The first, submitted into Opening Act, was an actual demo routine that I had done with Maddie and Dean at a fundraiser for canine cancer research. The performance was not intended to be a Challenge submission and some of the guidelines were not followed. My use of food, for example, was incorrect. However, this was the only video of a Maddie performance that I could submit, so in it went!
We scored 76 points, which made me incredibly happy.
A couple of my favorite comments:
"Loved the complexity of one dog moving dynamically on the outside while the other moved in a small controlled inside circle"
"Really pretty pictures in the movement design"
Our Honor performance certificate:
Ribbon Label:
Honor ribbons: (the two white ones!)
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Since we only needed 26 points to finish this level up, I decided to let my then-extremely-green Freestyle partner, Miss Tessa, take a turn for our team. Our music is Bond's Scorchio.
Tessa had not had a whole lot of Freestyle training at this point - most of our work had been in Agility. And you will see a lot of Agility in this performance! We first performed this routine in a WCFO competition where it won 1st place and our first Beginner leg, and an award for "Most Bonded Team". This video performance happened several months later. Back then Tessa lagged a lot and she was rather underwhelmed at performing for just one person behind a video camera, but it is a nice snapshot of our work together at its earliest stages!
The routine was later modified to include a pivot platform, which added a bit of pizzazz to it! We retired the routine after earning our Novice WCFO title with it in that version.
This routine was awarded 78 points, which finished the Level for us! Not a spectacular score, but one that I was very happy with, considering our performance level at that time.
Some of my favorite comments:
"I liked both the opening and closing pictures, especially the strong closing picture with all eyes on Tessa"
"When Kristine moved around Tessa, the paw was very sweet"
"Kristine and Tessa are definitely a team, evidenced in Tessa's relaxed wagging tail"
And constructive criticism, of which there was no lack!! (Like I said above, we were a very, very, very, very, very green team at this point!):
"Tessa could use more drive"
"Tessa was frequently lagging, but still showed that she was capable of achieving all three positions"
"The choreography design was excellent. It was too powerful for Tessa"
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For Entertainment Feature Presentation, I decided to have some fun! Back in his WCFO days, Speedy had performed a routine to the Beatle's Here Comes the Sun for his Novice level. The routine was very well received. To this day, people ask me if I was the one who had the dog with the sunshine collar!
Although the routine had been long retired, I had a hankering to do something new with it, so we met with our videographer and Speedy and I enjoyed the absolute most fun Challenge filming ever!
Speedy was delighted to hear this music again, overjoyed to work with props again, and it was fun for both of us to revisit portions of this routine again!
Because we were filming for the Entertainment Division, where editing is encouraged at the higher level, we filmed it in pieces. Then I went home and edited them together. My first attempt at editing and it didn't go too badly!
Our final performance of "Here Comes the Sun":
I honestly had no idea how this would be received by the Challenge judges, but it went over very well. We earned a very, very high score of 142 points, and we once again won the Le La Ru Award for the highest scoring routine of the event!!
Well deserved, Mr. Speedy!!
Some of my favorite comments (of which there were plenty for this performance!):
"This routine included very good teamwork throughout. The dog was definitely a willing partner and was very engaged with the handler. The handler was very supportive of the dog and they worked very nicely as a team. Good work!!"
"This was a fun dance, could almost see the sun rising. The dog and handler were having a good time and so would an audience"
"As always, you are sensitive to Speedy's abilities and showcase him well. I must say again, he doesn't move like an older dog"
"The routine was enjoyable to watch and left the viewer with good, positive feelings. Very honoring to the dog! It was a pleasure to watch a routine that really showcased the dog's love for dancing!"
My sweet Speedy Barishnacov, you will forever and for always be my "best dog"! So glad we got to make this part of our Challenge!
There was very little criticism for this performance, and most of it was about the editing. So, I'll skip that on this one!
DCD-Ent was extra special because all four dogs got to contribute a piece of it!
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