[ Post a Response | Ask Cheryl Carlson ]
Posted by Cheryl Carlson First, let me tell you that my motivation for this year's trial was to bring BACK the feeling of teamwork between the handler and dog.. something that I feel is sorely lacking in most of today's dog sports... I have always enjoyed the personal challenge that competitions like Sarge's "Iron Dog" presents, and feel that I have done something worthwhile just by completing the tasks... I feel more bonded with my dog when doing these combined effort trials than at any other time, and I wanted to present the opportunity to other, less experienced folks. I think that the scaling wall, the paint balls wizzing everywhere, and the weather combined to do that very nicely... (grin, grin) Now, onto the meat of the matter... Chris Fraize has been one of our greatest supporters, and has been a protege of mine for a long time. I have helped him in many ways, and I was VERY PROUD of his acceptance of his scores, even after we found a MAJOR MATH ERROR OF 92 points... we aren't talking one or two, he was "cheated" out of 92 points by a very tired and overworked secretary. Did he throw a fit? Did he stomp all over, screaming and swearing? NOPE. He brought it quietly to my attention, had a conversation about it with the judges,(who were absolutely mortified by the error) forgave and forgot about it.. understanding that this is a human game, and that he and his folks that drove out all the way from Maine came away from our trial with more than trophies.. they earned respect from their competitors, they won their own personal battle with the trial field, and they accomplished something with their dog that they probably didn't dream that they could do.... So, I apologize to Chris, and to all the other competitors who didn't receive the correct scores, but want to remind you that this trial, above all, is not about winning, placing, or showing.. it's about you and your dog accomplishing something together, and what that does for you personally. Years ago, I traveled to Chris's club with a few other members of my club. At that time, I had an older female handler that was having a lot of personal problems, health and others. At any rate, When the dust settled, Timber and I had won every event we entered. Chris came to me, and we decided that it would be a better thing to have my club member win, since I didn't have to "Win" to feel good about my dogs' performance. I still have those score sheets, since it's a good teaching tool for those that will come after me. Sometimes it's better to win in your heart, to smile with pride at your dog, than to stand on the podium, and sometimes standing on the podium will help another person a LOT more than it will you.... It's easy to want to win, easy to get mad when you don't. It's more about the human experience when you can see the "large picture", and allow the experience to make you better, a better person, a better dog handler, and a better partner to the dog on the end of your leash.
(Cheryl) on 8/23/2007, 11:52 am
207.179.65.20
Hi all! Thanks very much to everyone that came out, worked, spectated, and simply took part in the ninth annual DSO... I had a blast!
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