What has 30 legs, six wheels and backfires incessantly? A very weary scent hurdle team from Alberta, arriving at the National finals in a rented Winnebago complete with five Setters, five team members and two spouses. We'd be lying if we said the trip to the finals was the culmination of years of hard work and dedication. However, our team, named the Spirit of Edmonton, had been slugging away at scent hurdling, suffering through the agonies of defeat, the publication of our less adept performances in the local press and the supreme embarrassment of having all the canine team members disappear into the crowd at our first public appearance.

Only one thing was required to join our team - a setter or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Starting with untrained and often unwilling canines, we ended up with four diehard handlers who seemed prepared for any amount of humiliation, along with their five setters (two Gordons, one English and two Irish). The two Gordons were mine, Amber and Bernie. Amber (Ch. Sungold's Northern Light, CD), who had the total fixation on food required by our training methods, became my number one runner.

Other teams may have worried about scenting and retrieving; we also had to worry about sitting and staying, as our guys had not yet learned the finer points of obedience. The spouses we dragged along weren't just for show; they were necessary anchors for our unruly mob when we went to place our dumbbells. The work all paid off when our "untrainable" setters won the Alberta Provincial Championships. Once we had finished savouring the heady glow of victory and had drunk champagne from our trophy, the full realization of our win struck home - what lay ahead was a seventeen hour drive to Winnipeg. No wonder the losers were still smiling! Here's a photo of our team members in the motorhome on the way to Winnipeg.

Arriving at the site a short half hour before the race, we realized this was serious competition. Why weren't we warned? And why hadn't someone told us there was a prize for the best dressed team? Jeans and t-shirts are definitely not haute couture at a scent hurdle race. A draw for platform rotation? They must be kidding! In Alberta, all we ever did was move the dumbbells around a bit. Apparently, the dogs in other provinces understood clock-wise from counter-clockwise so this rule became a necessity. Of course, now they'd overcome the rotation draw by teaching the dogs to read.

In the first race, we surprised everyone (except our dogs) by winning. The real surprise came next as we were told that the run-off procedure we had all agreed to meant that we would run again and again and again….

With only four dogs of our team available to run, we had no fresh replacements to bring out so our setters had to keep trying. We knew we were sunk on the eighth heat, when, after placing our dumbbells, we returned to find the canine half of our team stretched out on the floor, tongues stuck to the ground. The result? Third place.

That was 1982. And, yes, we did return - with more dogs, classier uniforms and hi-tech equipment. Our team went on to place second at the Nationals on two occasions. We haven't raced for several years now as the intensity of the competition affected the enjoyment we'd had. But there are days when I remember the non-stop drives to Winnipeg, the food, the lack of sleep and the smiles on the gas station owners as we pulled in to fill up the motorhome. Yep, it was fun. Besides, where else, other than the Best in Show ring, do you get everyone's undivided attention at a dog show for a whole hour?