[Tracy Sklenar]

Good morning!

First video –
Ooh! I am happy with how he read that rear cross!! I don’t mind that he took a moment and read it on landing… you had a really clear physical cue and a clear verbal, so getting him to read it went well! As he sees more of it, you will be able to tighten it up even more.

>>So this is not a skill that we have apparently.

Actually… it appears that you *do* have the skill now! Yay! It is not an easy one to cue because it is not entirely natural for the dog, but I am very happy with how it is going!! We will have to do more of them to get it comfortable – he is continuing to get faster and faster, and he is jumping nicely so there is no hang-time for you to catch up… which means we will want your rear crosses to be solid 🙂

>>Also, on the tunnel soft turns, I saw that you had wings to either side of the exit of the tunnel (even though they were not pictured on the map) so I put cones there. I think Benni believed it was his job to go around the cones when I did the right/left turns so on the next video after that I took the cones away.>>

Yes, I left the wings there because I was wanting my youngster to look towards the next “obstacle” rather than at me, so it is fine that Benni thought he should go to the cones. Good boy!

1st video – GO – looking good! The physical and verbal cues were very clear before he got to the information line. Great job with the toy throws!

2nd video: the soft turns are really hard – I think your verbal left and right cues were really good – you can make a more dramatic physical cue. When I freeze the video when he is at the info line – there is a subtle turn of body but there is a lot of forward motion. So for now, you can dramatize it – decel and make a sharp angle of stepping away, then reward. I don’t think the cone was a distraction for him, I think it was the forward momentum of the physical cue.
You started to get more dramatic at :38 and :44, and his head was turne to the left before he exited – perfect! Those last 2 reps were the best ones.

3rd video – the RCs are going well! I liked the 2nd rep at :14 where you were right on his tail 🙂 On the next rep at :21, you were facing straight for longer so while he did turn left, it wasn’t as sharp.
The RCs to the right looked *great* – definitely very clearly early info! Esrlier than the RCs to the left for sure. And possibly he is slightly better turning to his right than to his left at the moment? Or perhaps he solidified the RCs on the tunnel after working them on the other side? Or all of the above? LOL!!

>>Is it my imagination or is he looking left on the exit but running straight before he actually turns?>>

Yes, a little bit indeed – but he has turned his head to read the cross, so I am happy 🙂 Try to get more up on his tail as early as possible for these left exits like you did on the right exits and see how he does! And good job balancing with the soft turns at the end – keep dramatizing those turn cues like I mentioned above.

Wrap exit video – the timing of the beginning of the cue and the verbal – great! But then turn and run the other way – you continued moving forward along the tunnel, which creates a wider-than-desired exit line. Motion forward is motion forward and creates straightness, even if we humans are running rotated 🙂 He was turning his head, he knew it was a turn cue – but he wasn’t necessarily wrapping due to your motion continuing down the tunnel. Basically, as he is entering the tunnel, you will be fully running the other direction already 🙂 It is a wrap cue and also a significant challenge to his tunnel commitment (because it is easy to turn around and come back out of the entry :))

>>Note – the yellow thing on the ground is my 6 foot marker (it was an extension cord with a work light attached so I definitely did not want to step on it. It was more visible than a leash on the ground)

Perfect!! It was easy to see the timing and his commitment looked good.

>>I looked at the upcoming course work….yikes!

You’ll do fine with it – the emphasis is on the lines, so work through those first and the rest will fall into place. Nice job on your tunnel skills!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
He did well on these sequences 0
First rep was strong, he is doing well reading these more complex lines! Your blind 2-3 was really nice. Try to be a bit further over to show him the wing of 3, you were blocking it a little bit so he went wide. The ideal position is where the jump bar meets the wing, so the entire wing is visible to him – it will feel like you were running more towards the center of the bar. I think on the 2nd rep the timing was good but you were a little in the way on the line at 2-3 so he pulled the bar at 2.

Good send on 4 on both reps – not sure which is more comfortable right now in terms of your knee, both went well and time will tell us which works better for him. At :21 he came off the last line little bit because you were behind and looking forward, which broke connection – when you get behind, exaggerate the connection to the back of his head so you can propel him up the line. But I think the main reason he came off the line was he started to chase Wager who was running by. You were a lot more connected on the 2nd rep there (and no Wager running by :)) so he did well! When you get behind, you don’t want to point ahead try to pump your arms to run and lock into more connection to drive him ahead.

2nd video –
nice soft brake 2-3! He is reading those nicely! Your first rep was really nice on that! 2nd rep was a little late so he was wider.

After tunnel 3 to jump 4
at :07 and :13, you did a spin on the tunnel entrance which cued a turn then called him, so he turned out of the tunnel and came off the line to 4.
at :32 you didn’t spin and you had no name call, so he exited looking right at 4. You were a little too far past the line 4-5 so he had a little zig zag at :34 but you had connection nicely so he found the lines.
Yes… knees and front crosses are not good friends 🙁 OUCH at :39!!! I could hear the pop 🙁 Yikes!!!!! He was happy to do a fun thing at the end but definitely we are going to make sure you don’t do any high speed FCs. I think FCs are really best when there is a decel into them anyway – otherwise, do the blind. I hope your knee isn’t too angry right now??? Let me know!!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi Denise!

Skills videos, Lit’l Bit is up first 🙂
Push to slice was great!
Push to dig – you can give the dig sooner, so she hears it before she gets to the backside and can set up a better turn
Left and right soft turns also look good – you can play with seeing how much earlier you can cue and leave with her.

Push FC then wrap then push – really nice! She has great commitment and you had lovely timing especially on the push FC

Dig dig wrao looked great at :30, nice and early – she had a great turn and then the send on the jump 3 to the push on 4 also looked great!

Spin on 2 at :40 was not quite as nicely timed as the wrap at :30 🙂 You faced forward longer so she didn’t turn as well as she did when you rotated earlier. You can time it to be exactly the same timing and verbal, but add the BC after it instead of staying on the FC side. The send into the FC at :44 on jump 3 looked great again, nice commitment and timing!! It sets you up to be really ready for the push on 4 there.

At :51, this spin was similar to the one at :40, a little late. Interestingly, you used “go” on both of them when I think digdigdig would be the better verbal. The send at :54 on 3 set up a great line to the backside, her backside lines look great!

On the last rep at 1:02, you did a post turn instead of a spin on 2 – she liked the spin better 🙂 She was a little wide on 2 then looked at you because the post turn was a little later in showing where 3 was. Good to know that the spins make more sense ot her!

Wilder:
Yay for the hunting wabbits LOL!!
His backside push looked great!
And same as with Lit’t Bit, yo ucan say your dig cue on the backside wrap sooner – he was hearing it but was already at the jump, so try to get it in before he gets ot the backside wing.
His left and right timing will need to be earlier than Lit’l Bit’s is – he has more body to turn! Try to start those cues when he lands from 1 so he has more time to process them and turn.

On the dig wrap at :31 – you can rotate sooner – at :32 as he was landing you were still facing forward so he read it more like a left cue than a wrap. Decelerating will help that too, and trusting his commitment more
When you did the switch there at :42, you can decel and give the dig sooner too – he can handle all of that info coming really early and that will help tighten up that wrap. And this might sounds nuts – but a blind at :43 instead of a front cross (after the switch) will be quicker and allow you to set up the send on 3 earlier too!

The timing of your verbal dig and rotation a :53 was great! You cued it while he was maybe halfway between the jumps and fully rotated when he took off for 2, Yay! Great turn and made the send to 3 easier. I like the BC 3-4 there, you can also start that blind before he takes off- motion will support commitment there.

At 1:09, you were a little later on your dig dig timing of the verbal and rotation as compared to what you did at :53, so his turn was wider. I liked the timing at :53 so much!!!
He is really doing a great job of finding the backsides!

I also really liked the timing of your switch-digdig on the last rep – you did it when he was about halfway between 1-2 and he committed and turned perfectly! I think he is doing a great job with his commitment so you can keep the timing of the cue as early as here and at :53 🙂

Sequences:
You are a brave soul to run at 6:30am!!! Anything to beat the heat!!

Seq 1 – I think he broke his stay on this one and you had to scramble a bit, which you did! Nice job on the push to 4 and 6 – you can be more lateral on the push to 6 to you can get to the exit wing sooner as well. By going to the entry wing, you ended up a little behind there.
2nd rep was really nice!!! You had control of the start line and that made everything easier. Your push at 6 was further over by a couple of steps and it made things much easier on the exit.

Seq 2:
Nice push to 3! You were about 2/3rds of the way across the backside bar and he got it! Nice job supporting him to come in on 3. You were actually too early on your switch cue at :44 – he hadn’t yet seen where 4 was so he was not sure which jump you meant.

This sequence has more handling options to choose from – I think your idea of the switch on 4 is a good one as it might be shorter yardage and he certainly can make the turn nicely! He liked the 2nd run where you turned him to his left on 4 – nice turn and smooth! It had more yardage so it would be fun to compare which was faster!

Seq 3:
First rep – it looks like you went in a little too deep on jump 2 as you were doing the right, so he picked up the wrong line, You had a much better line on the 2nd rep there, staying more on takeoff side and giving him a stronger turn cue at 1:50 – nice!
When you repeated that again at 2:35 – I really liked the FC 2-3 and RC on the tunnel, it had more motion and he was faster!
At 1:59, you can start setting the RC 5-6 sooner. He looked up at you there, thinking you wanted a right turn because you were pulling that way (towards the side of the jump with the dog walk) – the RC info was a little late so he was on the center of the bar and turned on landing (might have touched the bar there too, I heard a tick but it is hard to tell for sure). So to set that line, you can actually get in closer to jump 4 and then stay closer to the wings as you drive up the line, so he will have mre motion and then see the RC pressure starting sooner. You got caught a bit laterally and a bit ahead so it was harder to show the info on the RC earlier.

At 2:45, you handled close to the wings and easily got a blind cross! Nice! You can begin the actual cross sooner – as he lands from 4, you were in the perfect spot for it so you can just get the head turn element of it started. You were waiting til he got closer to 5 and he didn’t need yo uto wait there, he had it 🙂

On the ending line, you seemed concerned making sure he stuck with you, so it caused him to come in too tight and take the wrong end of the tunnel at 2:04 and then it was a little too controlled on the last rep. He semeed to be really driving the correct line, so I bet you can call him and keep moving – I don’t think he would flick away to the off course 2 jump? He seemed to be really watching the line of the motion.

Great job here! You were also really connected through all of these and that helped both dogs!!!

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Holy cow, he is doing so well Eileen! Yay, Ivan!!!
It is super fun when the dog is running that fast, with so much focus and showing off his great skills (as an aside, his a-frame is looking great because the speed is helping that too!!)

Great job rewarding the opening line 🙂 He liked that – he LOVES the ball!!!
The 2 runs looked lovely :)The first run was a little bit better on the exit of the blind at 3 and and 6 because you made better connection with him (more eye contact and less arm – the eye contact sets the lines better). But you were hauling ass, scrambling, driving him – and not being careful at all 🙂 He appreciates that! Taking the risk and not trying to go clean are making a biiiiig difference 🙂 My only other tweak is that at the very end, throw the ball after he lands just to make sure he doesn’t kick the bar as he is driving for his prize.

The 2nd training package has been posted, so you have new things to play with now 🙂 In these 2 weeks, I think we will continue to work for speed while gradually increasing the bars (very gradually because I want to protect the speed_ and also continue to surprise him with rewards spread out everywhere on course. Take a look at it on the Course Syllabus page and let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

She is doing really well here!!! I have little tweaks for you, really fine details because she is doing such mature work 🙂

First video – this is going well and I think the only thing to really focus on is seeing how early you can give the cues. Her commitment is really developing nicely, so you can work on an earlier transition into the wrap cues, to ideally be rotating before she is passing you. I believe she can handle this (see below :))

#5 – 1st rep – the wrap transition was a little too late on the spin on 2 so she slipped, then you were a little late on the 2nd one so the connection to the backside line didn’t quite get established.
But on the 2nd rep – you were earlier on the transitions, her turns were better and it set up a MUCH better connection on the last backside!! Nice!

#6 – You were facing forward a little too long on the FC wrap here (rotation was late) on 2 which got you a little behind on the next one too.But on the 2nd rep – REALLY nice timing!!!! In particular, note your timing on the first wrap at 1:59 – you decelerated pretty early so as she was passing you, you were rotating away – she committed and had a stunning turn. That set up the next wrap to be really nice too! So, I believe she is ready for you to push your luck on how early you can turn: as long as you do it as a transition (fast, then decel, then rotate) rather than slamming on the brakes (fast then rotate), I believe she will continue to commit and also turn brilliantly.

Backside video – this is also going well – not an easy skill for a youngster! On the one jump games, try moving then releasing with the verbal, so the physical cue is in place before the release. When it all happens at once, she is assuming front side and didn’t always make the change. When you added the wing wrap, the physical cue was in play much earlier and she was great on your right side! You can add more lateral distance on that side, with you moving more towards the center of the bar.
For some unknown reason, it was much harder when she was on your left – hard to tell why, perhaps closer to the wall so adding pressure? You can help with emphasizing the extreme connection there – you were really connecting which is great – just be sure your opposite shoulder goes out ahead of your body, not back – that shoulder ahead (almost pointing to the wing!) will help 🙂

Great job here!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
The wrap skills sets looked *awesome*!!! You did a great job on your transitions and look at how nice his turns were!!! Happy dance! You can slap on some wrap verbals now – you start them during the decel portion of the transition. And you will get even better turns when you run away so he chases you for the rewards 🙂 You did some of that and he really blasted back to you. You seemed a little more comfy doing these on your left than on your right, so exaggerate the decel on your right so it is just as clear as on your left.

On the soft brake arm – 2 tweaks for you: do it a little sooner and do it more back to his nose. It can start just after he comes around the wing, and the arm position can be across your belly, close enough to feel your arm – you had it a little too extended away which might confuse him with a ‘get out’ arm we might add 🙂 I loved your different verbals!!! And he was definitely reading the soft brake arm and turning nicely – I think you will find it really helpful!!
Whn you balanced with the GO – you were close to the cone wrap and then moving laterally to get past the first jump, which is why he was thinking you wanted the jump on the first couple, but then he figured it out. Sending to the cone wrap from further away will help createa a straighter running path.

Great job on these, I really like how he was turning!!! And yes, since he is doing so well at home, you can take it to bigger fields so there is more challenge because of the distances and speed 🙂

Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi! He was a very good boy here and yes, you can be sloppier LOL!!! To isolate the hitting-of-the-wing, you can keep track of instances where it happens – type of turn, if you are late, etc – then we set it up deliberately at home and reward reward reward for him not touching the wing in those instances 🙂

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>This “zig zag” happens quite often. Wilson always saves me, and still makes it over the 24″ monstrosity! But I’m not quite sure where you want me to be. Are you saying that I should be closer to the wing? You said to get “closer to the wrap”. Does that mean the wing on the take-off side? So don’t really hide the wing, but get close?

The to set crosses, you will need to run on the perfect path that you want him to take – the most perfect possible path any dog can take, really 🙂 So yes show the wing but then turn and run away on the path you want him to run – which, in that case, was closer to the wing. Happily, that perfect path is one of our topics for the 2nd training challenge package that is now live! It will help you sort out where to be and how to get rid of the zig zaggery 🙂

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi there! Nice work on these!

Crouse 1 w/ Wilson:
Good opening line!! You can get closer to the wrap at 4 (closer to his line) to set up a tighter turn there back to 5. At :08 and :24 and :37 you were pretty center of the bar so he was jumping on it a slice rather than a tight turn. That created a zig zag on 5 so he needed an extra push cue on 6 to get the backside on the first rep, and when you tried to help more on the 2nd rep by being closer to the entry wing, it pushed him to the teeter. You helped him more at :42 and he got it, but it put you way behind so the ended line was a bit zig zaggy.

Demi had a good go-round on both of the reps! Nice connection, she was able to really power on her lines! One tweak for both reps: on the turn cue for jump 4 to 5 (:56 and 1:10), give her the decel, brake and turn verbal (I would use a left cue there rather than her name) starting when she lands from 3 – you did it when she was taking off for 4, which means she couldn’t really do anything til after she landed. She was a good girl and read it, but ideally she can make the adjustment before takeoff.

WIlson Course 2 – on the push to the #3 backside- maintain connection and say the push cue to him and not to the jump 🙂 You looked forward so he ended up on the wrong side of you at 1:27.
On the 2nd rep you had MUCH better connection and he found the correct side. He dropped the bar at 2 – I think that is something to proof (hand moving over the bar) because there was not anything else going on that would have caused it.

The turn at 3 looked good! Start your turn cues for 4 as he is exiting the wing of 3. At 1:43, they started as he was approaching the jump, so he couldn’t make the adjustment until after he landed. You were so much earlier at 2:08 (before he passed you) and he had a much nicer turn!

>>Question: wilson frequently drops the first bar when I lead out past the second jump. Am I leading out too far? Not looking in the right place? Do I need to work on where he needs to start?>>

It is something to track and see if you find a pattern. How far away is he when he keeps it up? How far away is he when he drops it? At what point in the session does he drop it – beginning? Middle? End? Where you standing when you released him? Keep track and you might see a pattern develop.

He pulled the bar on 1 at 2:03 – he was set up far enough bar (not too close) and it looked like fatigue, to me – he added a stride or two then tried to take off pulling from his front. He might need more power conditioning (strengthening the core and hind end) – 24″ is a HUGE bar!!

Skills Sets with Demi – on the soft turns, yes, your hands were too high on the first couple – you mentioned it on the video LOL! And then they were in a great spot on the last one and she turned much better. Use that cue earlier – as she is coming around the wing and just exiting the wing, start the cue. If she is close to the jump, it is too late.

She did a good job on the commitment skills – you had beautiful flailing arms hahahha!!! You can practice this with *less* connection though – try to deliberately look away and turn away sooner and then big rewards for still committing 🙂

Great job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>> Also, when I log in, can you make it so I can access camp on my course dashboard without having to click other things to get to it?

What are you seeing when you log in? You should be able to see it on the dashboard page… Let me know and we will sort it out.

On the video:
These courses fit really nicely, actually! It didn’t look tighter, it looked really good to me. And great practice to run big courses!

On the videos:
Course 1:
There is definitely some strategy required on this opening! The lead out position on the first rep drew him off the line – by being so lateral, he didn’t see the 1-2-3 line, even though you were moving back in. if you want to be lateral (which is a good idea here) then you can lead out laterally but not as far ahead, so you are moving on a parallel line then release then stay on the parallel line as you continue to move forward.
The FC was a bit too early on 2nd rep – you were rotated when he landed at :19 so he never got the commitment motion cue to 3. But it was REALLY nice on 3rd rep! Perfect!
I think maybe you had too much pressure towards the center of the bar on 5 at :37? Hard to tell from this angle because I couldn’t see your feet. When you fixed it with the Left to back at the end it looked really good!

Video 2:
First rep – opening looked really good! Not sure what happened at 5 – it sounded like left-left- right LOL! It looked like you needed more connection and more motion on the line towards 5, you might have been trying to leave too early. On the restart – really nice connection and line of motion!
WICKED NICE blind at 6 after the backside at :28 – perfect timing and position! Always do them just like that 🙂
Threadle-RC on 8 is good – just call him before he enters the tunnel and start the threadle pull sooner.
The Wrap cues on 10 can be a little sooner but also perhaps more forceful, more directly towards his eyes. A Slice works well there too, you can play with both and see what is faster!

Video 3: Wow, 1-6, loved it. That was just lovely! The threadle/RC on 8 was even sooner and smoother, but keep remembering to call him before he goes into the tunnel. The cue on 10 was earlier and that really helped him! Much better!

Course 2 video 1-
Leading out really laterally and then moving back in sets a different visual than he might find helpful – it draws his focus all the way off the line then back to it – might be clearer to lead out to the line you want, releasing in motion on the way there.
Overall, 1-6 looked great on the first run. One little tweak:
As he exits 2, reach your connection into the tunnel so he turns back out to 3 sooner, ideally while he is still in the tunnel.

You got the line 7-8 and a nice right turn on 8… but then he smoked you 🙂 so you couldn’t get 10. You should handle the exit of 6 and the 7-8-9 line a lot more laterally so you can be ahead of him on the tunnel exit – you can run a line from the 6 tunnel that stays parallel to 7-8 by is almost directly to the entry of 9.
On the re-start, he just needed a little more momentum into the tunnel, so maybe starting at 4 would have made it easier to get commitment (he had no problem when he did it in flow 1-2-3-4-5-6).
You were a little further over towards the tunnel on the 7-8-9 line at 1:05 so you got 10, but it is a good challenge to see if you can be even further over on that line and still commit him to it.

>>I tried different verbals including “dig” which wasn’t the right choice anyway…I think “left” should have worked if he had a stronger understanding.

Yes – he was correct on the way he responding to the left cue – I think a threadle cue for the 12 jump will be better because he has to come in to the other side and go back out to get it.

Full run at 1:53 – yes, I think starting way laterally is moving his focus away from the line – when you released him, you were moving back in but not really showing him the line 1-2, so he had a turn where you want a straight line. On the exit of 2, push him out with more connection and a cue earlier while he is in the tunnel, being closer to the line. And being a bit further away on the 7-8-9 line will make your life easier there (less sprinting :))

>>Question on tunnel entrance 13…it was set up kind of as a flat entrance so he didn’t really drive to it…should I give him a “turn” cue to change leads so he sees it?

Yes the way it was set here, you can give him a turn cue to set it or even do a BC between 12 and 13 to set it.

Course 3:
First run – opening line looked really nice, nice turn at 2 and nice threadle/rear at 4. Did you see him almost not go into the tunnel #6 at :14? Looks like you left too early and he was unsure of the commitment there. So one or two more steps in will help you support his commitment.
On the exit of tunnel 8 to jump 9 (similar to Course 2) – this is where the earlier connection (looking into the tunnel) will help get a smoother line.

>>Question on the 270 (jumps 10-11) which also appeared on course 2….I was saying “back” as if it were a backside…is this correct?>>

Yes, if you think he will land from 10 and have any choice of which side of 11 to go to, then yes the backside cue is helpful. On this map – 10 is a legit backside though (not the front side :))

On the last tunnel – remember to give him a wrap cue and also let him see you turn your feet and leave, all while he is still 3-5 feet before the tunnel entry. You were late on the turn cues there so he was wide on the exit.

2nd rep – another nice opening line! And this time you supported the tunnel #6 for an extra step or two and he had no questions.
All looked really good until landing from 11: you had connection then you looked forward at 1:00 and he thought it was a blind, so he ended up in the wrong side of the tunnel. One more moment of connection needed there to make sure he had the line set. Compare that to 1:17 (and also the first rep) when you had great connection and he knew which end you wanted.
The verbal on the tunnel entry was definitely earlier here! You can turn your feet even sooner so he is basically running across your feet, seeing the rotation nice and early.
The last full run looked really great! You again had a lovely opening, great support to 6, great connection 11-12, and earlier verbal on the tunnel entry at the very end. The only tweaks are to connect more on the exit of 8, turn your feet more before he enters 12, and run it with 10 as a backside 🙂
Great job here! Little tweaks here and there among many gorgeous moments!!! Let me know what you think.
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
Opening line 1-2-3-4 looked great with Spot!!! He was a zippy little dude on that line too – tons of speed without you even running hard. Yessssss! You got him to the backside at :21 with a little more hustle (be careful of that knee!!!) to put yourself in the picture, and it helped. Because he is so young, he got there and didn’t quite know what to do with himself, so you helped him come in and take the bar at :25 and :30. Note how Wager, as a highly skilled professional, totally knew to take the bar there and you didn’t need to help (Wager looked awesome, btw!) – so with Spot, breaking out the backside slice was totally correct on the next session. Smart training!

When you broke it out, the reps where you kept moving forward and didn’t help too much (then dropped the reward in) were the best ones. We want you to have to move as little as possible in terms of turning your upper body so you can keep the upper body open and drop the reward in earlier.That can help him anticipate it being there so he just goes there and doesn’t need to watch you at all. I think you were cuing it just fine when you had the open shoulder, he just is still learning it – so the earlier drop of the reward can help him automatically come in.

Nice job here! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!
This first run looked really good!! Tons of speed on the opening and you did a good job of moving into the tunnel #2 and #6 – you didn’t really hesitate after 6, it looks more like you were balancing to change directions. You almost took off too much after tunnel 9, but then caught yourslef and then ahd to scramble… he liked that LOL! Yes – it was a good fling at 12 LOL! He needed you to call him and give a tunnel verbal – he was turning and looked at you at :29 but you were disconnected and quiet, so he guessed. Good job just continuing and rewarding for a fast finish.

2nd video: this had a MUCH clearer connection and verbal at 12 and even an arm cue – it helped him find that line nicely! Try to do it a fraction earlier, before he takes off for the jump – that will allow you to set the line and leave sooner… he smoked you on the ending line and you got behind on the a-frame to the last jump (but that is GREAT news – I love that he smoked you!)

3rd video:
yay, he loved the reward in the beginning of the course : ) You can take a tiny opening section like this and put the bars up 2 inches and reward – we will begin inching the bars up while maintaining the speed.

4th video: Nice connected opening line! The blind cross 3-4 will be better than the FC because you will be able to stay in motion – the rotation slowed him down Will it be riskier? Yes! Because the timing has to be spot on. But I think he will enjoy living on the edge 🙂
Wow, look at his a-frame on this one! Flying!
The blind cross on 6 at :14 needs to start sooner – he was already taking off, so he was a very good boy to read it on landing! You can set it up to be sooner by leaving tunnel #4 even sooner, then completely trust his a-frame so you can get waaaaay up the line – and as soon as you see him start to head to the 6 backside, start the blind so it is finished before he takes off. That will also set you up to be earlier on the 8-9-10 section.

5th video:
Nice job on the ending line – you were driving him and taking risks and he nailed it! You were ahead of the exit of the 7 tunnel, so the 8-9-10-11 section looked much smoother.
At :19, you trusted his training and, before he was even past you, you sent him to the 12 jump and took off the new direction. Ivan wrapped tight and ran his butt off back down the line!! You got the 14 backside with no problem because you were right there and then a lovely ending line. He has such nice skills that is it great to trust him and then see how fast he executes them! Great job here – that section at 12 in particular was fabulous.

Lovely job! Let me know what you think!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

Sequence 1: VERY nice! Great connection throughout, and that is the most important thing!
Because it went so well, you can try to leave earlier on the FC at 4: as soon as you see her approaching the entry wing, turn and go (but maintain that great connection of course). And on the backside push at 6, you can stay closer to the exit wing, just to set a slightly tighter line for her.

Seq 2: I think you were trying to control these lines a bit too much, so she slowed down in spots or ended up in the wrong place. I think she does better when you are flying! Here’s what I mean:

Video 1: By leading out all the way past 2 and standing still, she slowed down on the opening line and stayed slow through the wrap at 3. Trust your skills more! You can lead out less and drive her in and out of that section 🙂 And then when you cue the wrap, you don’t need to show her the landing spot (note the 2 shakes of your right have as she was taking off at :13) – you can trust her and move forward. That will allow you to give an earlier turn cue on 4.
You had 5 as a backside but it was a front side on the map – you did a harder line LOL! That is fine – you can do a FC on 4 then push to the backside, or you can do a FC on 4 then a forced blind to the backside 🙂 Wheee! More aggressive handling for sure, but you’ll get more speed and excitement on the course, like what she did on the last 2 jumps here.

Video 2:
first rep: you moved up the line to 3 a little more on this one, so she was already faster. She was surprised about the turn 2-3 (landed a little heavy and turned on landing) so you can still lead out less, but push in a little sooner towards the line to 3. It means you will have to move faster but she will like that 🙂 She was faster on the 2nd rep on the opening but I think it was because she knew where the line was from the previous reps 🙂

As with the previous video: no need to indicate the landing side of the jump on 3 (:19) – she is gonna land LOL!! And she shouldn’t need it for commitment – so try it without and if she has questions, we can play with training it more.
Staying there to show the landing at :19 put you in her way when she landed and came around the wing at :20, so she slowed down there and on the way to 4.
The spin on 4 to the threadle to 5 had a little too much control and decel – a FC then a push would be faster.

On the 2nd rep – you did a full post turn on 3 at :44 – this ended up being wider because you were facing the teeter as she was jumping and had to finish the rotation. That caused yo uto do a RC on 4 which showed her the line to the tunnel.

On the last rep, you sliced 3, I think the slice is much faster than the wrap here! You can also play with slicing her the other way (out towards the wall) – that might be the fastest way. Then you can do a spin on 4 (it will get you back to your right side faster than the threadle/post you did here at :58) and by being faster to get back to your right side, you can rotate your feet sooner to tighten up the turn on 5. But note how at 5, you sent her and took off, not indicating the landing spot, and she was perfect! And that allowed you to drive the ending line so she was perfect AND fast.

Your connection has been great on these – so keep up the great connection and now adding in the handling that allows you to show-and-leave and drive her harder 🙂 Let me know if that makes sense! If she doesn’t understand something, we will teach the skill!
Nice work here! Have fun!
Tracy

[Tracy Sklenar]

Yay! Nailed these!!!!
Yes – the goal on the backside slices is to be on the takeoff side at the same time she is 🙂 Your first rep had that! She was so tight!
Great job trusting the wrap and leaving – she committed perfectly even with all the motion of you taking off. Also, super tight!
And great job on the 2 forced blinds – you were early on the first one and even earlier on the 2nd one, impressive 🙂
And lovely FC on the backside at the end.
Listen to her noises on these – she wants to bark at you but doesn’t have time, so she makes monkey noises LOL!
Great job – I look forward to using them in the week 2 courses!!

T

[Tracy Sklenar]

Hi!

>>Good to know I was rushing and didn’t have to run faster. 😊

You were flying!!!

>>On the blind 3-4…a little late. (Ideas on how to handle if I can only lead out between 1-2 ?).

On a shorter lead out – lead out super parallel, laterally away and handle the line laterally away with distance… and run on the other side of the tunnel, RC 5 then push to 6 🙂

>>I wish I could say I planned the slice at 10, but alas I didn’t, but I liked it

Ha! I liked it too! Remember that you have wicked awesome slicey RC skills, so you can use them in places like that!

>>I hope you have some softbrake exercises for us. We have never done them.

Start with the one jump and wing-to-jump in the skills sets – and the Week 2 package coming tomorrow has more 🙂

>>Not sure if just a verbal here would do it. I will have to try.

Definitely something to play with, testing the power of the verbal and then we can add value to it if needed!

Tracy

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