Rainier 2012

 “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

– St. Augustine 

Kiwi and Sadie

This year the gang and I traveled to Washington to attend the Rainier Hunt Classic Trials just across the border in Everson WA. Our first trial in the far west the drive was spectacular through the rocky mountains of Alberta and British Columbia. Rainier is a small, but well put on, trial and we had the opportunity to meet some people and see some terriers we have not seen before. The girls did very well, finishing no worse than second in every class they were entered in all weekend. Cali and Kiwi made the final ring both days in conformation and were beat for Best Bitch by a couple of lovely dogs. Sunday I had to enlist the help of a few hands as I entered Sadie in the rarely-available Open Veteran conformation class and when she won that meant she, Kiwi, and Cali all made the final Bitch ring. I could not be more proud to have had 1/4 of the terriers in the final ring that day belong to my kennel! Sadie was also as tough as always in the family classes with her daughters Cali and Kiwi by her side she was family champion Saturday and Reserve Family Champion on Sunday.



left-right: Sadie, Kiwi, Cali with
Castle Pines Baron, Barons daughter, and Forget-me-not Mickinley

Inseguire Warden also made his show ring debut this weekend turning 4 months on the Saturday of the trial. He showed very well for being such a baby still and while he was not overly keen on the collar and leash part of things he very much enjoyed the meeting the judge part and the standing pretty and getting cookies part. He started his show career off with a bang and took home Best 4-6mo Dog Pup both days as well as Reserve 4-6mo Puppy Champion both days.

Inseguire Warden

On the performance side of things little Loki is really learning the ropes in Go-to-Ground and pulled on some spectacular times in her championship class. She is still working on sticking with the quarry even when blocked and not going and looking for another way to reach it - a trick her mother Cali is very well known for! Kiwi finished second in both flats and hurdle racing both days to the ultra-fast Kachina and Sunday when we decided to let Stash have a whirl at the racetrack he impressed us all by winning the over males hurdle race and going on to be the Reserve Racing Champion!

Woofgang Stash winning the Over Male Hudles Race

The big highlight of the weekend came mid-afternoon on Sunday however when I had the honor of showing our new boy Woofgang Stash in some of our first Working Terrier classes. The Working Terrier division in the holy-grail of terrier showing. Being in a breed club that emphasise the working aspect of our terrier the best and highest rewards in the show ring are reserved for those terriers that have proven themselves in the field and as such admitted entrance to the Working Terrier division. Stash, the veteran that he is, showed beautifully in his class and I needed only hold his lead as he won that class over some lovely terriers. From there it was onto the best dog ring where once again he faced off with some stunning examples of the breed. I waited, with baited breath, as the judge went over each terrier thoroughly and deliberated carefully before she announced that the reserve went to the lovely Diggin West Razzle and champion went to Stash! A little break to watch the girls compete and we were right back in against the female champion and reserve for best working terrier. Four outstanding examples of the Jack Russell Terrier, all having proven their grit in the field in front of a working judge, and now competing for top show honors. The judge had each pair, winners together and reserves together, walk off and then switched them up. She again went over each dog and I think you could have heard a pin drop as she whispered the ring steward her decision. You could have nicked me over with a feather when they announced that the Working Terrier Champion that day was Stash and although I did nothing more than hold the end of his leash I was honored and proud to be the one other side of it! What a great weekend, full of great memories, and a fantastic way to cap off our regular trial season and prepare for Nationals in October.

Woofgang Stash held by judge Sand Brown
with his ribbons and perpetual trophy for
Best Working Terrier

St Croix Terrier Trial

Event 2 of this past month involves the always exciting first trial of our JRTCA season. This year we chose to kick off a little early and attend the St Croix Terrier Trials in Lake Elmo MN. Structured a little differently than your typical terrier trial it was a JRTCA sanctioned trial on Saturday and an AWTA (American Working Terrier Association) trial on Sunday. The drive down was long but thankfully uneventful and we met up with old friends immediately upon our arrival. Being isolated up here in the "Great White North" I miss my American and Canadian terrier friends dearly over the winter and as such I am always very happy to have the opportunity to catch up with them. Friday evenings dinner was one of stories, cocktails, and good food - all the things a meeting of good terrier men and women should entail. Afterwards I unpacked the dogs, settled into the hotel, and was in bed at a shockingly reasonable hour.

With Kiwi now an adult I did not have to be at the racetrack quite as early as I had last year but for someone used to not having to have dogs ready to go until afternoon when conformation starts anything before 10am seems torturous. The weather as well was not entirely with us on Saturday as a little drizzle made for a damp start. Kiwi of course did not mind one bit, so long as there is a lure and a track she is happy to run in any conditions. She made her adult debut in style and won the Over Bitches flat race and then went on to take the hurdles race as well securing her a spot in the championship race. As an adult the initial races are separated by gender so the winner of the flat and hurdle races for boys and girls compete in the final. Like Kiwi the same dog won both the flat and hurdles so it was just the two of them for the Championship. It was a thrilling race to say the least as they ran neck and neck down the course, hit the hole together (an event that always makes me catch my breath) and ended in a dead heat! A rerun saw Kiwi come out victorious but I think that close match let her know the "big boys" will not be easy to outrun. We spent the rest of the day over at conformation where Kiwi and Robert took respectable thirds in their Open Conformation divisions and Robert won his suitability to Raccoon/Badger class. Sadie was the Veteran Terrier Champion and Patton took the Colored Terrier Championship.

There was no racing on Sunday so we were able to fall back into our old routine of sleeping in a little and taking our time arriving at the trial site. The day was much more inviting with near perfect temperatures and enough wind to keep any bugs that had been thinking about coming out away. While we waited for conformation to start I ran Robert through the Go-to-Ground tunnel and it did not take him long to figure out what he was supposed to be doing there. Cali and Patton both did a little trailing and locating work as I am hoping that Patton will take over as my tracking dog this summer once Cali has been bred. He did quite well on the scent trail, despite high winds, and as he matures a little more I think he will become a handy terrier to have around.

A cup of coffee and a little lunch later and conformation was ready to start. Cali was first in the ring and impressed me immensely taking the win in her class over some nice littler terriers and going on to take Reserve Champion Open Bitch. Robert repeated her performance in a little while later and took Reserve Champion Open Dog. We had a little fun and entered Cali, Kiwi, and Robert in the "Tool Box" class which they eventually won over some pretty handy competition.

All in all it was a great weekend filled with friends, of both the old and new variety, dogs, and pretty colored ribbons. What more could a girl want from life?

Catching Up

As things get more and more interesting around here I thought a blog would be a great place to keep everyone apprised of the more personal and in depth happenings at Inseguire than our website does. 2009 has been a pretty exciting year for us, we attended our fist JRTCA shows in 5 years and did quite well. In a very limited number of outings Sadie was Best Open Bitch 1x, Reserve Best Open Terrier 1x, Best Brood Bitch and Produce 3x, and Reserve Family Champion 2x. King did not disappoint winning his puppy class every time in the ring and was Dog Puppy Champion 1x, and Reserve Dog Puppy Champion 1x. Cali was the big hit of the summer though, Reserve Bitch Puppy Champion 3x, Reserve Puppy Champion 1x, and always in the top 3 bitch puppies every time in the ring.

This year also saw both Sadie and Cali make thier flyball debuts. Sadie earned her FDCh-G in only four tournaments, and by the end of the season was running 4.8s. She was pulled from the lanes early in October though as she came into heat and was sent to see Gaye Redpath and Conquest Jock in Ontario. These things usually happen at the most inopportune times and this was no different. We had entered a team of 4, the bear minimum you can run in flyball, including Sadie and were now coming up short to a tournament. After much debate we decided to put Cali in her mother's spot even though she was not quite ready to run. Never having passed before, and no box turn to speak of, this young lady was rock solid and earned both her FD and FDX and running 5.3s. Hopefully a winter of work on that all important box turn will have her shaving a fair bit of time off this posting.

Although our conformation and performance seasons have come to an end 2009 is far from over for us. As I mention before Sadie is expected to be whelping a litter, some time around the 6th of December, and JRT puppies are always a lot of fun at every stage. We will keep everyone apprised of the happenings and keep you fingers crossed that they ultrasound booked for November 7th shows a nice litter of healthy puppies!