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Sorry this update didn't come sooner, but once the season ended things got busy and then all of a sudden it’s a new decade! As the new president I regret having to tell you that my really good friend, Bob Harmon, stepped down as president after the Nevada State Fair. Bob has brought many wonderful years to the club and has worked hard on building a strong foundation so we can continue to grow. I wish him and his family the best of luck in 2010 in all their endeavors. Before I get in to details about last year I wanted to give everyone a little update for this year. We are happy to announce Tamarack Junction has again stepped up to the plate and is sponsoring our two events. The Tamarack Junction Summer Solstice Fun Jump and Competition will be June 18-20 and the Nevada State Fair jump will be August 25-29 so please mark your calendars now. First and foremost, a few of our dogs were nominated for national awards and H3D ended up having 3 winners…CONGRATS TO ALL. Frequent Flier Achievement (1 MILE)
| Suzy Nicholson and Tinka
| | Top Australian Cattle Dog | Annie Harmon and Pepperspot
| Most Photogenic Team
| Leland Ede and Sir William
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I have kept very busy attending competitions with Sir William since the state fair. This year marked one of the most active years I have had as a competitor. I originally started a review of last year but it was 20 pages long, so I've decided to just take some time and talk about each team that made the World Finals and some of their trials of getting there. The first dog that comes to mind is a fairly new team. I remember many weekends with this team down at the docks working on perfecting their throw and building a unique bond. Taylor and Abby are an inspiration to us all, showing us that there is a lot of fun to be had in this sport. Right out of the gates Taylor worked hard at putting the toy in the right spot for Abby. In the end it paid off with them taking 1st place in the Junior Handler division with a jump of 21 feet. I'm sure 2010 will only be a better year for this young team. Our next team is really remarkable and has achieved so much this past year. I have seen this girl do many different things this year and come to find out she has an alter ego. This dog put in many long hours at the Nevada State Fair. Once the staff went home the show really got under way. If you don't know by now this is Katie and her alter ego Super Girl who put on some amazing shows for the crowd. Katie ended up taking 5th in the pro division at the World Finals. Not bad for a small Golden Retriever who just started jumping over 20 feet at the beginning of the year. Also I have to say thanks to Jason, if it wasn't for him we would of never created the costumes for our dogs. This next dog is also a new team who worked really hard to even start jumping. G.G. and Michelle took a long time to get started but they were proof that with a lot of patience you can accomplish anything. We worked with G.G. for several weeks just trying to get her used to the idea of jumping off the docks. As one of the trainers I can tell you, we tried about every trick in the book to get her confident enough to jump. Once she started jumping, she figured out this is an exciting sport to play with mom and has been hooked ever since. Now we have a veteran dog that has been competing for a while. She shows all of us it doesn't take a big dog to jump far. Tinka has gone to a lot of events jumping her little heart out and it really showed at the World Finals. Tinka was having an off day during qualifications for the Pro Finals. The finals took six dogs and she was the last one in.
It came as no surprise to me that her final jump of 22 feet 6 inches made her the Splash Dog Pro Champion for 2009. Congratulations Suzy and Tinka. Now for the last dog on my list, well it depends on which list I read from, but he is my own, Sir William. If it weren’t for him my life would be boring and I would probably never have met so many great new friends. Our goal last year was not about distance but about catching the toy and I for one can say it was very successful. As a team we have been consistent all year long being in the 18-19 foot range. Going into the Senior World Finals we qualified 9th. Our first jump was a staggering 20 feet 5 inches, landing us a very respectable 3rd place. To sum up 2009, it was a summer to remember with so many great people and outstanding times. Hope we have an even better 2010!
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