# 2020 Rally Nationals



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

The 2020 eligibility list for the 2020 Rally Nationals is available here. Noelle and I qualified in Excellent. I'm still deciding if we should go. Anyone else going?


----------



## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

Congratulations! Well done!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Lily and I are qualified for the Championship (2 master, 1 excellent and 1 advanced run). I am not sure about whether I will go or not. BF qualified for a national championship fencing tournament the weekend before and I think he has decided not to go which makes it a bit easier for me to consider Rally nationals, but it is a long trip and I would have to make it a quick trip since summer school will be finishing one course and then starting another around that weekend.


----------



## Asta's Mom (Aug 20, 2014)

Congrats to team Noelle! I do hope that y'all get to Nationals.


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

It would be fun to Q at Nationals. Excellent is two runs in two different rings. Noelle has consistently scored in the upper 90's in Excellent, but I worry the venue would be overwhelming for her. I'm still deciding.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I know Lily is likely to have a meltdown somewhere among those four runs. I am not obsessive about placing highly or even Qing all four runs, just would enjoy the trip with her if I can work out the logistics for the travel. Summer classes put a wrench in the works.


----------



## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Congratulations to both of you! I am excited to hear about the experience if you decide to go.


----------



## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Congrats on qualifying


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Well, if you and Lily are going, we'll have to meet up. That would be amazing. Who knows, we might actually qualify. Road trip!


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Click-N-Treat said:


> Well, if you and Lily are going, we'll have to meet up. That would be amazing. Who knows, we might actually qualify. Road trip!


For sure. That would be fun!


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Congratulations to both of you. It's quite an honor.


----------



## mvhplank (Dec 5, 2012)

Nice! You made me look--Neely qualified in Excellent. I doubt I'll go, but I hope you do and that you have a blast!


----------



## Tikkadog (Jul 24, 2019)

My Havanese qualified but I don't plan to go. I think it would be too much for her.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Tikkadog said:


> My Havanese qualified but I don't plan to go. I think it would be too much for her.



Tikkadog Lily and I went in 2014 and again in 2017 (Harrisburg, PA and Georgia). Both times we were in the champion class which was then 2 runs each in advanced and excellent. We had a great time, but Lily had one meltdown each of the years we went. It is very very intense, so you need to just focus on making it fun as best you can, unless you have a bombproof dog.


----------



## mashaphan (Sep 4, 2014)

Congrats to all the qualifiers! Che and I qualified a few times,but never went. His biggest claim to fame is that he was the only RAE whippet to qualify at the very first Rally Nat'ls


----------



## MaizieFrosty (Apr 12, 2019)

Congrats, Click, lily and all qualifiers! That is such an honor. Frosty and I needed one more qualifying score this year, but I was way too busy and unmotivated to pursue it.


----------



## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Click-N-Treat said:


> The 2020 eligibility list for the 2020 Rally Nationals is available here. Noelle and I qualified in Excellent. I'm still deciding if we should go. Anyone else going?


Well done


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Well, it's official. I got my email invitation yesterday. Still deciding if I should go. It'll be a stressful venue for Noelle. And she cannot back up three steps. And I'm trying to talk myself out of it. But, there's a tiny little part of me going, whoo hoo, Noelle. Nationals! We did it! Whoo hoo. And that joyful part is getting louder.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Our email invite just arrived a little while ago. I am proud we qualified (for the 5th time I think), am happy to have an 11 year old dog who is still a willing partner, but think I am leaning heavily towards not going. The logistics of driving by myself to Ohio just barely a month after our trip to the Indy 500 coupled to having to make the whole trip there, showing and getting back to Long Island in 96 hours (Thursday to Sunday) or less just sounds really daunting. Additionally I would need a substitute to give a final exam for my first summer class and then have my head collected enough to start a new class on the following Monday. I'm getting too old for all of this! I wish I had a crystal ball and knew where 2021 was going to be. If it was going to be Harrisburg, PA (the first location) I would do the work to Q for that.


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

I hear you on the drive. I'm still weighing it myself. I'm not the world's most confident driver and that's a long ride. The worst part is going east from my house means dealing with 294/80/94. Trucks, trucks, people texting, crazy drivers, and trucks. Way too many merges and not enough room. If I go, I may go south in Illinois and cut east in central Illinois. Skip the whole mess.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I would use I70. That is our Indianapolis route.


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Chicago tollways all converge south of the city in a terrifying knot of entrances and exits. That's the way east to Indiana and Ohio. It's overwhelming in every possible way. Oh, and shootings are a thing now on the Dan Ryan and the Eisenhower, so you can't feel safer driving in the middle of the night to avoid traffic. 

I have a trial in Toledo, Ohio at the end of March. I'm seriously wondering what I was thinking when I entered. I wish I could beam my car Star Trek style from Illinois to the Indiana toll road and miss the journey east through 294/80/94. Maybe I'll just take Rt. 30 and Rt. 6 and avoid the entire nightmare. Sigh.


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

With coronavirus now a pandemic, a gathering of 500+ people from all over America sounds like a petri-dish o'catastrophe. As much as I would love to go to rally nationals, I'm not entering.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Yes, the virus is going to make me stay home too, wondering also about my April 10th tix for Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden and we even had a moment of wondering about the Indy 500/


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

It's not just the events themselves, but the multiple public restroom stops along the way that concern me. Rest stops are crowded places and there's really no way to avoid them when traveling along the interstate. When I trial, I can crate out of my car and minimize the time I spend around people in a hotel. But, it's the getting there that worries me. So, it's an honor to be invited, but I'm gonna say nope this year.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I'm right there with you Click.


----------



## mashaphan (Sep 4, 2014)

The Whippet national was cancelled ,so I would not be surprised to see most ,if not all, "sporting events" cancelled-NBA,NHL, MLB season postponed, etc. Getting a bit out of hand, in my mind.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Better safe than sorry Martha.


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

The last thing we need during an outbreak are people from all over the country gathering in one place. A gigantic pause button on society is the only defense we have. Isolation gives the virus less people to infect, and hopefully it will burn itself out faster. They are digging mass graves in Iran. I cannot imagine mass graves in my town, or your town. I cannot imagine my local hospital having to have tents in the parking lot like they have in Italy. If shutting schools, and events, will slow the spread and protect our healthcare system, shut it all down.


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

Our National Poodle Specialty is canceled. AKC Event Cancellations – American Kennel Club Here's the list of cancellations. I'm sad about not trialing because I adore trialing. The only upside is we can take this opportunity to spend more time training our dogs. 

Dear Noelle, 
When I say to back up three steps, it does not mean to move backward and out of heel position by swinging to the left.
Love,
Mom

Dear Mom,
If you were not a clumsy ox that steps on poodle feet, I would stay in heel position.
Love,
Noelle

Dear Noelle,
That only happened once.
Love,
Mom

Dear Mom,
Once was too many times.
Love,
Noelle

My plan for quarantine and chill: teach Noelle to back up three steps in heel position. Next time we trial, we'll nail that sign.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

The list of cancelled events on the AKC website is huge. I was planning to take two rally master runs with Lily and two novice obedience entries with Javelin on April 4th at an AM/PM pair of trials with great judges on April 4th. The location is a place I go to train with Javelin about once a month (in NJ) and where I have shown many times with Lily. It is a poodle specialty and the club is very small. The venue is a training center that is owned by one person with two employees, so the smallest of small businesses. I had been planning to go there this Sunday with Javvy to do some training, but had to tell the owner I would not be coming since my area is experiencing a lot of new cases right now and I am being very limited in where I go.

We did have a private lesson with Deb yesterday. She gave me lots of homework for fixing fronts and finishes to get them to be no points off parts of the routines for all levels of obedience. I am trying to look at the cancellation as a chance to make his work as close to perfection as possible. However I am very bummed about what this will mean for Lily reaching the RACh. The way things look she will turn 12 (in September) before we trial again. Aside from whether she still wants to work her routines are likely to be pretty stale even with practice on our own.


----------



## Click-N-Treat (Nov 9, 2015)

It really breaks my heart for you and Lily. All the trials I was looking forward to have been cancelled. It's painful to have to stop trialing. All of my training places are closed indefinitely. One is a private company and I'm fearful they will go out of business. That would break my heart.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Aww Click you are so kind. We will both get back to trialing and having lovely dances with our brilliant dogs somehow some day, hoping sooner than later.


----------



## AnnaHajarajanan (12 mo ago)

Great! It's always nice to see people succeed at something they really enjoy. I am a student, but I hope that my studies will not prevent me from finding enough time for what I like and for this I sometimes use different services Essays on Retail, Free Examples, Topics, Titles, Outlines | TopEssayWriting to be able to develop my writing skills and communicate with my dog, which makes me very happy.


----------

