Kili - UpDog trial

This was also Kili's second ever UpDog trial, and it was a fair bit more successful. We still had some blips in the focus department, but overall that was much improved. If that wasn't enough, she also came home with 1st place in Throw 'n Go, and 3rd in both Funkey and 4/20 Freestyle.

Throw 'n Go is a distance competition in essence, though it is not about pure distance and shorter throws can win since it is about point accumulation. The field is divided up into zones. The closer the zone the fewer points it is worth. The most successful strategy, of course, is to complete many long throws. However, depending on your strengths as a team, and sometimes weather conditions, it may be better to complete a greater number of shorter throws. You only get 60 seconds, and your dog can eat up a lot of time running up and down the field for long throws... and if they aren't being completed you aren't getting any points. The weekend of this competition we did end up dealing with some pretty high winds, but not until later in the day. I wish I had this round on film because Kili was awesome. We completed every single one of our throws (probably about 6 throws total I would guess), all of which were in the second farthest zone, and she wasn't distracted for even a second. I was using a new type of disc, and I've decided that I really like them! They have a great flight path for distance.

Funkey is an agility-disc hybrid game. There are zones set up on each side of the field, alternating agility equipment with a catching zone. You have to do an agility obstacle, then complete a throw in a zone. There are 4 catching zones that you have to clear, and then you start over again. Each agility obstacle and each throwing zone has a point value attached to it. Most points wins!

Progression of a leg vault!

4/20 Freestyle is a neat little twist on traditional freestyle. Generally, you develop a choreographed routine to music of your choice. The length of your routine depends on what disc organization you are competing in, but is generally 1-3 minutes long. Number of discs can vary as well, but you can take a fairly large number of discs into the ring with you and you just do with them as you please. In 4/20 Freestyle you get 4 discs and 20 seconds. Generally the rule is that if the disc hits the ground (incomplete pass) it is dead and you can't use it again, though some organizations say if the dog picks it up and hands it to you it is back in play. I'm not really sure it matters because 20 seconds is not a lot of time!

And here is Kili with all her swag!