ORSO SCORES A 97 IN RALLY-OBEDIENCE, EARNS HIS RALLY NOVICE TITLE AND PLACES 3RD IN MIAMI! – 12.10.2011

The day Orso and I had been preparing for had finally arrived!  Orso passed his first two of the three required legs to earn his Rally Novice title back in July with high scores (93 and 86) and on the first try.  Since July, there were no local shows offering Rally-Obedience, so the soonest we could be back in the ring to compete for his third leg was today.  It was a long wait, but well worth it.

We arrived at the show very early in the morning since Cleo and Karma were showing pretty early.  Unfortunately, the Rally ring was running almost 2 hours behind, so Orso had to sit around all day waiting for his turn to compete.  By the time it was his turn to go, Orso was grumpy and tired and had zero motivation!  I was very stressed that he wouldn’t do well after all the effort and practice we had put into getting ready for today.  Orso proved me wrong!  He started to course very slow and disinterested but quickly changed his mind and did awesome!  He was ever herding me around the cones like he does at home when we practice!  He loves to nip me in the hip on tight turns, which I find to be very cute of him!  Today was no different!  At the end of the course, we were scored a 97 by Judge Mr. Robert Withers, putting us in the running for top 4 placement, a big deal for the Rally-Obedience ring!  We both had a great time in the ring – watch the video below and see for yourself!

When all the competitors had their turn, everyone who passed was called back into the ring to present the ribbons.  Orso and I won 3rd place overall, beating out many well-trained dogs!  I am so proud of my boy!  He did awesome and as a reward, we bought him new toys (including the one in the video), 2 gorgeous hand-stitched leather collars and a matching hand-stitched leather traffic lead!

Below is a video that’s about 5 minutes long showing Orso and I going through our Rally-Obedience course then the presentation of the ribbons by Mr. Withers!  Also below is a photo of Orso, Judge Withers and me and a photo of Orso’s new collars and lead.  Enjoy!

In the photo below, from left to right – Yvonne Alemán, International Multi-Champion Mar e Sol Orso di Costa Bel, CGC, TDI, RN aka “Orso” and Judge Mr. Robert Withers:

Part of Orso’s reward: