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.
Sage ready to go
Jessie was pretty proud of Hudson
Jonas had a new position… start dog!
The Sopwith Mutts on the line
The raffle table looked great
The potluck had loads of food… and lots of people.
Saturday’s potluck dinner… complete with corn!
The Hurrycanines reunion team
Fiercely Flying at the Fair
Maple Ridge – July 26 & 27, 2014
Another hot weekend didn’t stop the Hurricanines team from heading across the water once again, although this time not as far. Finding their way to the fairgrounds on Friday was an adventure for those who hadn’t been there before…..sometimes those GPS’s just don’t help.
Late starts to racing, to give time to get the field dry of dew, gave our gang the unheard of luxury of not having to gulp breakfast and hustle into the ring. A spread of 5.7 seconds in the seeding in our division let us know we would be running for dog points and that any wins would be the result of our competitors’ flags – which was the case – a fourth on Saturday and a third on Sunday.
Some of Saturday’s racing was a demonstration of what not to do – you don’t go running back down the lane to get another ball (Ruffy), you don’t stop before you get to the box to check the ground for treats (Seeker), you don’t leave your lane to try out the other one (Jessie), and you don’t forget to have a poop stop before the race (Buffy). Dancer must have been shaking his head at the rest of them !!
After a delicious potluck dinner, the midway of the fair beckoned. Laura and Ally got their dinners well settled on the Zero Gravity machine while the rest of us watched in awe. Kathi’s cotton candy must have affected her hearing – Laura’s pot of sunscreen ‘big enough for a “whole” person’ became ‘sunscreen for an “old” person’… So she didn’t think she should use it!
To Jessie’s delight, Ruffy came up lame and had to pull out of the last two races on Sunday ..glad you were there, Jessie, to allow us to finish. Racing was over by 3:00, so the convoy headed for the ferry, all arriving quite close together to wait for the 6:00 as the 5:00 was full. Most of us ended the weekend relaxing in the buffet – no dogs, no sun – a welcoming change. We must be having fun because we keep doing this crazy sport.
Leaf blowers drying the dew off the field
And towels to help soak it up.
Hurricanines in action on the line
Almost need engineer’s papers to set up Seeker’s kennel.
Ruthie, the bison, we decided wouldn’t be able to play… can you imagine boxloading for her?
The “old” people’s sunscreen.
A perfect pass for Jessie and Seeker
The boys were hustling!
Stormy and CJ didn’t get to run in the ring, but sure had fun when turned loose to play.
One of the other combinations… picture courtesy of Cathy K
Sunday morning relaxing before we started.
Muddy Paws – A – Flyin’
Salem, OR July 12 – 13, 2014
A courageous crew trekked down to Salem, OR for the Muddy Paws A’ Flyin’ tournament at the Marion County Fair, braving hot temperatures and crazy traffic. Some arrived early enough to watch the Friday night racing and visit the classic car show that was part of the Fair. Some didn’t arrive until much later.
Saturday dawned hot and clear and the team managed to race throughout the day to a tie for first place in their division. The tie breaker ended with our team placing second. Good clean racing all day, with just a couple of hiccoughs along the way.
Saturday night saw some extra shenanigans. After a delicious dinner and some drinks, the dogs were left snoozing in the motorhomes while the humans wandered over to see what the Fair had to offer. Adventurous Laura and her cohort Linda decided to enjoy the rides. They yelled and giggled their way through The Zipper, a ferris wheel style ride that went at quite a fast speed, and then … The Kamikaze! Yes, it’s as crazy as it sounds – they got swung upside down, forwards, backwards, ’round and ’round, whoo-hooing and giggling the whole time. Crazy ladies! Marg and Ally joined them later for a round of Bumper Cars (lot of stress relief from that ride) and then Ally joined Laura and Linda in a ride that spun them around horizontally and vertically, accompanied by a lot of screams and giggles. The ride operator even asked if this ride was on their Bucket List, since they had so much fun. Sometimes there are extra fun bonuses to a flyball tournament. 😉
Sunday dawned hot and cloudy with scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. Poor Buffy and Dancer didn’t like that! Dancer had to withdraw after the first heat, pulling a groin muscle. Lucky for Max, which meant he was asked to race every heat for the rest of the day. The team raced to a tie (yes, another one!) for third place, resulting in a fourth place finish.
The trek homeward was done leisurely, with everyone packing up and then driving north for a couple of hours to meet at a Wal-Mart in Chehalis, WA. An enjoyable dinner and drinks and chatting before bedtime. What a wonderful end to a flyball weekend.
The Kamikazie…brave women!
Barn Stormers on the line
Bumper cars
Max was so happy to get to run
A time to put the feet up
Matsqui May Madness
Abbotsford …. May 3 & 4, 2014
The dreary weather didn’t stop the Hurricanines from taking part in this mainland tournament on the weekend. The team of Dancer, Jonas, Buffy, Seeker and Ruffy raced well, beating out their competition to hold onto first place in their division both days. Captain Kathi strategically mixed and matched the big dogs to give us chances to win races.
Our valiant little Sheltie height dog, Seeker, despite missing Laura, but being well handled by Anne, gave his all and didn’t drop a ball all weekend….good Sheltie!! When the team managed to get him a lead, he was able to beat his opposition several times. Those other dogs just had longer legs too often!
Sunday’s racing actually went smoother most of the the time than Saturday’s, with the dogs all achieving some good personal times and having close races with their competition; waiting for that signal to see who won makes it so much fun. The last race of the day did emphasize what happens when handlers and dogs are tired…Ruffy ran amuck, Dancer dropped balls, and in the last heat, we had three early passes!!
Our faithful box loader Tony was in demand again…he helped out with another team, and could often be seen filling in as a box judge..thank you, Tony.
A great weekend over all…fun with friends and dogs. What more could we want!
Our thanks to Sherri for the pictures… she got some great ones!
One team on the line
And another combination
Seeker gives his best
The boys waiting to go in!
Kings Spring Fling
Cloverdale April 5-6, 2014
Thanks to a seed time that was a bit too fast, we were outmatched by our competition for the weekend but the dogs don’t care. Our valiant height dog Seeker plus Ruff, Buffy, Jonas, Max and Dancer ran clean for the majority of our races, earning lots of dog points. Dancer reached his 30,000 point milestone on Sunday. Thank you to all who have run with him in his career.
Kudos go to the bravest Barn Stormer of the weekend – Ally! While two of the team held Max and another distracted him with treats, Ally bravely took the removal tool and extracted the tick from Max’s eyebrow. Ewwwww!
And not to be forgotten, the third of our new puppies made a public appearance again at this tournament…. Gypsy! Not in the least worried about all the barking and commotion… flyball dog in the making!
The camp inside…
A Baby Picture
As noted before, Dancer and Kathi got a new addition to the family and she finally held still long enough for a picture …. she arrived in January, delayed because of weather! CJ has made herself right at home, and while small, she’s got a big personality! She’s coming to flyball practices, and joins in with the class to do the restrained recalls.
Full attention on something!
Christmas Party 2013
It was that “ho ho ho” time again for Barn Stormers. We met in the Oak Room at the fairgrounds; Tara came up and helped to decorate, but then unfortunately, didn’t make it to the party! That’s a story in itself… you might ask her! About 20 of us did get together for the usual appys and desserts and laughs. The stars of the show were Stormy and Gypsy, who is now the bouncing baby mini aussie belonging to Lorraine. Her picture will be up when we get one. Both puppies had lots of cuddles and socializing.
After we’d made good inroads on the food, and figured out how to work the coffee machine (Ally, you’re responsible for remembering for next year!) the chairs were circled for the awards and Secret Santa. The Most Improved Dog award went this year to Sage… he’s come a long way; Sofi was surprised and happy. Team Spirit award was a really good choice; if there’s anyone who willingly helps out with whatever is needed or ideas, it’s Laura. We’re so happy that she’s part of our group.
Secret Santa was the normal somewhat mayhem, as gifts travelled back and forth across the room; somehow those heavy ones that sort of gurgled when the parcel was shaken were quite popular again. Graham made presentations to Kathi, Tony and Marg as well; our thanks to all of you. And if people hadn’t yet taken their button from the dog tree, they got that.
The decision was made to start up again on January 9th … a nice break over the holidays.
As 2013 draws to a close, a wish for all of you….. have a wonderful Christmas season, a Happy New Year, and all the best in 2014. See you in the barn!
Dogwood Pacesetters Christmas Classic
November 23 – 24, 2013 Abbotsford
The Hurricanine team made a final trek to the mainland to attend this tournament as the last of the year. We were joined by Max, handled by Rob, which meant the big dogs got some time off. Poor Seeker, our valiant height dog, had to run all day, both days, so he was one tired pup by the end of the weekend.
Saturday’s results were impressive – seeded fourth of four teams, our clean runs and consistent times ( only two over 24 seconds all day) had us tied for points for first, but placed second due to our time against the other team.
Sunday’s racing was more difficult for tired dogs and handlers. Despite mostly clean runs, the other teams just had the edge on us for speed, resulting in a fourth place finish.
The cold weather prevented us from sitting around outside but Randy and Cathy’s trailer served us as a social area and for the potluck supper on Saturday night. Sunday’s finish time for us was awesome – we were away from the venue by 1:30 and on the 3:00 ferry home for most of us. A good tournament and good fun with friends- a great way to end the racing in 2013.
Stormy made it into camp part of the time
When she wasn't in her kennel, she was being held by people like Gordie.
