Filled out the premium for the big 3 day USDAA trial at the end of the month and YIKES! $352 total if I enter both dogs in all events. So Cody's getting the shaft on the Grand Prix (saves $22) since he has his 2 qualifiers for nationals and his 5 qualifiers for the championship title. I may cut out Jumpers from the last day so we can leave early but that only saves an extra $24. I have $20 worth of worker's coupons so that helps a bit. It's so many runs too what with the Team events and regular qualifying events. I entered both dogs in the Team event this year, it's our only local chance to qualify for Nationals. If we don't I'm not sure I want to travel all over huxpux trying to qualify and I don't want to drive the 13 1/2 hours to Nationals if we don't qualify in Team because it's not enough runs to be worth it. I've got really good teammates if only I can hold up my end of the bargain so it's possible we'll qualify but I don't want to drive myself crazy worrying about it. I'm starting to feel like these Tournament events are way too expensive to enter on a regular basis. The Grand Prix is my favorite event of all agility events/all venues but there's a limit to what I'm willing to spend for 40 seconds in the ring and $22 is really pushing it.
I rode my bike way too hard on Saturday then went for a 1:15 trail run on Sunday after an agility fun match. My legs/hip/pelvis are not happy with me. I'm worried about my race in 2 weeks, I'm not sure I'll be ready and I'm thinking of bagging it. I'll see how I feel in a couple of days if/when my legs finally recover. I was so sore after my run on Sunday that I almost succumbed to an ice bath, something I swore I would never do after I trained for my last marathon. When you find yourself screaming bad words at the top of your lungs from a freezing bathtub full of ice cubes and creatures that revel in eating poop come in the bathroom and stare at you like you're crazy it's time to rethink your hobby.
LOL! You have a great way of pointing out the absurd at times.
ReplyDeleteI just got email from an agility friend after our GP/St/Team weekend, ranting about the unreasonable costs for the tournament events and made particularly unreasonable by the fact that they're now part of the titling track--you have to qualify for nationals to earn your titles? Not to mention in Steeplechase where you have to be among the fastest, so more or less saying that only the dogs who are within a hair of the country's top dogs can earn ADCHs, or those who can squeeze by when the top dogs take the weekend off. And, yeah, I hate shelling out $50 for team, where even if I do great my teammates could mess up, and I've spent an entire weekend and $50 and 5 exhausting runs and have nothing to show for it and then have to do it all over again.
-ellen
Like an addict I just pay the man whats he wants ... ;-)
ReplyDeleteI didn't think about it much until I started running two dogs, and then I started having to pick and choose my runs for each dogs. I can understand the high cost of Steeplechase because of the money round, but there's no reason for Grand Priz to be the same price, as it always is.
And as for the Steeplechase being required for and ADCH, I was bumming about that too until finally we just barely managed to Q, probably from the better dogs having a bad/slow day ;-) (and we fianlly had a steeplechase round 1 that was in the morning and not the last class of the day!) I think I would despair more if I was in the 22" class because the border collie factor in that class makes it extremely tough--even if you have a fast border collie. There are just too many good dogs and haders concentrated in that one class.
Now I'm bumming about the seeming impossibility of us ever getting a Super Q in Snooker, never mind the DAM team, which I haven't even attempted yet ...
I also don't like having the Tournament events be required for titles. I suspect the problem for me will be Team since I'm so inconsistent. I hate paying $60 and worrying that I'm going to screw someone else up. The worst though is shelling out $22 and the judge imposes fault limits. $22 for 6 obstacles, yeah, that's a bargain and I speak from experience.
ReplyDeleteI never thought Speed Jumping would be a problem for us but after last trial I'm not so sure. Only 3 dogs Q'd in my height and they were blazing fast, all under 40 secs and faster than the Champ dogs. No way we would have Q'ed even if we ran clean and my dogs aren't slow, just not warp speed fast. I'm hoping at some point they'll change the criteria for Q's again, who knows. Would be nice if there was an SCT to beat or something.
The total entry for the 3 day NE Regional came to $200. I decided not to go. It is a trip that costs about $200 in fuel, $200 in food and lodging. $600 for 3 excrutiatingly long days of trialing. I took a pass. And that is for 1 dog. I know people who are showing 2-3 dogs.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of scary.
/amy
I can't imagine paying $800-$1000 for a trial, that's crazy. Though I'd probably be nauseous if I worked out what I spent on Nationals last year. That was my vacation though, we made a big trip out of it so it wasn't really so bad.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to our nearest Regionals either-the 13 1/2 hour drive plus 95 degree with humidity weather in Texas was a deal breaker. Didn't even get to the part about how much money it would cost. Hopefully we'll have regionals in Denver next year, a 45 minute drive I can handle.