Moving up! July, 2020

The latest steps in the evolution of the Barn Stormers.    We now have a trailer in which to keep and move our equipment and that means, we can be in a bigger area!    Our practices can be more productive and more reflect a proper flyball ring.   And we have a great bunch of people who make the setup and breakdown a breeze.   Yay,  Barn Stormers.

Snow Dogs Arizona Season

SnowDogs, Stormy and Misty, spent the winter in Arizona once again.  While there, they get to practice with their Arizona friends, Blazin’ K9s, and go to tournaments with them.  This season, there were three… Woofstock,  Jail Break and Wags and Kisses.   While we don’t always score high in the tournament win / loss scheme of things, the girls do earn dog points;  Misty got the needed points to earn her Flyball Master at the Jail Break one.    Always sad to have the season here come to an end, but eager to get back to our own club and see everyone.

The girls resting between races.

Christmas Party 2019

Well,  it was a pretty laid back Christmas party we had this year.
There were ten of us in all.   Plenty of delicious food and drinks to be had……from Shrimp to a breakfast casserole!
It was great getting to know each other better without the dogs all barking telling us they just wanna race!
It turns out quite a few of us love doing jigsaw puzzles, another club we are starting now!!!
We enjoyed some wonderful gifts from the very, very tame parcel game!      Not one swap at all!      We are gonna have to try better next year.      Ally,  where were you!!
Layah, our cockatoo,  was very happy getting lots of one on one time with Jason most of the evening and doing the rounds.   I figured she’d sleep in after all that partying and staying up late, but nope!      She was up bright and early the next day.
Thank you to all of you who came.   ( Thanks to Janet for the write up)

From us in Arizona…. so glad some of you were able to get together and sorry that we’re not there to join you.   Does sound like we need more practice in parties… much too tame!    2020 is right around the corner…. a Happy New Year to all the Barn Stormers.

July 21 – Summer BBQ 2019

Seems like it’s been a really long time since we did this, but Barn Stormers were able to get together for a BBQ.   Not everyone was able to come… some out of town, some had their other life interfere…   The weather cooperated, in fact we huddled in the shade because it was too warm!   The wildlife cooperated…. a Mama raccoon and 3 babies entertained the first who arrived;   Mama had great difficulty getting those babies to leave the cedar tree and follow her but they eventually did.   Later on, a mink ran across down on the rocks and periodically seal heads could be seen.   As always, Barn Stormers outdid themselves with the food….lots of delicious salads, dip, chips, cookies…… Sid graciously manned the bbq to do the burgers.   Dessert was a Barn Stormer cake (thank you, Tammy) …. the attempt to rename the club by misspelling our name ( by someone else, not Tammy)  will not succeed!   And of course, Rumchatas were introduced to some who hadn’t had one before.   A special acknowledgement and gift was for Sara and Jason who are getting married in August… again, our congratulations .

Fun to get together without having to manage dogs!

Couple of the babies on the top branch, Mama below

The flyball cake !

Run Free Tournament March 30/31, 2019

Misty was off to Abbotsford once more to be a Barn Stormer representative , this time to run with Fierce Fliers in an Open Division.   She acquitted herself quite well, happily running in any position, including her first ever attempt at being  a start dog.  That position gave a true indication of her speed… she achieved a 4.7, proving that a poor pass by the handler adds much more time than we realize.    Practicing passes in club time is so very important as a team is put together.   And, hopefully, there will be a Barn Stormer team before the year is out.

Kings Tournament – Abbotsford, March 9-10, 2019

Stormy and Misty represented Barn Stormers once again, this time stopping in Abbotsford on their way home from Arizona.  They joined our very good friends from Portland to run in the Open divisions.   While we didn’t place high in the tournament rankings, dog points were earned by everyone.   Stormy made like a princess, having very differing speeds, but Misty showed that she is really catching on…. she earned her Flyball Dog Champion – Gold title … well done, Moose.  We were very proud to be part of the team that saw Bella, of Portland Tailblazers, run her retirement race…. 10 years of racing and retiring at 13 and a half years.  Misty added to the fun of the weekend, when a dropped ball by someone else, caused her a great deal of confusion!   She eventually decided on one of them, and brought it back, taking all the jumps!  In that tournament, she also earned her new personal best time…. 4.879 seconds.

The club has made great progress with Sid in the months that we’ve been gone… looking forward to seeing a Barn Stormer team in the rink again.

The rings set up on Friday night

Wags and Kisses Tournament in Arizona – February 2019

Snowbird dogs, Stormy and Misty,  were the Canadian contingent once more in an Arizona tournament.   Our team away from home, Blazin’ K9s, hosted this annual event right here in Casa Grande, our winter home.   It’s a big tournament, 12 clubs represented by 25 teams, so we wind up with 80 races, making for a long day.   Saturday’s racing went very well, as the Open team the girls were on placed second and they both earned over 400 points.   Misty made me proud by having a personal best time of 4.9 seconds… she’s turning into a real flyball dog.  Since the girls were running at the same time, and  I was running Misty,  Stormy was handled by both Debbie and Jen, and did very well with both of them.  Sunday’s schedule was a repeat, but……. the results were not!   A few blips saw us place third with fewer points, but it was still a lot of fun.

Friday’s setup

Quiet before the storm

Almost ready

Carol, our away from home leader

The raffle table… they do one day only

One of the prizes… good souvenir

The Brag Board… Misty made it on again.

Christmas Party 2018

Tis the season for a flyball Christmas party and we would like to again thank Sid and Janet for their hospitality. The food was aplenty and the decorations sublime but neither were the headliners of the night. Putting the donkeys to bed and massaging Layah, the cockatoo, were well deserved show stealers!   The secret Santa was a hit as always, the stealing of gifts back and forth shows what flyball really means – do whatever it takes to obtain first place (or in this case best gift) as long as you can do it clean!  It was so nice to see new faces, an indicator that our little club is growing paw by paw!   Keep coming back and tell your friends!  (Thank you, Ally, for the writeup.)

So here we are, near the end of another year, and this little club is alive and well.   I need to add my thanks to Sid and Janet…. you keep it all together when I’m not there.

To all of you, new members and old,  I’m glad you are a part of Barn Stormers.    Here’s to a happy and successful 2019…. in the flyball lane and in the rest of your world!

(Pictures thanks to Janet and Ally)

Corgi Howliday Tournament

Phoenix, Az …. December 9, 2018

Misty got to play again in Arizona in conjunction with a Corgi event sponsored by the Arizona Corgi association to raise money.   This was what’s called a mini tournament;  limited in the number of teams that could enter and also a limited number of heats.   In this case, there were only 15, which for Misty’s team  meant 3 races of 5 heats.  Race #1 went perfectly…. 5 heats each under 24 seconds.  Race #2 had a couple of bobbles, but 3 of the heats were under 24 seconds again, so this meant the Misty earned her next title…. FDCh-S (1000 points).    Race #3 was Misty’s downfall.  She spotted a Boston Terrier running in the other lane and became totally fixated on it, finally crossing to the other lane in the last heat, so got called for interference.   It just goes to show that you can’t play this game without having a sense of humour !

One of the many Corgis dressed in howliday attire

Misty on the line

Woofstock, Nov. 17 – 18, 2018

Two more Barn Stormer dogs got to run in a tournament away from home… in Arizona no less.       Snowbird dogs, Stormy and Misty, got to play on an open team with two dogs from California, and one from Arizona.     This tournament, hosted by Blazin’ K9s,  is in conjunction with the city of Chandler’s Woofstock, a dog oriented event on Nov. 17,  featuring services and vendors related to dogs.   This meant that on Saturday, we were all spending a lot of time answering questions and explaining flyball to spectators.   Sunday was back to normal… just flyball people and the odd person who wandered by.

Stormy, being the princess that she is, has decided that tournaments held on grass in the heat, are not for her.    She ran in one race on the Saturday, and then shut down.   Misty, on the other hand, put her brain in gear, filled in on Saturday, with a few glitches, and successfully ran all day Sunday, achieving her third title… FDCh … Flyball Dog Champion.

With 3 teams entered from our hosts, plus helping out another team, everyone was kept busy.  Tony spent most of Sunday box judging,  which was much appreciated.

Long days, which while cool in the mornings, were warm mid day, made for tired dogs and tired people, but we all know, we’ll do it again!

General meeting before racing started

The raffle table was only there on Sunday, but had some great items.

Tony had to keep clear when Misty was running so only got long shots

Misty made the Brag Board… what a good girl.