Ask the Trainer: Team USA Gold Medalist Desiree Snelleman
How do you handle pressure as a defending Gold Medalist?
Do you feel more pressure as a defending Gold Medalist, and how do you handle that?
Desiree: I do not feel any pressure based on our results from last year. Agility is a sport, and as we know it, anything can happen… it can frankly be anybody’s day. Pressure often inhibits our ability to perform. I have done a variety of intense sports in my life and have learned not to put pressure on myself or my team. Pressure becomes a waste of energy and is not helpful for keeping your mind focused on your job as a handler.
A handler’s job is to do anything we can to make our dogs successful. That is where my focus goes. I set team goals and work hard/smart to accomplish those goals. Fitness for both Peak and myself is very important and is a high priority. I dial in on the work that we need to do to get better in all aspects of our game. Most likely a combination of specific skill work and course work. We will also seek competitions that will aid in challenging our physical and mental “endurance.” We balance this approach by hiking whenever we can.
About two to three weeks before the competition, we start to downsize our training sessions in both intensity and volume. During the entire preparation time, Peak will also have his weekly massage therapy sessions, and about once a month a chiropractic session.
An athlete all her life, Desiree Snelleman is a nationally and internationally renowned handler and coach and master agility instructor at It’s a Dog’s World Training and Agility Center in Sumner, Wash. She represented Team USA at IFCS over five consecutive years with her Border Collie, Pace, who won two individual gold medals in 2014 (Biathlon, Jumpers) and helped to earn a team silver medal in 2015 (Jumpers). This year, she returns to the international stage with 5½-year-old Peak, who won two gold medals (Biathlon, Jumpers) in 2023. She loves seeing the close connection between handlers and their dogs and looks forward to another year creating amazing teamwork in the ring.