I had such a good time getting back together with old friends and meeting some new ones. The highlight of course being meeting all the dogs. I love that at a NSTRA trial you can come across so many different breeds. Breeds I haven’t trained yet that I some day hope to and breeds that I already have fond memories of.

One thing I have always liked about NSTRA is overall it is a great group of great people. There are very very few bad apples in the bunch. Most everyone you meet is willing to help, to teach, and to encourage. That is my favorite part. One of my mentors and a fabulous author Bret Wonnocott Generously gave me a bird launcher to work on one of my dogs weaknesses, and his instructions show the kind of guy he is. “Use it and enjoy it, it’s yours, and when you don’t need it, pay it forward to someone else who needs it.” He and his wife Angie really are very special people and always friendly and helpful. Angie was the field Marshall one day and judged the next. I learned a lot this weekend by keeping my mouth shut and listening to a few things as well. We often forget to do that. Sometimes asking questions is the best approach to targeted learning, but this weekend I learned a few amazing things that I didn’t even know I needed yet by keeping my mouth shut. Brett was a great competitor both days, and I was fortunate enough to be able to ride out with the judges and get some pictures. I wish I had been able to photograph every dog at least once, there were so many good ones running.

I was fortunate enough to be able to run Lena as a Bye dog twice, always sad when that is needed but a great opportunity for us.

Anyway enjoy a few of our photos and we will see you all in another week!