Another one bites the dust

Last Sunday Tripp & I took a small break from our break, and entered UDSNNE's UKC Obedience trials in Saco, hoping to knock off one more title before hibernating for the season.  (Hey, I did say SEMI-retirement. ;-)  He had just one leg left to get his Open title, and I entered both trials just in case.  It was a small turnout, which worked in our favor, presenting a quieter atmosphere with less opportunity for Tripp to get distracted.  It didn't much help my rusty handling skills, mind you, and half of the points we lost were handler errors.  LOL  But we got lucky and managed to Q in trial one, finishing Tripp's UCDX title with a 183.  Could be worse! 
In anticipation (or at least hope) of moving up to Utility in trial two, I had packed the necessary articles, and done a little practice at home.  I didn't expect a lot, but it was worth a shot.  In nearly every other exercise I swore we had NQed, but amazingly we didn't.  Somehow we made it through with a 188.5 for his first UUD leg! 
The judge did go easy on a few of my rookie mistakes, but I certainly can't expect that again.  If we do get back into Utility next year - and you know I'm gonna want to finish that title now - we both need to get back on our game before diving in again.
But for now, it's time to rest, enjoy the holiday season, and hunker down for the winter.  Until next spring...  Then, we'll see. ;-)

UCDX, officially Tripp's 25th title! (16 as listed, due to levels)