The Spaniel Annals

Yesterday on the morning of Reardon’s obedience trial in Lynden, WA, my mantra was: We’re double winners!  I like mantras; Jane Savoie, the Olympic equestrian competitor and author of many books about the mental game, encourages adopting words or phrases to chant the weeks before a competition and on that day.

How are we double winners?  Well, I was assuming Reardon would earn his CDX that day (and I was right!).  But the winning is more than that.  I’ve made huge strides this year in recognizing and overcoming old negative self-image “tapes” while performing.  Reardon has made huge strides in overcoming a health issue that has plagued us for 3 years.  He is blooming in good health; in fact, he’s a little chubby, but after the scary weight and muscle loss last year, I struggle with putting him on a diet.  He is exuberant with good cheer and vitality, and it feels like he’s trying to make up for lost time.  So we are both double winners, inside and outside the ring.  And guess what?  My mantra came true:

This titling run included some rather comical brain farts on both our parts: in the heeling pattern, when the judge said “slow,” I went fast for a few steps before I recovered and moved into a slow.  I have no idea what I was thinking.  The heeling was going beautifully before then and we were almost done!  I think my mind had moved too many stages ahead.  Remarkably, Reardon stayed with me through every fumbling step.

Then on the very last retrieve, Reardon gave me a beautifully straight front but several inches away from me.  Then for the around finish, he finished behind me. Where was his brain?  On his cookies?  Who knows?  Who cares?  After rock solid stays a half hour later, we happily grabbed our green qualifying ribbon!  Double winners we are!