Puyallup’s Battle of the Pros!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Medina, OH - April 29, 2010 - If the beautiful blue skies and bright sun didn’t foreshadow what a great weekend we were in store for, than perhaps the more than seventy teams we had pre-registered for the weekend would! It was DockDogs® fourth year returning to the Puyallup Spring Fair and once again, it was an event to remember.
The event started off with some very exciting Big Air rounds of competition. Taking the lead early in the event were locals Kristi Baird and Adam Ellis with their labs Buddy and Hunter. The battle ended on Thursday with each team throwing down massive jumps of 24;, looks like this battle would have to continue into the weekend to find out the winner.
Friday was a full day of Big Air waves and we saw NINE more dogs join Buddy and Hunter in the “Pro” division; all with huge jumps going out past that 22′ mark! It was Bridger, the black Labrador Retriever out of Port Angeles, WA with his handler, Ryan Hainstock who now held the top spot of the weekend after Friday’s rounds of competition with an amazing jump of 25′6”!
Saturday began with a line of competitors waiting to register their dogs and give this sport a try! We started off the daily competition with a round of Speed Retrieve and after a very close match up; it was the little yellow Labrador, Riley, and her handler John Haas who had the fastest time of the day with a score of 6.194 seconds. Right on their tail was the hard to beat duo of Britten Jay and Caddis with a time of 6.198 seconds! Not to be forgotten was the ever competitive Express division of this class, where we saw Fern and her owner Kat Barnes come in at 8.127 seconds and take away the first place ribbon!
The rest of Saturday was busy as could be, with all of our waves completely full and equally competitive. Just when we thought our Pro Finals couldn’t get any more competitive, we saw two more dogs come out and jump their way into them! One of them being Pepper, a Catahoula Leopard Dog out of Mt. Home, ID, who leapt all the way out to 25′2”! The lone Malinois, Power Puma out of Las Vegas, NV showed he could hold his own with all these Labradors by securing not one, but two jumps that day at 25′!
Saturday ended with an extremely busy Extreme Vertical competition. With nearly twenty dogs lined up wanting to practice and warm up, we knew we were in for a treat. We started the boom at 4′6”, and watched it climb and climb, as dogs battled it out, giving each jump 110%.
Falling out just in time to take the top spot in the Cadet division was Riley, the yellow Labrador with a last successful grab of 5′4”! We didn’t see another dog fall out until a foot later! The Top Gun division of EV continued rising as we once again watched these Labradors battle it out with the superstar Malinois, Puma and the Catahoula Leopard Dog, Pepper. After some amazing jumping, it was the Sit Means Sit sponsored team of Alfredo Rivera and Power Puma who took the top spot away with a win at 7′ and a final grab at 7′3”! Right behind him was the very athletic Chessie, Caddis and owner Britten Jay with a grab of 6′10”! In a three way tie for third at 6′8”, it was Elsie May, Buddy and Pepper!
After such an exciting Saturday, the crowds and competitors were anxious to see what Sunday would bring. With two more qualifying rounds of Big Air and one more for Speed Retrieve, anything could and DID happen as our finals “bubble” changed drastically with each wave!
Just as it was a battle of the Pro dogs, it was turning out to be a showdown with our youth handlers as well! We had eleven competing all weekend, as fans watched these kids and dogs bond and show off their skills on the dock. After the weekend was all said and done, it was Kendra Lee and Rikki who took that top spot for youth handlers with a huge jump of 19′9″, also securing a mid air catch in the process!
Our Finals began Sunday afternoon with the closest “bubble” in each division that we had seen in a long time. In order to make our Pro Finals, you had to have a jump of at LEAST 24′!
First up was our Speed Retrieve Finals, where we watched John Haas and Riley sweep the entire weekend of Speed Retrieve competition and take away first place once again, with a time of 6.171 seconds! Coming in second was newbie to this discipline, Pepper, with a time of 6.299! Rounding out the top three was Julie Jay and Tractor with a time of 6.381.
All three rounds of Big Air Finals were exciting, but it was our Pro division that had people on the edge of their seats waiting to see the outcome. After a very competitive, yet friendly competition, it was once again the beautiful black Lab, Bridger who not only saved his biggest jump of the weekend for Finals, but secured himself the top spot with an amazing jump of 26′! Matthew McCluskey and Pepper held their own and took second with a respectable jump of 25′6”! Completing our top three was Buddy, the 2008 National Super Elite Big Air Champion and handler Kristi Baird with a jump of 25′1”!
Next up were our Semi-Pro dogs who battled it out in their division as well! Showing how versatile she is, the little yellow Labrador Riley, with John Haas took away the blue ribbon with a huge jump of 21′8”! Right behind her was Andy Epperly and Buddy with a jump of 21′4”. Coming in third was Jeff Gratzer and Mack with a solid jump of 20′7”!
Last, but certainly not least, were our Amateur dogs who put on quite a show! These last 16 jumps were just as crowd pleasing as the Pro’s, as we saw Carl Lewis and his black Labrador, Gunner jump 19′5” and walk away with first! Challey Becker and her fun loving chocolate Labrador, Dunkel were right on their heels with a jump of 19′1”! Coming in third was the adorable Pit Bull Terrier, Lola with Cheryl Caragan with a jump of 17′5”!
Our Iron Dog competition was extremely competitive, but once again it was Power Puma who came in first with an impressive score of 3041.35. Not far behind was the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Caddis with a score of 3033.48, and the black Labrador, Bridger took third with 3017.87!
DockDogs® would like to thank our title sponsor Royal Canin for helping make it possible for us to be at the Puyallup Spring Fair along with the fair staff for having us back for another year of fun. DockDogs® looks forward to an even more exciting competition in 2011!
