After 2 years of no going to WCh (first time because of my broken leg, second because of Gunnas boreliosis), Gunna and me went again to try luck one more time.
16th WCh was organized in Czech Republic for third time, this time in Zatec.
We were all in magic of number 3: 3 handlers and dogs (all of them females and border collies) and a lot of other things but later about that :-)
Ana Viller with Mona (disaster), Darja Jaksic with Lynn (disaster) and Gunna and me (area), followed by Marijo Marjanovic who, as team leader and only man in team, was on site for us all the time.

Some days ago, I heard one sportman, asked by TV reporter about his often injuires, telling that injuries are part of his living.
So, me also trying to imagine Gunna as humanly athlete with such kind of occasionally injuries. As to speak, 2 months before WCh, after every dry conditioning (very carefully done) she limped on her front right leg. Rtg showed that there's nothing with hard tissue. Area search at this time of year demands pretty physical shape of the dog because of running at summer heat and also because of barking which is easier if the dog is in good condition. Besides that, SAR dog must always be in good shape. Because of limping, whatever the reason was, I had to stop with long runs and continue only with swimming and short runs. When limpings stopped and when I thaught that everything is allright, Gunna became ill again: she got kennel cough (many dogs in Club got it) and in following month 2 times been at home doing nothing and drink antibiothics. I think that she, in generally, have chronic problem with her throat. Two body painful spots: leg and throat, running and barking. Two points which we need the most... :-/
About 10 days before WCh, Gunna heeled the throat, leg was ok and my dilema about going to the WCh finally stopped. This dilema was pretty pressure I felt because, in case of no going, our croatian team would be incomplete and couldn't be in competition for the team result (3 positive results are consider for team result).
WCh is specific in task for those who are competing. When we go to some exam, we go for ourselves and there is no such pressure. But, when we're going to WCh, we're not going only for ouselves, we're going also for some organization or country and all results are plusing with each other making chance for team result also.

But, as somebody said: every evil goes for some good... I draw not so good number for searching: I should search next day at 1:10 pm. This time for search didn't set me thrill but bad weather day before refreshed the wood and I really can not say that it was so hot as it could be. Not mentioning next few days...
When I looked more detailed, I found that my numbers are pretty ok: first day searching while the wood is still fresh, second obedience at 8:40 am and the day after dexterity at 8:32 am. Besides the fact that sun was pretty high from the morning, this hours for obedience and dexterity were jack-pot against afternoon hours at the stadium where handlers, dogs and judges were looked like halucinations in desert.

Come back to searching which was first day which was judged by Resi Gerritsen (NL).
I learned through life that the easiest way is way without any consumptions. But, in this case, consumptions were that ones which made forest looking to me more easier than it really did. So... I heard that the wood is full of high grass and that the dogs will search only by jumps which is very hard, much more hard then some big hilly forest without high grass.
But, as I said, consumptions about the wood in jungle form was stopped by wall made of reality. Wood wasn't really so hard as I believed. There was high grass, there were thorns (well, we don't know any more how is it to search without thorns - I don't remember woods without it for a long time :-)) but also, it was all from time to time, not all the time which would be too hard. To me, the wood was great: from time to time high grass, thorns (ok, we can do without it, I confess :-)), lianas on the grounds in few parts of wood, somewhere open wood and somewhere not, one little part of wood on the right side between 150 and 200 meters was meadow with really high grass... but, let us confess: it's WCh so... On scale between 1 and 10 with 10 as the hardest, this wood was nice 7.
Like last few years at WCh the dog and his handler should find 3 figurants in 20 minutes (in area search, of course) on path 300 m long and 100 m width. The handler should go like at exams: on the middle and send his dog left and right. At 250th meter the path went to the right.
When I saw the wood, I took a deep breath because, things finally went better for us with this new view of area :-)

Considering Gunnas recent healthy history, my "hell" plan was to risk a little bit and move faster then usually with often resting and giving water.
First figurant was at the beggining on the left side app. 10 meters from the start and 50 m deep from the middle path. This first sending Gunna didn't do as she usually do and she wasn't going very deep but at second command she went deep. Later, judge took some points because of that. With some risk, I started to go further with consumption that there's nobody else at the beggining. I usually don't do that but this was special occasions and I gave to myself a little freedom for risk. After just few minutes, Gunna was barking at second figurant who was at about 100 m from the middle path on its 150th meter. I suppose (suppose because I never saw that part of wood) that she found the last figurant on the part of path which was going to the right and deep at 50th meter. But, Gunna went very deep and found him earlier then she suppose to. Barking on this and on the first figurant was not so good. Was it stress or throat again, I really don't know...
After this finding which was at 4th minute, I gave water to Gunna but when I wanted to rest her, the judge didn't allowed it. I was confused a little bit and, with pressure of WCh, like a little puppy (usually I wouldn't obey :-)) I said ok. After minute or two, Gunna barked at the last figurant. This time barking was much more better. The time was perfect tipically from Gunna: 8,5 minutes :-) I was very happy because of all but my hapinnes was short because we all saw that Gunna is limping on the right leg. But this unhappy vision was short because after few hours she was ok. Seems that she stepped somewhere and it hurts just for a moment. For some not good barkings, some unsearched parts of wood and that start on basic line, we got 161/200 points.
Gunna, in spite of middle condition, showed again to be very trustable dog.
AT THIS LINK, you can see parts of searhing.

Next day at obedience, judged by Ruud Haak (NL), we got 44/50 points: sit in motion was cracked by lying down, parts of off leash heeling at the first few metters was bad. But, all in all, I'm satisfied because our obedience went better when I compare it with previous ones. Marijo made great movie from our obedience (I confess with some ordered restrictions :-)) and you can look it HERE.

Dexterity (judge Andreas Hauk, A) was day after. In spite of the fact that I practiced a lot basic positions before the obstacles, she broke it after third obstacle and started to look to the next with that crazy look of agility dog. The result was not so good sittings before other obstacles.
Ana and me talked about this problem, this "I'm crazy for agility and I want to run" problem, and we both came to conclusion that only solution is to put all this obstacles one following each other at some very open and big terrain which just call for run, and practice it. Till now, I practiced it at not not so open Club terrain with many obstacles but this is not the same as few obstacles at open wide terrain. And there, I didn't have a problem with it, after practicing of course. But, this open stadium, which call for run, was too much for my cute border :-) Besides that sittings, first table (Gunna and me didn't understand well which table is first :-)) and some: "I want to run between the obstacles", it was pretty ok and judge gave to us 45/50 points.
So, at the end, my little blue eye girl and me deserved 8th place! Which was, considering all health problems in recent history, ok for me.

Other girls from our team were very succesfull too and made our nails look nasty at the end of WCh.
Darja with Lynn done dexterity great and got 47/50 points, obedience with nice 44/50 points and searching with 148/200 points.

This week was very succesfull for Ana too. She had great searching and finished it with 182/200 points, dexterity with 47/50 and obedience was for remembering. For very little mistakes, judge took one point and she and Mona got beautiful 49/50 points.

Time slipped through our fingers very slowly and suddenly, we understood that there's a chance for winning something. First view of points showed to us that Ana is third in disaster work!!!
Ana, congratulation once more from deep of my heart.
I was 8th, Darja 20th and after our happines because of Ana (ok, and little of champagne :-)), we were plussing the points like crazy to see where we are as team. In one moment, we saw that we are third as team also! Since we weren't sure enough for the rules (in one tabela in Propositions you can see only points till 15th place but at the begining also said that all 3 positive results counts) we called our kolegue Katja from Slovenia, she's IRO judge and was second judge at dexterity at this WCh and asked her to help us with our dilema. Her words were like cold shower: she told us that she thinks that only results till 15th counts. So, we had more points then team who took third place and we didn't felt good. But, we said, ok that's rules and we must obey. We still got Anas bronze and we must by happy. And poor Darja was looking so sad because she felt guilty... but, without reason. We all gave all what we could give.

And it came time for winners and excitement overheld us because of the Anas bronze: I forgot to shake hands with winners so I came back... we all were very excited...

The time for team winners also came and suddenly it looked like we heard something well known: it was like a little break between second and third team place but third team didn't come. We were looking to each other beeing very confused because it seemed that we heard: K O S S P..... "Zagreb"!!!! KOSSP "Zagreb", hey, for the love of... they called us! I can't describe the panics in our team: it was - Marijo, take the camera, Darja, let this bag down, Ana, where are you going, shake hands with others (he-he, I learned a lesson)!!! We came to that third place like in halucination and smiling like little children with big ice-cream on their faces. We were the most smiled team there and we were holding our hands with man strenght. Three woman, three border collies (all three females), third team and third individual result, all in magic of number 3 from the beggining of our story. Even, other team places were in number 3: first place czechian team with two man and one woman handler with 3 german shepherds, second place swiss team with 3 mallinois and third place our team with all women both handlers and dogs.
To all people around us it was probably perfectly clear that we didn't know for that third place, that it surprised us like unexpected happy end of some american sport melodrama.