This is a reply to Cynthia Ernat ‘s post. I have not yet figured out how to add a quote to my replies.
Cynthia,
We have only met once, and we talked just a little. It was at the NADAC trial in La Crosse, Wisconsin on December 12, 2009. I had Skeeter for a year and a half at that time. At that trial, we earned titles in five classes – NQing only on a self-defined bonus line attempt on the second Regular run. But watching your runs did more to validate what I’d been attempting to do, than the titles we received that day.
For me distance is a necessity not an option. Compared to others, I was marching to the beat of a different drummer. Not only did I not have anyone to show me the way, I also faced criticism, including one instructor telling me that I needed to have someone else run my dog. I had never before seen anyone handle their dogs like I was attempting, not even in NADAC. Your handling style matched mine. You demonstrated that I was doing the right thing for us and that success was possible.
What you said about the comments you received in other venues matches my experience. Many people are totally amazed at our distances work even when we don’t qualify. I often hear others say that they wish they could do that. For me being able to work at a distance does not impair, but often makes the technically difficult sequences in other venues possible because it gives me time to get into position to handle them or to be able to steer from the backseat as Skeeter does the last sequence of obstacles at full speed. Sometimes someone will ask if I learned my handling in NADAC. Just maybe it will encourage others to try NADAC.
Bill Fehn
MN
