Northgate 2010

Spending a little time in the East definitely has it's advantages, one of them being much more access to JRTCA trials. Since we are out here anyway we decided to make the quick hop to New Jersey for the weekend and attend the Northgate trial for the very first time. Held at Doug and Susan Tack's place it has to be one of the most beautiful venues for a trail I have ever seen. Their farm is cut into the side of a mountain and sprawled across woodlands with trees so old I could not even begin to guess their age. It was breathtaking to say the least and set up wonderfully for terrier trials, with the racetrack a permanent fixture and ever thing easily accessible. Friday night was a lovely BBQ and social at the house and I had a wonderful time socializing with old friends and meeting new ones.

The competition in the East very stiff and such a nice venue and a well run trial attracts the best of the best in the terrier world. Saturday morning racing came early but was a lot of fun! Kiwi was second in both flats and hurdles to the very fast Farmcliff Sarah so she did not make the finals but the exercise paid off and she was somewhat behaved in the conformation ring. I have to admit that I always feel a little nauseous before I walk Kiwi into the ring, the combination of knowing she is pretty nice terrier and her being a terror to show makes my stomach do back flips. She has so much energy and enthusiasm that she does not always show herself as well as she could and that is where my lack of handling experience (comparatively to these kennels that have been in this business for 15+ years) are not always the best combination. Thankfully Martyn Hulms is a forgiving soul and saw through all her antics awarding Best Bitch Puppy and a few minutes later Overall Puppy Champion! I could not have been more elated! She beat some very nice dogs and to have her be puppy I bred and raised just made it that much sweeter! Sadie carried on the winnings taking Best Veteran Bitch, and held her own with the much younger dogs in the open conformation classes.

Sunday morning saw us back at the racetrack bright and early with young terrier who had now spent the bulk of two days in her crate and was more than a little anxious to get running! Once again in the flats she was second to Farmcliff Sarah but not by much. A rematch in the hurdles gave a few tense moments but Kiwi prevailed a length the better and earned herself spot in the over puppy finals. She seems to really excel over the hurdles and as luck would have it that is how the finals in terrier racing are run. This particular trial chose to remove the last two hurdles making the race a half and half and meaning it would be a much tighter finish as Sarah tends to be better on the flat and Kiwi better over the hurdles. A post draw to the outside and a good break put Kiwi in a great position and she battled it out with Sarah every step of the way. She really put her heart into the race and managed to hold off the rest of the competition and win Over Puppy Racing Champion! Although she did not fare as well in the show ring that day the versatility she showed me this weekend taking Championships in both venues once again speaks volumes to the abilities of this little girl!

With that success we are now on our way to Canadian Nationals and hope to repeat at least some of it the last weekend in September!

Go East Young Ladies...

Kiwi is still learning how to break fast but boy does she come on strong at the end!

She may not be ahead yet just give her another few feet!

It has been a long time since Inseguire attended a trial in the East, not since Sadie was a very young dog in fact, and it was time to come "home" to where my love of terriers began. Although I acquired my very first "Jack Russell" in Alberta more than decade ago it was not until I moved out east that I started tending JRTCA trials. It did not take long for the terrier bug to hit me and when my first special girl was taken from me all too soon I knew that my life would never be complete without a terrier in it. I loved my little short legged "puddin" Russell but I knew that I wanted my next one to be of show quality and suitable for breeding. After searching around I purchased Sadie from a breeder in Pennsylvania, although she carries an Ontario kennel name as her mother was purchased on what is known as a "breeders contract" which in short means the first litter whelped from the female belongs to the original breeder. It is much more complex than that but that can be the topic of it's own blog post one day. Back on track, a women from New York state, Michelle Ward of Little Eden JRTs, offered to bring 9 week old Sadie from Pennsylvania to her place in NY and shorten my drive to pick her up substantially. This was my first encounter with Michelle and I will never forget being in awe of just how much he knew about these little white dogs. She spent a good two hours with me educating me on what was in store for me now that I had joined the ranks of JRT breeders and armed with this new knowledge and a wonderful new puppy I drove the 3.5 hrs home ready to set the world on fire.

Sadie and I travelled up and down the East coast together, showing when we had time, but mostly she kept me company as I moved around for work. She always did well in the show ring and was my constant companion. My work schedule kept me from breeding her though until I moved back out West and that is when "Inseguire" was really born. The two litters she has produced to date have really put us on the map and it was time to come back to where it all began and show everyone just how far we have really come.

Many of the faces were new to me but there were some familiar old ones, including Michelle who had not seen Sadie since she was a baby. It was so great to see everyone again and have the opportunity to show of my pride and joy, Kiwi. That little puppy is really everything I could ever hope for and more and she did me proud winning Best Overall Puppy again on Sunday and much to my surprise, Over Puppy Racing Champion as well! I is not too often that you see a conformation dog cross over into racing, which surprises me because correct structure should be an asset, and Kiwi did it with style. The dogs that come to this trial to run are some of the fastest in the country and after working out the kinks on Saturday (this was only her 3rd time racing after all!) she had things down pat and easily put away the competition on Sunday. She loves racing, the way Cali loves flyball, so I my just enter her for Nationals in both arenas if things work out. Sadie was, as always, solid in the show ring never placing worst than 3rd against some of the top dogs/kennels. She also won ribbons in barn hunt and lure coursing- her 2 favorite JRT sports!

Even though we had none of our regular gear, and had to borrow n ex-pen to house Kiwi, we made do and had a great time! The hospitality was fantastic, the weather cooperated nicely and the chairs, shade, and cold drinks provided by new friends made the whole experience all that much more enjoyable. I look forward to coming out this way again, hopefully sometime soon.

MAWTA Trial 2010

Once again Inseguire made the trip to Nebraska for the 2010 edition of the Mid-America Working Terrier Association Trial. We always have so much fun at this trial in and out of the ring. The people are warm and welcoming and many of our friends attend, without fail though we always manage to make a few new ones of the course of the weekend and this trip was no exception. Much of Nebraska had flooded in the week prior to the trial which meant we were not able to use the usual venue, carp were swimming where the conformation ring normally is! Not to be thwarted by mother nature Patti, the trial organizer, found a fair grounds not to far out of town and moved everything there. It was a lovely site and while we all missed the shade the big trees at the old site provided ez-ups helped shelter us from the 90+ heat.

Day one was hot and humid by 8am but I was determined to race the puppies that had been cooped up in the car for the last 2 days and were no longer interested in sleeping at night. Patton ended up being much more interested in playing with the other young pups in his heat than running so once the lure disappeared from view he and two other youngsters stoped for a little play session in the middle of the track. This of course lead to three puppy owners hoping the barrier to encourage the little dogs to keep running. lol. None of our dogs have ever raced before so I was not expecting much from them other them to get them out to run around a little. I loaded Kiwi into the starting box with the though that she would likely spend more time trying to remove the muzzle they are forced to wear when racing than actually running. She did just that for the first second or so after they opened the gates but then noticed everyone was getting away and picked up the chase, passing quite a few of them on the way to the finish hole. The next class for her was hurdles and while she still did not break well she had a much better idea of what she was supposed to be doing and came in second. These two placings allowed her a spot in the final to run for the championship and lo-and-behold she came in second there too netting her Reserve Puppy Racing Champion behind a dog almost 5 months her senior!

There is always a rather long wait while racing finishes up and conformation starts so I had the opportunity to catch up with some old friend and meet some wonderful ladies from the south. I ended up spending much of the trial with this gang and socializing and talking terriers and as it turns out they had dogs that carried similar bloodlines to my own. I also had the opportunity to purchase some gorgeous leashes from Terrier Essentials before my classes started. I have been needing another show leash and a larger martingale for Sadie and Kiwi for a while now and found a couple of stunning braided kangaroo leather leashes, as well as some leather martingale tie out leashes, not to mention the martingales I have been needing.

Conformation started off with a bang with Kiwi winning her class and then going on the win Best Bitch Pup and Overall Puppy Champion. I was so proud of my little hooligan! Cali showed very well in her first class as an adult and made the ribbons in a very large, tough, class despite the heat knocking her out a little. Sadie is a veteran in the ring and always makes me look good as she pretty much shows herself and took 3rd in another large, deep, class. A few games of find the rat later and I brought the, all back in for the family class where Sadie won best Brood Bitch and Produce! When it was his turn Patton, being as adorable as ever, took Colored Terrier Champion. A pretty successful day all around.

I was definitely tired by the time the alarm went off on Sunday morning but with how much Kiwi enjoyed the first day of racing I could not miss the second. Thankfully it was a little cooler and Patton ran a little better but was still irritated that he had to wear a muzzle. Kiwi on the other hand had the game thoroughly figured out and won both her regular heats to land her a spot int he championship race again. After a rough break, due mostly in part to not paying attention, she made up a lot of ground on the same older dog who beat her the day before and was once again the Reserve Puppy Racing Champion.

Conformation went incredibly well again with Kiwi winning her class, Best Bitch Puppy, and Overall Puppy Champion again. Cali and Sadie both pinning in their classes. Sadie won Best Brood Bitch and Produce again and went on to win Reserve Best Family, and Patton took Reserve Colored Terrier this time. The last class of the day was a Matched Pairs Class which is very popular in Britain and on the advice of john Broadhurst who judged day 1 we entered Kiwi and the dog who took Best Open Terrier both days, Glenledi Cactus Flash. Both of these terriers share a paternal grandsire, Conquest Scorch, and have a very similar look about them which was reaffirmed when they won Reserve Champion Matched Pair.

A great weekend all in all of shopping, socializing, coolers, and dogs, what more could a girl ask for really.

Summer Celebration I & II

08.18.2009 - Inseguire had a strong showing at Summer Celebration I & II in Harding Illinois. It was a long drive down but we decided to make the trip partially to get one more show in for the puppies before they turn a year and partially to see Shirley Buist of Cairnbrae Terriers, who provided me with Sadie, my first 'show', terrier 6 years ago. I haven't seen Shirley in a long time and was excited to hear that she was judging the second day of this trail.

Jeremy came with me and we made a good and proper road trip out of the over 21 hours of driving. This trip provided to be well worth all the extra effort in getting there. The Mid-West JRT Club put on a great trial with everything from the typical JRT events to trailing and locating, agility, and lure coursing just to name a few. All these events attracted a lot of dogs (over 200) and some of the top kennels in Canada and the US. I have to admit I was a little nervous when I saw some of the kennel names set up around the conformation ring. Class sizes were large and deep but my nervousness proved unfounded as all our terriers showed well and still brought home plenty of ribbons.

On day one, under Joan Crouse, King won his class (9-12 mo Smooth Dog Puppies) and Cali came in second to the eventual Puppy Champion in the 9-12 mo Rough/Broken Bitch Puppies. She was also one of the last 3 dogs in the ring for Bitch Puppy Champion but finally ended up placing behind two very nice dogs. Sadie too did not disappoint and placed 2nd in her class (12.5-15 Rough/Broken Open Bitches) against some very tough competition. She was also awarded Best Brood Bitch and Produce. With all the performance events being offered and the dogs not the least bit tired we took in some activities other than the usual go-to-ground. The Barn hunt was a big success with King placing 2nd and Cali 3rd. Sadie was also 3rd of the adults, but where she really shone was at trailing and locating. She worked in a fast enough time to earn her 5th (of 40 or so dogs) but what set her apart was the way she worked, in constant communication with her handler , and the judge commented on this. Not to be outdone by her mother Cali also worked very well (all off lead) and won the puppy class along with the admiration of the judge who commented that "she has all the making of a really great hunting partner, take good care of that one".

Day two was just as successful as day one and even though we got rained out of many events,and had to move conformation inside the dogs did great in everything they participated in. Barn Hunt and Brush Hunt saw high placing on all three dogs and the ball toss was a cinch for the girls, Cali winning puppy and Sadie taking second in Adult. The highlight of the day was conformation though. Sadie had to watch from the sidelines as Shirley Buist, her breeder, was judging but she has the best seat in the house to watch her son King win his class and her daughter Cali win Reserve Bitch Puppy Champion! A great trial all in all, new friends made, old friends reconnected with, and 3 tired dogs on the trip home. This is how we judge success.