EKKOC Dog Show Results

Last weekend I attended the Evelyn Kenny Dog show with Strider and Spryte.  Strider was there Friday and Saturday night to play scent hurdle racing.  He is retired from obedience and rally, but he was very happy to come out and spend some time with me getting cookies.  He ran well and earned his Scent Hurdle Dog Masters Excellent title (SHDMX).

Spryte was doing both conformation and obedience.  As most of you know, I just wanted to finish up her CD as she only needed one more leg.  We qualified in both the rounds finishing her title and earning a spare leg just in case.  She took two High In Classes with scores of 197 and 195.5.  Unfortunately the 195.5 was under an American judge and she docked us 1.5 points for barking. The other judge was more forgiving of Sprytes "talking".  Spryte's performances were pretty good, but to me she felt a little distracted. She hadn't eaten much in several days (morning sickness I'm hoping) and I think that was affecting her focus and overall performance. But either way she finished it and now I can move on to the fun stuff in obedience.

Our real success came in the conformation ring.  Spryte went from 0 to8 points this weekend. I am still amazed at how quickly she gathered points. I had entered her in 6 shows before this, starting at 6 months of age doing 5 shows as a puppy and one show last summer.  She had picked up some reserve wins and a Best Puppy in Breed but that was about it. At the time I was discouraged and thinking that this sport was way tougher than I first imagined.  So going into the ring this weekend I didn't have high hopes of getting any wins. I knew Spryte looked good (nice coat and she had filled out a bit), but in the end it all depends on the competition and what the judge likes.  So I was shocked on Friday when the judge picked Spryte as Winners Bitch and Best of Winners.  I was so excited to have finally got my first points on my dog.  Saturday my friend's Bi Blue bitch took the open class so Spryte and I were done for the day, which was ok because we were in the obedience ring twice that day anyway.

Sunday we went back into the conformation ring again.  This time we were showing under an Australian judge and I could tell pretty quickly that she liked my dog.  We won our class and then back into the ring for best of breed. I had my fingers crossed that we would get another best of winners and as we were gaiting around the ring as a group the judge pointed to me first.  I was thinking to myself, this has got to be good.  I didn't realise how good it was until the other dogs lined up behind me.  The judge had awarded Spryte Best of Breed! An incredible win as the topped ranked Sheltie in Canada was one of the dogs we beat. And now on to the group ring.

Up until this point the conformation ring hasn't bothered me one bit. I don't get nervous and I don't take it too seriously. However the minute I walked into the group ring and spied some professional handlers and the best dogs of each breed, I began to feel the dreaded ring jitters.  I wanted to do well. I wanted to showcase my breed the best I could and I wanted to look like I belonged there.  It felt like it took forever to get to Spryte and I.  We were the second last dog out of a group of 15 or so dogs.  I stayed calm, did my down and back and stopped in front of the judge. She took a long look at Spryte, she walked all around her, stopping a few times for a better look. And then we were back in line while the judge finished off with the Corgie behind us. 

The judge then picked the short list, and to my amazement we were in it!  How exciting and I was flying high at this point, making the short list was a huge honour in itself.  But again I stayed calm and kept Spryte focused and standing still.  Then the judge started picking for the Group placements.  First to the Bouvier, second to my friend's Kelpie, I was so excited for her I didn't even notice who she picked for third.  Then the judge looked over the other dogs at us and pointed to Spryte for fourth place. Wow we had done it! A group win with my first show dog and the best part is I handled her myself. I was beaming from ear to ear!  And I now just might be a little hooked on conformation shows :)

Here is a video of Spryte and I on Friday.