Old timey dog show

On several obedience discussion groups it was brought up that the upcoming obedience trial in St. Louis was akin to the dog shows of yore due to the huge entries. I've not been in the sport long enough to regail such memories, however it was a treat to see the enormous classes and watch some really amazing teams. I do not envy the judges their long days and how to score such talent.
Moto and I were unspectacular this weekend. I let him down in Rally - one a handling error that cost us 10 points on Saturday, and another a handling error from the judges perspective which cost us another 10 points. In Wildcard it was Mr. Moto who was unspectacular, lagging quite a bit and not paying attention. In general, he hasn't learned that we are a team the whole time we are in the ring. I was grateful for the learning opportunity and looks like we'll be doing Rally until I see improvement. I was hoping to have him ready for the Sheltie Nationals next year but now I'm unsure about that. This handler gets too greedy and Moto really needs lots of time to mature. Heck, he may be FOUR before he's ready for the ring. The good thing, though, was he is not stressing and Kathy said his tail wagged the entire time in the ring. That's good!
Pinch, on the other hand, had a fantastic weekend. I was so glad I brought him. He was held by many, walked by a few, met tons of dogs and in general was a great little traveler. I was worried about him squealing in his crate and he uttered nary a peep all weekend. He peed and pooped in new places and was thrilled by all the new sights and sounds. Kathy says I'm right on track with my training so I'm very happy about that.
The two-room suite at the hotel was awesome. I felt like a princess. The pups had ample room to have many good games of chase. I was particularly grateful for this opportunity with a pup as he really needed the room to run after being cooped up all day at the dog show.
While I would have loved some ribbons, I went for the learning experience and learning I got. I give our weekend an A.