We made finals this year!!!
Ann Perkins and I were lucky enough to compete at the 2024 Westminster Master Agility Championships on May 11, 2024. It was held at the US Tennis Center located in Flushing, NY. There were a multitude of dogs competing. This was our second time at Westminster. Last year we NQd both Standard and Jumpers, so our goal this year was to run clean. We ran Standard first and had a clean run. Then we ran Jumpers and had a clean run there too! Right when we finished running our Jumpers run, I kind of had that feeling that we made finals. An hour later, it was confirmed that not only did we make finals, but we were the 4th fastest dog to run in the finals group! I cried. We waited pretty much all day and got to compete at 7pm that night. It was exhilarating and amazing. Cameras everywhere, spectators cheering, my friends and family watching. There is a sign as you walk onto the main stadium floor with a quote by Billie Jean King and it says: PRESSURE IS A PRIVILEGE. It definitely makes you focus on the task at hand and reminds us that just being there is an immense privilege. I let that pressure get to me this year and forgot where I was going on the course twice (which is unlike me, as I never forget where I’m going). However, Ann stayed right with me and did EXACTLY as I asked. I cannot ask for a better teammate than my little Ann. She it truly a “Cinderella” story. Little ragged dog from the streets getting to compete at the finals at Westminster, the OLDEST DOG SHOW IN THE UNITED STATES. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this little mighty 10-lb scrappy little princess. She is truly amazing. The first video is a video of the first time we were on National TV! It gets replayed over and over again on FS1 and FS2. The last 2 videos are the runs that qualified us to get into finals. We will likely be seen at Thanksgiving this year, which will be a real treat for us!
