Finally, time for EO 2017! My first championship with both Buffy and Minus.
Travelling to Salice Terme
The journey to Italy started at Sola airport early wednesday morning. After changing flights at Gardemoen we landet in Milan around 12 and picked up our rental car. It was of course a bit “italian sized” but I managed to fit both the crates, the dogs and myself. The drive to Salice Terme (the venue for EO) was just under 2 hours (included some stops). I got the apartement we lived in through AirBnB and was only 200 meter from the EO venue.
EO 2017 opening
Thursday was the first “official” day of EO 2017. This day was for vet check, traning and opening ceremony. Both Buffy and Minus had no problems in the vet check and during training we built some more confidence and had a blast. The opening ceremony started with a parade, then some speeches followed by raising the flag. Buffy handled the whole thing with being calm and cool.
Finally time for some agility!
It was finally time for some agility! At EO you walk all of the courses in the morning and run later during the day. On friday we ran team qualifications. Buffy and Minus ran for two different teams and I had 8 dogs between them so just enough time to switch, breathe and reboot 🙂
Buffy had a great run in the agility qualifications for teams. Minus got our money worth by adding some bonus jumps. At the time we ran the jumping team qualifications the temperature was around 35 degrees celcius. The dogs gave their best and had no problems with the heat while I did not preform my best.
The individual qualifications were held Saturday and Buffy had once again an amazing run in the agility qualifier. We ran clean until the very end but a stupid mistake on my part caused a disqualification. I am so proud of my little Buffy who gave it her all this weekend. Our speed and flow together has been describable.
Minus knows a lot more agility than I do and he saved me more than once. His rocket fuel was too much for the heat but we never lost focus from finishing, enjoying each run and getting valuable experiences.
A big bonus was having a pool just a few meters from the courses. Pretty nice being able to relax there whenever you had the time.
We are ready for more championships!
The journey was long and costs were many. What are you really left with after a championship if you did not win? Quite a lot actually! I could write page after page with all our experiences, adventures and the joys of this trip but what I remember best is:
- I am proud to have represented Norway in a championship.
- Buffy handled everything great. Travelling, the noise, the stress and she still ran like normal (if not better).
- My mental training is working. My focus was just were it needed to be.
- Great Italian food and how dog friendly Italy is.
- I can do anything – with or without planning.
EO 2017 was our first championship and has definitely made us hungry for more. My little Buffy is ready – we are great together!
