In the last two years I’ve thought a lot about what it takes to produce clean runs in agility — not just every now and then, but consistently. What does it take to feel you have some real control over your success in the ring?
It takes a lot of building. Building skills, building knowledge, building communication and understanding between you and your dog. But it also takes a lot of letting go.
Letting go of things like:
Giving importance to what other people are thinking about you. Whether it’s the judge, your coach, or just the crowd that might be lingering around the ring at any given moment, your speculation about their opinions does NOT belong in the ring with you. It will interfere with your ability to be present with your dog, your ability to make good choices for your team, and your ability to learn directly from YOUR experience. What other people think of you is none of your business.
Worrying about a particular skill. I’ve started to think about budgeting brain cells for a clean run. If I’m using a heap of brain cells to assess Zi’s dog walk mid-run or to consciously calculate a complex handling move, chances are I won’t have enough left for the rest of a challenging course. That’s why I’ve gotten more and more clear with myself when my focus is on training skills and when it’s on practicing or performing a clean run. They are BOTH required, but they do not exactly travel hand-in-hand.
Attachment to the outcome. Anytime I hang too much meaning on the outcome of a run it interferes with my performance. When I really let this get out of hand, it interferes with my entire experience of an agility day. But it’s tricky, because of COURSE I desire certain outcomes! I want to run clean. I want to see my training paying off. I even want to stand on some podiums here and there. So I’m learning to allow those desires but leave them outside the ring, and it makes a big difference.
When you go into the ring to give a challenging course your all, it is a performance. The more purely present you are with the interaction of yourself, your dog, and the course, the better your chance of success.
As far as I can tell, it’s about building the skills you need and eliminating that which keeps those skills from shining through. That’s the mission. Do you choose to accept it?
