World Agility Championships
World Team in Spain: Day One
September 19: Submitted by Sharon Anderson, AKC Agility Director/World Team Captain
The AKC/USA World Agility Team has arrived in Valladolid, Spain...a very ancient and picturesque city 80km North Northwest of Madrid. The Hotel Catedral is located in the Central Plaza of the city.
The flights, from JKF in New York and from Atlanta, went smoothly for the dogs and the exhibitors. Arriving in Spain close to their scheduled times, the large group of supporters and team members quickly found their bus for a picturesque two-hour ride to their destination. The exhibitors and supporters were all shocked to realize that it had not rained in this region since March. The normally beautiful fields of sunflowers were wilted and could not be harvested.
The Americans were soon spread throughout the beautiful city discovering tapas (snack) bars and enjoying the local flavor.
The team meeting was held with Captain Sharon Anderson and Coach Dan Dege to plan the strategy for the next few days, trying to prepare the handlers for the competition ahead. It was decided that the team would exercise each day at the time they were expected to compete to prepare their bodies and minds for the new time zone. Coach Dan Dege and Toni Osojnicki drove to the Wednesday practice site to examine the equipment to be used and the sand-based surface they would practice on.
Finally, after two days of very little sleep, everyone was grateful to get to bed early!
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