March 13, 2014

There’s More to Flyball Than Just Racing

Posted by Brian and Joanne under Ballistic Racers, Demos, Flyball Philosophy, photos, Team Members, videos | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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We love racing at tournaments but we also enjoy many other events we do with our team. One of our biggest demonstrations we participate in is the Escondido Humane Society’s “Paws in the Park“. Demos are a great way to educate the public about flyball but are also a great way for new dogs to get accustomed to a tournament-like environment.

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Sometimes a few weeks before an event we are asked to make an appearance on TV. This helps to promote the occasion and generates enthusiasm among our team mates. Tuesday March 11th was one of these special days. We were asked by Katie Woolsey of the Escondido Humane Society to join her at Channel 6 on the “San Diego Living” show. At the station we ran an abbreviated one jump course with three different breeds of dogs being represented, giving the public just a taste of the fun of flyball.

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We had such a great time as you can see from the pictures and video working with Laura Cavanaugh (Channel 6), Tiffany Frowiss (Channel 6) and Katie Woolsey (Escondido Humane Society), and of course our dogs.

Brian and Joanne Matsumoto
Ballistic Racers Flyball Team

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December 25, 2013

2013 In Slides

Posted by Brian and Joanne under Ballistic Racers, photos, Team Members, Tournament Highlights, videos | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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March 14, 2011

The Fun of Flyball at the Irvine Winter Games

Posted by Brian and Joanne under Tournament Highlights | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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by Brian and Joanne Matsumoto

Ballistic Racers Flyball Team had a banner weekend at Irvine this year. January 15th and 16th were much warmer than usual and turned out to be a stellar weekend for our team. We took a first place in our division with our team “Bullet Dogs” on Sunday. It was so exciting to take home first place knowing that all our hard work has been paying off. Our dogs Zippy, Molly, Blast, Cody, Meika, and Herbie had some of the best turns that our team has ever displayed. Zippy and Robin both had their best times ever at this tournament! Zippy broke into the 3’s with a 3.9 second run and Robin had a 4.7 second run on Saturday for his best time ever. Congratulations to Bullet Dogs on their First Place Win!

Even though first place is great, the most exciting racing of the day was with our team “Cyclones”. It was Domino and Slash’s first time racing. Domino’s best time of the day was a 5.3 second run and Slash also had an excellent time with a 5.6 second run. The highlight of the weekend racing was Cyclone’s win by 5 hundredths of a second. Amber and Geneva figured out that if they switched spots we could shorten the passes and win more races. Their hunch paid off  superbly, and  we tied for third place. In the tiebreaker we lost, but we know we did extremely well for having two new dogs on the team. Congratulations to Dennis, Pooky, Kirin, Slash, Indie, and Domino on their great performance.

Ever since the Winter Games we have been reminiscing about our racing that weekend. We also made a great discovery at the tournament and found a “light tree” for sale. We recently purchased a set and now have our own start lights to use at practice. As usual we had great food, great fun with our dogs, and got really tired! Now we are rested up and ready for another round of racing at Ramona in March, so we can…

GO BALLISTIC!


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December 23, 2010

Ballistic Racers Christmas Party

Posted by Brian and Joanne under Captains' Comments, Team Members | Tags: , , , , , , |
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by Brian and Joanne Matsumoto

Thanks to a lot of hard work, preparation, and Miyabi Japanese Steak House, the Ballistic Racers Christmas Party was once again a big success. Over thirty people attended and a Grand prize of a two night stay in Catalina was given away.

The chefs put on a great show while everyone dined on succulent steak, chicken, or seafood. We celebrated five birthdays of Alice, Phyllis, Shay, Su, and Karen. The evening slipped away as we all traded gifts, received gifts, and was topped off with a spectacular slide show from Kelly.

As we enjoyed the birthday cake we congratulated the grand prize winners, Shay and Kevin, who won the two night stay in Avalon. Since they are moving across country, have a new baby, and have not ever been to Catalina, this was the perfect gift.

It’s great to reminisce about how our team started just three years ago with five people and how it now numbers over twenty. We did not imagine that in three years we would have such a large team, so many dogs, and such a huge Christmas Dinner. Flyball is a big part of our lives, and we intend to make it as enjoyable as possible. All of our team members live for our dogs, enjoy the comradary, and try to do our best as we have fun in Flyball Racing.

Have a Merry Christmas, and a
Happy New Year,

Brian, Joanne, Minnie, Vegas, and Zippy

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December 23, 2010

Meet the Speed- Molly

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By Amber

Molly is my little Parson Russell Terrier who just loves to run in her flyball races! We adopted Molly when she was 10 weeks old & when she weighed only 4 lbs.. She was the sweetest of her litter and even though she was the runt and had some issues, it was love at first sight. Being a Terrier who is ball obsessed, flyball is the perfect outlet for her and I think doing it together has strengthened our human-dog bond. After almost a year and a half of Flyball training with Brian & Joanne, Molly is now an advanced Flyball dog who is an example for new participants, and (not bragging or anything) has the best swimmer’s turn on the team! Molly has a new little brother who is in puppy training. He is a Border Collie named Slash who so far has been easy to train. We love Flyball! Amber Kolpin, Molly & Slash

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December 23, 2010

Meet the Speed- Zippy

Posted by Brian and Joanne under Meet The Speed | Tags: , , , , , , |
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by Brian and Joanne Matsumoto

Zippy, Zip, or Riptide Zip, is a purebred Blue Merle Border Collie from Contact Point Border Collies in Fillmore California. He is four years old, and obsessed with Flyball. He holds many Flyball Titles including Top Flight I, II, and III in U-FLI and FD, FDX, FDCH, and FDCH –Silver in NAFA. Zippy has been doing flyball for three years and enjoys every minute of action since he has so much energy and drive. He has been in the newspaper and on the News twice for Woofstock.

Zippy is a friendly dog who not only loves flyball, but loves to do agility and go swimming as well. He goes to agility and frequents the Dog Spa in Oceanside each weekend. He really enjoys swimming and chasing after those toys, pushing off the wall, and making a quick turn to do another round of chase. When not doing his activities, Zippy enjoys flying over to Catalina, where he goes on long walks and really great golf cart rides around Avalon.

Due to his quick speed, and love for flyball racing, Zippy holds up to his name.

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August 25, 2010

Competitive Canines Can Do

Posted by Brian and Joanne under Captains' Comments, Demos, Special Guests | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Ballistic Racers recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by the Union Tribune.  A big hank you to the Union Tribune for taking the time to learn more about us, and the fantastic sport of flyball!

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June 29, 2010

Boston Brigade Goes Ballistic

Posted by Brian and Joanne under Captains' Comments, Demos | Tags: , , , , |
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by Brian and Joanne Matsumoto

The annual “Fun Day” for the Boston Terrier meetup was quite a success. It was held April 24th at the Hidden Valley Obedience Club in Escondido. A full field of mainly black and white Bostons dominated the grounds. There were a few red and brown terriers mixed in, along with other breeds from the flyball team.

Ballistic Racers Flyball Team demonstrated the sport of flyball with large, medium and small dogs. The demos were held between the festivities which included raffles, costume competitions, and games. One of the Boston owners was the D.J. and did a great job at announcing the events, winners, raffle prizes and flyball demonstrations. Boston Terriers make very good flyball dogs with their speed, size, and athletic ability. Some of the Bostons gave flyball a try, and were very successful.

It was a day of enjoyment with food, friends, and man’s best friend. Everyone ate hotdogs, enjoyed the Boston Terrier Festivities, and participated in the activities. With one of the warmest days of spring, it was a fun day for all!

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June 26, 2010

A Wonderful Time at Woofstock

Posted by Brian and Joanne under Demos | Tags: , , |
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by Brian and Joanne Matsumoto

On Saturday April 10th 2010, a crowd of more than three thousand people and hundreds of dogs converged on San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park. They were all there for the annual Woofstock Celebration. Woofstock is an event put on by Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), to benefit people in need of service dogs. It was a day of celebration for you and your dog, with things to buy, things to do, and things to watch.
A five mile dog walk started the event off in scenic Balboa Park. Ballistic Racers Flyball Team put on several demonstrations of Flyball and also let the public try their dogs on the course. It was a great day for all since there were over thirty vendors of dog items, people food, contests, and of course the demonstrations of Flyball, Disc Dogs, and Agility at the K-9 playground. Woofstock has become a huge dog event, and everybody looks forward to it each year. Be sure to watch for the 2011 edition of Woofstock next April!
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December 14, 2009

Ballistic Racers Christmas Holiday Slideshow 2009

Posted by Brian and Joanne under Captains' Comments, Tournament Highlights | Tags: , , , , , |
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The Ballistic Racers Christmas Dinner
Once again our annual Christmas dinner was a huge success. Twenty four of us enjoyed the food and show put on by the chefs at Miyabi Restaurant. Fire, flying utensils and tossed pieces of cooked food were all part of the show. Believe it or not, the food was as good as the show! Everyone participated in a gift exchange which was really fun. People were able to open a new gift or steal a gift from another member. Everyone ended up with a gift, most of which had a dog theme. We were able to celebrate three birthdays as well, with a beautiful chocolate cake and of course singing. Alice, Phyllis, and Shay received the Birthday greetings at this festive occasion. We topped off the night with a delightful CD slide show made and shown by Kelly and her husband Jim. Two hundred twenty nine pictures of the 2009 Ballistic Racers Flyball Team in action were projected on the wall for all to see. These shots included all the dogs and handlers of our entire team. What a year and what a great slide show! Special thanks to all the team members for their generosity in donating to this year’s recipient, Vizsla Rescue. We were able to donate a large crate and a full basket of dog toys, leashes, collars and supplies to a related organization.

Thanks to our team members, Kelly and Jim
for the slide show, Miyabi Restaurant, and
of course all our dogs for another very
successful year of Flyball racing,

Brian and Joanne
2009

 

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