Events | Barnstormers Flyball Club

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Island Flyball Classic 2015

It was another beautiful weekend for racing. Together with Total Anarchy, Barn Stormers co-hosted our yearly tournament on the Island. It was lovely to see our entire club be able to come out and have fun. There were some of the usual bloopers (missed jumps, early passes) and there was a “flaming hot mess” heat (no ball, two dogs in lane at same time), but kudoes to everyone for laughing our way through it all. What a great bunch of people.

Congratulations to both Pixie-Dust and Navi on successful first tournaments. Welcome and thank you to Honey for her first tournament as a Barn Stormer.
Several new titles were earned over the course of the weekend.
Pixie-Dust = Flyball Dog
Navi = Flyball Dog, Flyball Dog Excellent
Hudson = Flyball Dog Champion
Stormy = Flyball Dog Champion

There were many memorable moments throughout the weekend. Highlights included the potluck Saturday night. Or maybe it should be called the “Deep-fry”luck. If it could be dipped in batter, the deep-fry cooks were willing to try it. The turkey was exquisite, the cookies were divine, and the pineapple was lovely. Thankfully calmer minds vetoed the watermelon… that might have been an explosive mess. Next year, what can we come up with to fry? Should be interesting!

Saturday also saw the Central Saanich Police come out and use their radar gun to clock the run speed of the dogs. Sid, Jessie and Lasha donated to Cops for Cancer for their chance to find out their dogs’ run speed. The impressive results:
Dixie = 41 km/h
Navi = 41 km/h
Hudson = 44 km/h

Some of the funniest “motivational statements” posted onto Graham’s whiteboards included a quote from our judge for the weekend, Anna Sheppard, “If it ain’t deepfried, it ain’t Island flyball”, and then there was “Do not dwell on the mistakes from yesterday!! (Fried food included)”, and also a favourite… “Flyball = a drinking club with a dog problem.” Very funny, creative people on our club.

Looking forward to the craziness once again next year! Go Barn Stormers!

Thanks to the various photographers for the pictures. Some are captured from video, so a bit grainy.

Navi handled her first tournament with ease

Honey was eager to play… a year without flyball is too long!

It’s been a long time coming, but Pixie got to play.

Ruffy tried to give Laura a bad time

Our raffle table was awesome!

Another case of captains gone bad or was she trying to hide?

Part of the potluck crowd

Deep fried turkey was only the start of the madness

Boys will be boys !

Some people really got into the deep frying

Baskets & BBQ

The inclement weather didn’t stop Barn Stormers from gathering to make baskets this past Saturday for the raffle table at our tournament. The variety of things that were donated or bought was awesome. Concensus was that our table will be even bigger than last year’s… and we thought that one was good! Most of the club were able to be there to wrap, and tie, and label or whatever. Rob and the girls (our “associate members”) were able to come as well, and pitched right in; because Rob said he had decent printing, he got to make the labels.

Once the baskets were finished, admired, and moved to safety, we were able to get outside because the drizzle had stopped. The binoculars and telescope came into play… seals and boats to watch. I’m sure the RCMP boat going by thought there were a bunch of crazy people on this deck – Ryan recognized a friend in it and called and waved but it took them a long time before they responded, finally waving. Rob and Tony manned the bbq for the burgers, while salads and desserts were put on the table inside. Even some Rumchata Pudding Shots made an appearance, with a request for more for the tournament!

Once again, Barn Stormers came through in a big way. We’ll have a great raffle table and had a great party.

some of the items

Janet was an expert!

Teresa hard at work

Safely put away til the tournament

We <3 Balls

June 27 – 28, 2015 Lynden, Washington

Yay… A UFli tournament again at last. A very different Hurricanines team travelled across the border to Lynden, WA for a fun weekend of racing. Due to injury and family emergencies, the original team was decimated until only Seeker, Ruffy and Stormy were left. Not to be stimied, we invited Max (Samantha), Robbie and Nutmeg (Carol) to join us. Handlers were kept busy juggling which dog they were running; Ruff enjoyed working with Laura and even Samantha for one race, as well as Marg as usual. Rob got to play a bit on Sunday running Max, when he came to join us.

On the Saturday, valiant little Seeker raced all day – Stormy again decided not to play by the rules. Henry, of Cascade Comets, kept sneaking across the line just ahead of Seeker; but despite this, we pulled off a second place finish. Sunday’s racing saw Stormy remembering that jumps were part of the game, so was able to relieve Seeker as height dog. Her faster speed made us break out twice and we beat Henry! I’m sure judges are not used to teams who are happy about break outs. Another second place finish was the result at the end of the day.

A lovely venue, good people and good racing – couldn’t ask for anything more.

Our backdrop scenery was a gorgeous Mt. Baker

The camp area was lovely

No Frills Summer Fun

June 6 – 7, Cloverdale

On a very hot June weekend, the Barn Stormers visited Cloverdale once again, joining the fun at a tournament hosted by the Dogwood Pacesetters. Every effort was made to stay cool but by the end of the weekend, even the humans wanted in the dog pools. Mainly clean runs earned Ruff, Dancer, Jonas, Seeker and Max a lot of dog points, running close to our seed time in most races. “Princess” Stormy decided that she was special and ran to her own set of rules. Jumps were not necessary in her world. 😉 Stubborn Aussie!

A big thanks to Anne for stepping up and running Jonas. And thank you to the Gialets for the loan of Max. A sixth dog was much needed in that weather.

CJ kept Dancer company when he wasn’t racing

Laura was kept busy, running not only Seeker, but Puck

Kings Spring Fling

Cloverdale, BC April 11 & 12, 2015

The first tournament of 2015 for the Hurrycanines! Friday night’s storm made everyone huddle inside to keep warm and dry – dogs were encouraged to “Hurry up” on their walks, but Saturday and Sunday were much drier.

Our team of Buffy, Jonas, Seeker, and Ruffy were joined by two of our newbies – Lexi and Stormy – in their tournament debut. As so often happens, the first race was somewhat “confused” as we sorted out passes and start lights but we survived. With our tournament nerves settled, Stormy and Lexi made their way into the ring. For both of them, there were varying degrees of success, but by the end of the day, they had each achieved their first two titles – Flyball Dog and Flyball Dog Excellent – well done, little girls!

In order for Stormy to run at the same time as Ruffy when needed throughout the weekend, Laura bravely stepped in and ran him – no problem! She even said it was fun!! Ally and Buffy got some great starts while Jonas and Seeker were our reliable members both days. Not to be forgotten, box loader Tony and ball shagger Anne did their jobs without a hitch… thank you both.

And then there was Captain Graham. He did an excellent job of planning strategy, mixing and matching dogs and keeping us all on task – but it’s for what he did in one heat that he’ll go down in history! He forgot that Laura and Ruffy were behind him, got in Laura’s way, and managed to trip her as she came forward. Liz and Ally, watching from behind, said that her imitation of a dead beetle – all feet and hands in the air as she did a tuck, roll and recovery was priceless. They didn’t worry about her but who was going to catch Ruffy as he roared toward them. True Flyballers!!!

Even though we didn’t place highly in the points, we all considered this a very successful tournament – new dogs started and seasoned dogs happy to be playing. What more could we want.

One of the lineups

Valient Seeker jumping well

Lexi and Stormy ready on the line

When Captains go bad, they need a time out

The Hurrycanines of April 12, ball shagger Anne taking the photo

Christmas Party 2014

Barn Stormers got together once again for social time without their dogs…hard to imagine, but they did! Graham and Anne, and Marg and Tony did some decorating at the Gallery room at the fairgrounds …. new career coming up for Graham. Quite a creative mind! We had a great turn out but we were very sorry that Kathi and Lorraine were unable to come. We’ve had the fun of having non club dogs run with us part of the time so having their handlers join us was good. We were all happy to see many former members able to come too. As well, our favourite judge, Randy, came from the mainland for the occasion.

The tables were filled with the various appies and desserts….it was hard to make room on your plate to sample them all. Not only are Barn Stormers good dog handlers, they’re great cooks too.

Eventually, everyone was ready for the serious stuff…awards and Secret Santa. Some special items started off the process – NAFA certificates for Hudson and Sage, Dancer’s 30,000 plaque and pin, a number 1 Sheltie in Region 7 ribbon for Seeker, a bumper sticker for our #2 Box Loader, Ryan, and acknowledgement for Buffy’s FMX and Ruffy’s 40,000 point milestone.

Although Kathi was not there to actually receive her Laughing Dog award, Laura told the story of the “old people sunscreen” to fill in those who weren’t there during the incident. Hudson was the recipient of the Most Improved Dog..his people report that he starts yelling long before he reaches the barn. it was one of those years that a single Team Spirit award just wouldn’t do, so both Liz P and Graham received it. Above and beyond the usual from both of them…thank you. Graham made a presentation to Kathi and to Marg and Tony as well.

With the big group attending, Secret Santa ran for a long time. As always, gifts kept getting stolen and re stole….people do get attached to certain wrapping or bags!

It’s been another good year for Barn Stormers ….. this little club just keeps on going. To all of you, club members, former members, associates and friends – have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year. See you in 2015.

…the dog tree….

The secret Santa pile

…. and some of the party peoples!

Dogwood Pacesetters Christmas Classic

Cloverdale November 22-23, 2014

The Hurricanines travelled to the mainland again for the last tournament of 2014. The team makeup was a little different than usual, as we were missing Dancer (Kathi), and were joined by Max (with borrowed handler, Gord). As well, Ben (Linda) ran with us in their retirement from flyball tournament. Seeker, Buffy, Jonas and Ruffy made up the rest of the team as usual.

Our seeding time was perfect but our starts and passes weren’t ! Both Saturday and Sunday started off with crazy runs as handlers and dogs got used to being a team, but by the end of each day, we had it figured out and managed to claim first place both days. We also celebrated two new titles: Buffy – 10,000 points for her Flyball Master Excellent, and Ruffy – the big 40,000. Well done both of you.

Stormy got a chance to try out a real ring on Saturday after racing finished and prizes were awarded, when “green dogs” got some time. She was a little confused to begin with, but once she knew what she was expected to do, she behaved like a real flyball dog! Height dog in the making !! Thank you, team, for being there to help and guide her.

A fun weekend as always and a great ending to racing in 2014.

Max was never happy about being in his crate

One of the combinations of dogs for our team

Jello shooters appeared on Saturday to help get us through the day

Graham pretended to be Santa

Stormy was not totally impresses with being held by this Santa either

In the other barn at Cloverdale, this was going on. Culture shock for those of them that wandered over to see what was happening in our barn!

Stumptown Flying into Fall

September 27-28 Ridgefield WA

Ruffy made a trip across the line once again, representing Barn Stormers on an open team, running with Dogwood Pacesetters with Lucy, Teren, Snap, Shayu and Ollie. For not ever having all run together before, the dogs made a respectable showing in Division 1 of Open. Unfortunately for Ruffy, he tore a nail on Sunday and had to miss some of the races, but recovered enough to finish off the day.

Resting between races

Two men on the team… what a change!

2014 BBQ

Brentwood Bay August 23

Not a big turnout for the summer BBQ, but those that were able to make it enjoyed the evening. It was good to see a couple of members whom we’ve not seen for awhile… Stacey and Liz B were both able to come. Many thanks to Graham who manned the bbq to cook the burgers. Laura made her beer milkshakes which were well received by everyone who tried them. Seemed like an odd combination but they were good ! Thanks to Stacey for catching this picture of a lovely sunset to end the evening.

Sunset on Brentwood Bay

Island Flyball Classic

August 16 – 17, 2014 Saanich Fairgrounds

The Barn Stormers co-hosted a tournament with Total Anarchy on the weekend of Aug 16th and 17th. It was a great opportunity for some local fun.

Several of our newest club dogs and their handlers got some time in the lanes for their first time. Achieving their first two titles, Flyball Dog and Flyball Dog Excellent, were Hudson and Jessie running with Hurricanines team and Sage and Sofi the Sopwith Mutts. Lacey found the intensity of the ring just a little too much for her terrier temperament – don’t worry, Roseanne, some more practice time and Lacey will be dazzling us all. Roadie proved that he has been listening to us telling him to “easy” on his way to the box. There is hope for our kamikaze yet! Congratulations to all for braving the controlled craziness that is a flyball ring. Special mention needs to be made of our box loader # 2, Ryan, who got his baptism under fire, loading for the Hurrycanines. Well done, Ryan.

Congratulations to Linda Larsson and Sophie for reaching the 40,000 point milestone, allowing Sophie to retire for good after recovering from a torn ACL. They joined a specially arranged nostalgic Hurricanines team, with Ruff, Dancer and Cindy, replicating the team that ran together for many years in their early racing careers. The foursome was joined by Hudson, Griz and Holly to round out the roster.

The Sopwith Mutts team ran well all weekend, with veteran racers Seeker, Jonas, Jessie and Buffy anchoring the rookie dogs. Congratulations to all the dogs and handlers for running clean the majority of the time, and especially to Captain Graham, who juggled the lineups like a champ.

Saturday night saw all the clubs present at a wonderful potluck, arranged by Erika and Jessie. It’s been a while since there was a potluck this large – the circle of chairs kept being enlarged. Great food, great drinks, great times, great fun! I heard something about beer milkshakes the next day… not sure I want to know more about that.

A huge thank you to the entire club for all their hard work, both before, during and after the tournament.