Events | Barnstormers Flyball Club

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Dogwood Christmas Classic

Cloverdale November 21 – 22, 2015

Something the mainland hasn’t seen for awhile – two Barn Stormer teams! A regular division, the Hurrycanines, was made up of Dancer, Jonas, Max, Navi, and Stormy and the other was an open division, the Spitfurs, with Ruffy, Buffy, Max, Ruben (from Oregon), Seeker, and on Sunday, Savannah (from Washington) to assist Seeker. CJ joined the Spits for warmup when we had time.
Some of us who were camped at the fairgrounds were treated to an unusual serenade on Friday night – coyotes! Apparently a group of them are hanging around the area; those with little dogs kept a close eye on them outside throughout the weekend.
Once the normal first race jitters and confusion got out of the way, the teams settled down to serious racing. The Hurrys saw some impressive times both days even managing to break out once to our delight. The Spitfurs ran a bit slower but for the most part ran cleanly.
It was good fun to run with our Oregon member, Chris and her collie, Ruben. She enjoyed herself and said she’d be happy to run with us anytime. We also borrowed Len and Savannah to help out on Sunday; both Seeker and Ruff were feeling their age (and Ruff his arthritis) and they needed a break.
A very welcome sight was Graham who was able to join us for awhile both days and ran Jonas for some of the races. Not sure who was happier to see him – Jonas or us.
Our faithful regular box loader, Tony, was sidelined; he spent most of his time “resting” his new knee by sitting in as box judge for us and many other teams. Thank you Tony. Laura, Kathi and Nikki took turns doing the box loading, managing to get those red, squishy, small or regular balls in the right holes with hardly a miss. Thank you ladies.
There was always a ball shagger ready to go – seemed like everyone took a turn at that if Lorraine or Chris weren’t already there. You never know just what you’re going to wind up doing. Marg was peaceably minding her own business in “camp” when she was recruited to run a start dog for a team who was suddenly missing a handler.
The new team colour for our shirts was a hit – we had lots of compliments on them. Barn Stormers were easy to spot out on the line; we made a good colour choice gang.
A 7:30 start to the racing on Sunday meant that even with us staying to help Dogwood break down and clean up, we were all able to easily catch the 5:00 ferry home. Some of us rewarded ourselves with the buffet and spent the trip sharing good laughs.
It was a fun weekend spent with good friends and happy dogs. It’s why we keep playing.

So happy to see Graham

One of the Hurrycanine combinations

Laura in one of her box loading stints

Our Oregon member… Ruben

Len and Savannah on Sunday

Flying thru the air with the greatest of ease

Christmas Party – 2015

Barn Stormers got together for what was probably the earliest Christmas party of the season… November 14th! No one seemed to mind though because as someone said, “It’s a party!” Have to give great big thanks to Laura for allowing us to have the party in her home… so much nicer than an impersonal hall! The call is out for who would like to host next year! Most everyone was able to make it, but we missed the ones who weren’t. It was nice to see some part time members who’ve run with us as well, and can’t forget “Judge” Randy from the mainland.

The appys and desserts loaded the table as usual …. it’s a wonder we are able to move afterwards. Nobody to blame but yourself if you come away hungry. There’d been a request for the infamous “Rum Chowdahs” … they did seem to go pretty fast.

Ally and Samantha got everyone into the living room and seated so we were able to do the little bit of formalities… some NAFA certificates to hand out, and Most Improved Dog for Navi and then on to Secret Santa…. once again a lot of laughter and fun, although not enough stealing for Samantha! The highlight of the gift exchange had to be Laura reading out the directions for the doggy fortune cookies…. imaginations working overtime aided by Linda’s comments.

Our little club keeps surviving due to the great group we have. Each and every one of you is appreciated.

All the best to everyone and see you in 2016.

Just some of the group

Chianna got a bit of loving

The dog tree… not really ornaments.. they work better hanging on a flat surface

Flying Into Fall

Sept 26 – 27, 2015 Ridgefield, WA

Two of the Barn Stormers were able to travel again for a terrific tournament south of the border. Ruffy and Stormy were invited to run with Dogwood Pacesetters as part of an open team… the Dogstormers. Cathy with Snap, Dee with Lucy, Taylor with Gooey and Zing, and Sam made up the Dogwood part of the team. Our faithful boxloader, Tony, coped with a very sensitive box and an assortment of different balls… squishy, little, chuckit and regular… he’s good!! Stormy, the princess, cooperated part of the time, but also had her diva moments which meant in the last race of Saturday, she was pulled so that the team could break the tie we were in and pull to a first place finish.

The first heat of the first race on Sunday allowed Stormy to get the 2 points she needed from Saturday to give her next title… FDCh-S… 1000 points! Good little girl. Despite some difficulties, the team managed to achieve third place by the end of the day.

Stumptown puts on a really great tournament… colour coordinated prizes even! Visiting with friends and meeting new people is, as always, a good part of the fun. Here’s hoping that next year, Barn Stormers will be able to put their own team together for a great weekend.

Ya gotta rest if you’re running flyball

Souvenir T shirts we bought… even had Barn Stormers on the back

A two ring tournament so were kept hopping from one side to the next

A two ring tournament so we were kept hopping from one side to the next

Stormy’s button. A special touch done by the hosts for the dogs achieving new titles

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.