43 Breed Notes – Mid C’ties 2019

I really did tempt fate by saying in my last set of notes by saying that I’d sorted out my computer. My trials and tribulations continued and it all ended with my laptop having to have a new hard drive installed. Even though I had (fortunately) backed everything up, I still managed to lose some data stored including all emails from the 28th-31st October. So if you sent me an email and are still waiting for a reply, the odds are it’s somewhere still in cyberspace!! Fingers X’d it’s now all fixed and hopefully this’ll be the last ‘bumper set of yesterday’s news’ for quite a while!!

At Midland Counties, keesies were 2nd in the ring after 80 Jap Spitz and we’d been given a not before time of 11.30am, which combined with the clocks going back made for a very leisurely start. Our judge was Maggie Mulholland, awarding CC’s for the 2nd time (her 1st appointment was at Southern Counties in 2015) and she had drawn an entry of 43 dogs with 14 absentees. Judging started just before 1.00pm and was done by 3.00pm, so we had just enough time to get home before it was dark.

The only ‘blip’ on the day was that our benches were miles away from the ring and gangways between the rings seemed to be quite narrow and were very crowded, making access not very easy. Or maybe it was because it was the same day as the working group and we’re not used to sharing a hall with ‘big dogs’! But we were so lucky for Utility day to be on the Sunday, as the torrential rain on the Friday and Saturday had caused roads to be flooded and closed, including the entrance to the showground. There was still plenty of water hanging around, but the grassed parking areas were remarkably well drained and nowhere near as bad as I thought they would be.

It was a first big green card with Best of Breed for David Peck’s Kwajongen He’s A Dandy Byquy (Ch Wund-R Y Workin For A Livin at Szaryk (IMP USA)from Junior, handled by David Matthews. RDCC was my Flatmeer Flaithri (Bargeway Keen to Rumble x Flatmeer Fleurette) from Limit.
Keeping it in the family, it was a second CC for Geraldine Clark’s Kwajongen She’s A Muse (Ch Wund-R Y Workin For A Livin at Szaryk (IMP USA) x Ch Byquy Pebbles at Kwajongen) who was also handled by David Matthews. It was another RBCC with Best Puppy for Natasha Hickson’s Kichigai’s Uptown Girl (Ch Neradmik All About The Boy for Watchkees x Kichigai Lilac Wine) handled by Karin.

The weekend before at Grantham and District Canine Society Open Show Andy and Jean Fitches’ had an excellent day as their young boy Kuruk – Samoykees Harbour Lights was Best AVNSC Utility Puppy and then went on to win the Utility Puppy Group from Judge Peter Matfin.

A note from Nicky, to say that her mother Jeane Waller, passed away peacefully on the 8th of October. They held a small family funeral on the 29th October as was her wish. She also asks you respect her father’s privacy for a few weeks and allow him to grieve in peace. Donations if desired can be sent to St. Catherine’s Hospice, Crawley or Macmillan Cancer Support.

A recent announcement from the Kennel Club has recommended that general championship shows rotate their group days. The Show Executive Committee (SEC) has received a number of requests from exhibitors via the Shows Liaison Council who would like to see societies offer greater flexibility in relation to which groups are judged on which days at general championship shows. The ten ‘all breeds’ championship shows, which offer CC’s for every eligible breed, are already required to rotate their group days in order to qualify for their all breeds status.

Kathryn Mansfield, KC Secretary, said: The rotation of group days offers a number of benefits to exhibitors, including the ability to take annual leave in a fairer way. There are some societies which schedule the same groups on the same days, year in year out, which cannot make them an attractive prospect to those exhibitors whose working days are fixed and cannot be negotiated. In other cases, some exhibitors say they are reluctant to travel via certain routes on particular days of the week. It is therefore beneficial for societies to attract entries by rotating their group days.

Blackpool & Darlington always on a Friday and Bath on Whitsun Bank Holiday Monday are three Ch shows which spring to mind. However, the SEC in making this recommendation, say that it is mindful that it is not always practical for societies to rotate their group days each and every year, which is why it is not mandatory. I wonder what those reasons are??

For the NoEKC’s Ch show, Krishna Austin has drawn an entry of 70 dogs making 78 entries. There will be a variety of Drinks and Home-made Food available from the Kitchen. Bacon Butties in the morning, Hot Meals and Snacks at Lunchtime and with lots of Home-made Cakes for afters! Hopefully we will be having a table top sale and Raffle Prizes are always welcomed. I will be taking a limited number of the new Book of Champions update available to buy at the show @ £20 each; so please contact me if you wish to pre-order a copy.

Anji Marfleet