Posted by Not everything goes on the list
It’s tempting to extend your “to train” list indefinitely with all the challenges from the competition you just went to. Every mistake feels like something you must work on immediately. Yet, not all challenges are created equal, and not all of them deserve a spot on your training plan.
What’s your goal?
Start by thinking about your current goal. What competition are you training for? Who will be designing and judging? What are some traps and challenges typical for that designer? What do the typical courses look like at this event? How big will the ring be? What distances between obstacles?
Review your videos
Once you’re clear on that, review the videos (or look at the course maps to jog your memory) from recent trials, seminars, or classes. But not just any – only the ones that actually match the characteristics of the event you’re preparing for. The fact that you didn’t have the skills to run a course designed by a random judge, or one with obstacles spread out so much that all the challenges were distorted, means exactly that – you didn’t have skills for those courses. But would you rather spend time training for something you might never see again, or for the courses you’ll encounter at the competition you’re training for?
Think twice
Watch those relevant videos and make a list of the situations you struggled with. Also write down why they happened! Think about it a little – if you got a refusal because you had to help your dog with a backside three jumps earlier, the real problem is you don’t have an independent backside, not that you got a refusal.
Decide
What do you need to train? Skills that would fix the most mistakes. Let’s say your dog ignored their directional cue twice during one event, and one time they took the front of the jump when you asked for a backside. But if you did what I asked you to do in the previous paragraph, you also noticed that all the other 5 times you needed a backside, you stayed there to help your dog… and three of those times you suffered a couple of obstacles later. That means those backsides are your real training priority!
Train
Now, instead of training everything, you can focus on the skills you most probably lack for the competition you’re preparing for. Make them solid so you can count on them. Then you’ll actually be able to handle a surprise thrown your way – because you won’t have to babysit your dog at all those other places.