be unattended at those hours.  During the pet expo hours we are free to roam about, shop, visit the demos and workshops, etc.

The Pet Expo website is www.worldofpets.org/MAmain.htm   Take a look – there are many interesting demos and workshops available each day, plus a lot of vendors will be coming!  There is more information about demos later on in this letter.

Catalogs:
I will not be printing catalogs for exhibitors.  A catalog for each day will be available on my website (see direct link at the beginning of this letter) on Tuesday night.  I will only have a limited amount of catalogs available at the show, so please print the catalog ahead of time if you want to have one on hand.  I will also post the worker’s schedule on my website on Wednesday.


Move ups:

I’ll be processing move ups for all  classes that are repeated throughout the weekend.  I’ll have a sign up sheet at the ribbons table for move ups.

Ribbons:
Ribbons will be self-serve.  I’ll be printing ribbon labels in addition to the results.

Parade of Breeds!
As part of the Pet Expo, there will be a Parade of Breeds and Mixed-Breeds.  This is what is listed on the Pet Expo Schedule:

Friday November 2, 2007

6:00

Parade of Breeds - Hound & All American Groups

 

Saturday November 3, 2007

5:00

Parade of Breeds  - Terrier & Working groups

6:00

Parade of Breeds - Toy & Herding groups

 

Sunday November 4, 2007

4:00

Parade of Breeds - Sporting & Non-Sporting groups

 

What a great way to show off your special breed of dog!  Anyone interested in participating in the Parade should contact Linda Patenaude at patenaudelm@mansfieldct.org


Agility/Obedience Demos in the Demonstration ring:

If anyone is interested in entertaining the public by either demonstrating some agility skills (on some very simple obstacles, whatever I can spare!), or by doing obedience or other doggie things (perhaps rally obedience or freestyle?), Jeanne would be happy to coordinate around your agility runs on any day/time.  Please contact her directly for more information – info@worldofpets.org

 Dogstravaganza, Saturday Evening Show:
Ken Scarnegie, Classic K-9 Productions, www.classick9.com, will be doing a show on Saturday evening.  This is very intriguing - check out the website, particularly the "agility" racetrack!  He would be happy to take any of the agility dogs that want to come over and play during his show.  Contact him directly at ck9show@sprintpcs.com

 Here is a section of an email he sent me with more details about this show:

"We are the main entertainment arena at the opposite end of the building from your Agility Ring. We are on (and off) all day each day of the Expo rotating in different events. The main event is Saturday night in the Coliseum from 7:30 - 9:30 for the Arena show that I am producing.

If they want, they can audition for the evening variety show. The 'NASCAR Agility' course will be built in the Coliseum by Thursday and ready for practice/auditions all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday up until 6:00 pm. What I mean by 'audition' is that the Agility equipment we use is different from the norm. It's all stage lit and each dog runs to music with a cheering crowd. But, if they are exceptional on the course and want to join us for the show, we could use a few more fast dogs! :) "

 

FINAL TRIAL DETAILS, SCHEDULE, DIRECTIONS

Perfect weekend rosettes will be awarded to teams achieving Q’s in all 15 runs.  This is a high goal indeed at this trial to get 15 for 15 Q’s; GOOD LUCK!

Check-in, Measuring, and Starting Times:

Thursday:          Site available for set-up starting at 5:00 pm

Friday:              Check-in and measuring from 6:45 – 7:45
                        General / Judges’ briefing 7:45.

Saturday:          Check-in and measuring from 7:00 – 7:30
General / Judges’ briefing 7:30.

Sunday:            Check-in and measuring from 6:45 – 7:15
     (remember time change is Saturday night, set your clocks back an hour!)
General / Judges’ briefing 7:15.


TENTATIVE Class Schedules
: 
The following class, level, and height order is tentative, and subject to change if necessary.

FRIDAY (heights 4" to 24"):
   RING 1 (Art)
        Colors Levels 1/2, 3/S/4/5/C
        Wildcard Levels 1/2, 3/S/4/5/C
        Jumpers Levels 3/S, 4/5/C

   RING 2 (Paul)
         Jackpot all levels
         Standard Level 1, 2, 3/S, 4/5/C
         Jumpers Levels 1/2

SATURDAY (heights 24" to 4"):
 
  RING 1 (Art)
       Standard Round 1 Levels 4/5/C, 3/S, 2, 1
       Standard Round 2 Levels 4/5/C, 3/S, 2, 1

   RING 2 (Paul)
       Snooker Levels 1/2, 3/S/4/5/C
       Wildcard Levels 3/S/4/5/C, 1/2
       Colors Levels 3/S/4/5/C, 1/2

SUNDAY (heights 16", 20”, 24”, 4", 8”, 12”):
   RING 1 (Art)
       Jackpot Levels 4/5/C, 1/2, 3/S
       Snooker Levels 1/2, 3/S/4/5/C
       Jumpers Levels 4/5/C

   RING 2 (Paul)
       Standard Level 1, 2, 3/S, 4/5/C
       FullHouse all Levels
       Jumpers Levels 1/2, 3/S


Directions to the Trial Site:

The Big E Fairgrounds is located on 1305 Memorial Ave, West Springfield, MA

From Connecticut and Points South: Take I-91 North from Rte. 2, I-84, I-95 or the Merritt Parkway -- Follow I-91 North to Mass. Exit 3 to Route 5 North to Rte. 147 West, Memorial Avenue approximately 3/4 mi. to Eastern States Exposition Gate 9. 

From Southwestern Connecticut:  Take Rte. 10/202 North to Southwick, Mass., turning right onto Rte. 57 East (4.7 mi.) to center of Feeding Hills. Continue straight on Springfield Street to Rte. 147 East, about 2 1/2 mi. to ESE grounds. Continue ½ mi. to Eastern States Exposition Gate 9.

From Boston and Points East :
Take the Massachusetts Turnpike West to Exit 6 (Springfield). Go left at the light, following I-291 South to I-91 South (right lane) to Exit 3 and follow signs. 

OR, take the Massachusetts Turnpike West to Exit 4, to Rte. 5 South to Rte. 147 West. Continue approximately 3/4 mi. to Eastern States Exposition Gate.

From the Berkshires and Points West : Take the Massachusetts Turnpike East to Exit 4, to Rte. 5 South, to Rte. 147 West. Continue approximately 3/4 mi. to Eastern States Exposition Gate 9.

From Vermont and Points North: Take I-91 South to Mass. Exit 13B, to Rte. 5 South, to Rte. 147 West. Continue approximately 3/4 mi. to Eastern States Exposition Gate.

 

Trisha Stall; AgileDogs Agility Training
"Make Your Dog an Agile Dog!"
www.agiledogs.net; Trisha@agiledogs.net

 

NEWS - October 26th

Parade of Breeds:

As part of the Pet Expo, there will be a Parade of Breeds and Mixed-Breeds.  This is what is listed on the Pet Expo Schedule:
 
Friday November 2, 2007
6:00
Parade of Breeds - Hound & All American Groups
 
Saturday November 3, 2007
5:00
Parade of Breeds  - Terrier & Working groups
6:00
Parade of Breeds - Toy & Herding groups
 
 
Sunday November 4, 2007
4:00
Parade of Breeds - Sporting & Non-Sporting groups
 
What a great way to show off your special breed of dog!  Anyone interested in participating in the Parade should contact Linda Patenaude at  patenaudelm@mansfieldct.org
 

Parking:

The Big E charges $5 per car per day for parking - that's out of my control.  So, be ready to pay each day when you enter the main gate.  For the campers, they'll take payment for overnight camping at the gate, also - the fee is $15.

Agility/Obedience Demos in the Demonstration ring:

If anyone is interested in entertaining the public by either demonstrating some agility skills (on some very simple obstacles, whatever I can spare!), or by doing obedience or other doggie things (perhaps rally obedience or freestyle?), Jeanne would be happy to coordinate around your agility runs on any day/time.  Please contact her directly for more information - info@worldofpets.org

Entry procedures:

We will be using wristbands for each person entered in the agility trial.  When I email out your final confirmations there will be an attachment that is your entry pass into the agility door.  When you arrive on Friday morning (or Saturday or Sunday, whatever the first day is you are competing), there will be an attendant at the door that will exchange your pass for a wrist band.  You will then have to wear the wrist band all weekend.  This way only agility people will be able to use our door.  If anyone is bringing a spouse, friend, etc, to hang out and watch the agility, they will have to get a day pass (and hand stamp) each day of the show at the main entrance.  If you plan on bringing another person who is not running a dog but who has volunteered to work, please make sure you email me so that I send you the proper number of entry passes!

The pet expo will start later than our agility trial each day.  Before the expo hours, we will be able to leave our agility area only to use the bathrooms and to go to and from the food vendors.  This is only because of liability reasons - there will be vendor booths in the main area that will be closed up and unattended until the show starts each day.

Food Vendor:

Yes, there will be a food vendor.  It will be part of the pet expo, which means I will not be giving out tickets for free food to workers, because I have not contracted with them.  However, I will have a wide variety of worker food and snacks, and as always, a worker raffle.  More details to follow later.

Saturday night entertainment:

Ken Scarnegie, Classic K-9 Productions, www.classick9.com, will be doing a show on Saturday evening.  This is very intriguing - check out the website, particularly the "agility" racetrack!  He would be happy to take any of the agility dogs that want to come over and play during his show.  Contact him directly at ck9show@sprintpcs.com. 

Here is a section of an email he sent me with more details:

"We are the main entertainment arena at the opposite end of the building from your Agility Ring. We are on (and off) all day each day of the Expo rotating in different events. The main event is Saturday night in the Coliseum from 7:30 - 9:30 for the Arena show that I am producing.

That might be something you can announce! If they want, they can audition for the evening variety show. The 'NASCAR Agility' course will be built in the Coliseum by Thursday and ready for practice/auditions all day Thursday, Friday, and Saturday up until 6:00 pm. What I mean by 'audition' is that the Agility equipment we use is different from the norm. It's all stage lit and each dog runs to music with a cheering crowd. But, if they are exceptional on the course and want to join us for the show, we could use a few more fast dogs! :) "

Contact information:

Melinda Schneider, Trial Chairperson  Trials@agiledogs.net  518-331-7814
Trisha Stall, Trial Secretary  Trisha@agiledogs.net  518-794-0168