Clean Run - September 2014 - 30

out of position for the second challenge. The concept of compound challenges is that slight errors
can easily accumulate until the handler actually
faults or incurs time faults. The blind/managed
approach to jump #7 is defined by the USDAA as
a "backside approach." Because of the backside approach, the transition to jump #8 is now a threadle."
(Note: The threadle is by itself a compound challenge, as the pull- or push-through is followed by a
"closed approach" to an obstacle in close vicinity.)
Had I really wanted to be wicked, I could make
the collapsed tunnel and weave poles a "combination obstacle," as shown in Figure 3. A combination is a sequence of two or more obstacles
that are to be performed and scored as a single
obstacle. Each obstacle in the combination is
judged individually. Combinations in Masters
Challenge must follow stricter rules that combinations used in Snooker. As a handler, there
is something important you must understand
about the combination obstacle used in Master
Challenge classes: You haven't completed the
combination until you have performed the sequence in the correct direction in a single fluid
motion, without refusals or runouts. So if your
dog earns a refusal on the second element of
the combination, you are required to return the
dog to the first element before continuing on.

16
8

10
19

15
9
11

6
1

3
14
20

Masters Challenge Jumpers
In the "en passant," the handler must turn the dog through a box with multiple options, with
the target obstacle blind to the initial approach. Here the en passant occurs twice: from
jump #1 to #2 and again from jump #10 to #11.

En Passant
I'm especially interested in a challenge that I call the "en passant."
The concept is simple. The handler must turn the dog through a
box with multiple options, with the target obstacle blind to the
initial approach. In the Masters Challenge Jumpers course I was
working on in Figure 4, the en passant occurs twice: from jump
#1 to #2 and again from jump #10 to #11.
An important attribute of the en passant challenge in Figure 5 is
that the transitional distance between obstacles is considerably
longer than the usual distances found between obstacles on an
agility course. With this in mind, it might be hard to get course
reviewers to understand and approve the challenge.
This course has other interesting challenges as well and should be
approached with a sense of humor.

Clusters
You can think of a "cluster" as a four-sided or five-sided "crossing pattern." The good old-fashioned Hobday Box, for example,
is a four-sided cluster. A Masters Challenge design must contain
a five-sided cluster or two four-sided clusters that are no wider
than 24'. A "side" refers to an accessible entrance to an obstacle.
In Figure 6, I've designed a five-sided cluster. Note, by the way,
that in this short sequence the dog enters and exits the cluster
twice: going from #1 to #2 and from #4 to #5.
Including clusters doesn't just allow you to create challenges, it
helps the course designer minimize the number of times obstacles are repeated-a European concept.
30

43'

4
1

In this en passant challenge, the transitional distance between obstacles
is considerably longer than the usual distances found between obstacles
on an agility course.

6
2
3
5
4

In this five-sided cluster, the dog enters and exits the cluster twice: going
from #1 to #2 and going from #4 to #5. The diagram shows all the
potential off-course options going from #1 to #2.

Clean Run | September 14

Clean Run - September 2014

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