This week has been super busy with the build up to trialing this weekend, hence the late post that should have come out yesterday… whoops! I had a different post planned for this week, but after having some time to reflect on the events of the weekend, I wanted to share something a little different with you all.
It’s been a few months since our last trial. During the hunting season, the trial calendar is pretty sparse. But, now that the hunting season is over, the trial season picks back up again. It was great to catch up with all our friends that we hadn’t seen in a while. The sun was shining, for the most part, and it felt good to be back out in the field.
Having been a few months since we’d last competed, I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of performance. Hail and I have been training throughout the winter, but we’ve been focusing on drills rather than fieldwork. We’ve been doing some great work… I just wasn’t sure I’d done the best prep for a competition.
Before each trial, I try to have a focus for the weekend. I often talk about this with my partner so that I keep myself accountable for my emotions and expectations as the days unfold. We talked about where we’ve been at, in terms of training and my own headspace, and decided that this trial was best approached with quiet curiosity.
I think it’s important to have these moments before wading in to the competitive arena. They are a crucial reminder of what’s important right now. No two handler, or dog-handler teams, are on the same journey. Success is more often subjective than objective. Yes, there will (usually) be someone who gets first place, but if that’s not a metric you’re using to define success, does it really matter?
Redefining Success
As a trialing dog, Hail isn’t what you typically see at a retriever trial. Labs dominate the field of competitors, and for good reason. They are the quintessential retrieving dog. With a few hundred years of selective breeding behind their pedigree, it makes sense. As an HPR (Hunt, Point, Retrieve) breed, Hail is designed to be a generalist, ‘useful’ dog. This means while she can and should retrieve, this isn’t her specialty.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have high expectations for us. I want to do well, otherwise I’d save myself the trouble of going to trials. But, I have redefined what success will look like for us. Sure, I’d love to win a Novice, but I’m also ok with not winning a Novice. For me success looks like making progress. It’s aiming for scores that are consistently in the 80s and 90s. It’s seeing her make progress and enjoying the process of making that happen over chasing ribbons.
I’ve decided that, for us, progress is about enjoying the journey instead of worrying about the destination.
Finding Joy in the Work
You might think that consistently not placing would start to wear thin after a while. And I’ll be honest, initially it was a tough pill to swallow. It’s hard when you see your peers, who all started training at the same time as you, or after you, start to pass you in the field.
If I only went to dog trials to win, this would have absolutely broken me at some point. But, I can now, hand on heart say that this isn’t why I keep turning up. I trial because I love watching my dog work. I love seeing how she applies what we’ve practiced in training to a situation when she’s out working in the field.
Milestones for us at the weekend were things like not feeling the nerves before walking up to the peg because I knew we had the skills to get us through single marks. It was the joy I felt when she marked both of her land birds like a heat-seeking missile. It was knowing that I made the right call to have her lead looped around her neck in the walk-up because she went to break when she was meant to be honouring the dog next to us.
The joy I get from seeing all our hard work make small but noticeable improvements is what keeps me coming back.
Comparing Without Competing
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for competition. I think they’re a great way to test our dogs abilities, and it’s lovely to celebrate the dogs that did the best work on the day. I understand that competitions need to have winners and therefore losers, and I’m certainly not big on participation awards. And, I’d be lying if I said I never want to win. I hope that one day, Hail and I will have mastered our craft enough to be competitive. And in all honesty, we’re probably not far off that being the case…
But, I’m not going to base my enjoyment of the sport on winning alone. A sport is so much more that the scores at the end. Its the learning, it’s the struggle, it’s the friendships and connections you build with fellow competitors that make it what it is… an experience! If you focus only on the winning, you risk missing out on all the best bits sports have to offer.
I’ve said this before but I love the saying “comparison is the thief of joy”. It’s the mantra that I mutter to myself any time I feel the little green-eyed monster creeping up on my shoulder. After talking with a few of my friends, who have similar philosophies to me, I realised that contentment doesn’t always correlate with scores on the sheet.
For me, the real win this weekend was walking away proud of our teamwork on the day.
Success is Relative
This weekend reminded me to pause and reflect on what it means to be a good teammate to my dog. If I go into a competition with unrealistic expectations, if I worry more about the scores than about our progress, I’m letting my team down.
It’s easy to get caught in the comparison game but that doesn’t give you any information that improves your teamwork, your progress, or your headspace on the day. Field trialing is a deeply personal journey that will be unique for every dog and handler.
Your best bet to finding success is redefining what that will look like for you. Then use metrics, that might be subjective, to assess how you are measuring up to those success markers.
I’d love to hear what success looks like for you and your dog. It might be a stellar Novice run, it could be a clean delivery, or simply a dog that’s happy to settle at the end of a long day. Share your version of success in the comments below and let’s revel in our successes together.
Field Notes & Follies 
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