Dog Shows...Who Is Showing ..and Where?

[Wicked Whippets]

Just got back from the American Sighthound Field Assn Regional Invitational Lure Coursing event and Wicked Whippets' Jonny Be Good took second on Saturday and first on Sunday.

Claire, who recently won her first AKC event, finished fourth and third.

Both are entered in the American Whippet Assn national lure coursing event next month.

[Wicked Whippets]

We're heading off to The Great Arizona Dog Show, April 9-12, at the University of Phoenix stadium (where the Cardinals played in the SuperBowl). Mrs. Wicked can't attend so decided to just show whippets. Handling Tigg will be Mandy Clevenger . She will be taking him on to a hound speciality in California and then to the American whippet national specialty. We're hopeful that when he's finished we can special him.

I'll be showing Claire and Mystic at the show this week and then Claire will go to the whippet nationals with Kelly Riney, the owner of the Festiva kennel (Claire's sire). Kelly breeds wonderful whippets and it will be a delight to see her in the ring with Claire.

I'll be showing Mystic at these shows and hopefully won't have to go head-to-head with Mandy or Kelly as they are fantastic handlers!

This is the start of the show season for us. We expect to be attending shows in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho and Utah in the coming months.

[distaff]

We just got home to Alberta. We showed at the February show in Phoenix, at Scottsdale in March (got rained out the last day), and then at the Del Sur show at Del Mar outside San Diego. We picked up 5 majors, finished one of our girls, and picked up two majors and 8 points on our senior puppy girl to get her nicely started.

We entered the Arizona show this weekend in Phoenix but dropped it when we saw the weak entry for Staffords. The parking at Cardinal Stadium is expensive, and provides no services. We felt that for the max 2 points available each day we would just head home and finish our girl in Montana this summer closer to home.

We spent the money we saved by not parking at the show on sight seeing on the way home. Next year we may skip the February show in Phoenix (again because a weak entry) and do the Silver Bay show in San Diego followed by the Scottsdale show, and hang out there for a few weeks.

[PNWGirl]

Congratulations on an excellent start to the 2010 show season Distaff!! Five majors is nothing to sneeze at, especially now days.

Majors are thin on the ground around here. We've even tried to build majors and couldn't. Everyone is up in arms that AKC did not drop the point schedule. There is just no way this area can sustain those numbers. People have been driving to Montana and other states with lower numbers, to get those illusive majors.

Good luck this summer!

Sheila

[distaff]

Majors are hard to find. As do a lot of folks, we like the Montana circuit in the summer (Billings/Great Falls/Missoula) because it is a nice time of year there (we do a lot of barbecue with our friends), the shows are nicely packed together, and the shows are lumped in with Wyoming for setting the numbers for Majors, so we can usually make up a few.

We can get a few breeders from Washington to meet us and duke it out for the points.

BTW, PNWGirl, where is "around here" for you?

[PNWGirl]

Originally Posted by distaff

BTW, PNWGirl, where is "around here" for you?

Division 8; Oregon & Washington. With the high price of fuel, I have not gone out of the region- to show- for a few years. Between the jacked up cost of entries and the rediculous price for parking on at a show (dry camping), I can't afford to go anywhere so we try to build majors at home. The scary thing is we fail more than we succeed. The point scale is just too high and I've heard rumor it's going up next month with the 2010 point scale.

Used to be that you got a good break for puppies and Bred By entries, but those are disappearing and in a lot of shows now, they are not giving the Bred By price break.

Sheila

Pom point scale for Div 8

1 POINT 2 POINTS 3 POINTS 4 POINTS 5 POINTS

Dogs Bitches Dogs Bitches Dogs Bitches Dogs Bitches Dogs Bitches
3 3 10 8 16 13 21 16 31 22

[Dalsn1]

You might want to consider going to Clackamas KC in June, maybe even try to build majors. Pups and Bred By are $20.00 entry fee and parking is $25.00 per night, regular classes are $26.00. It's the same week end as Montana and the handlers go to Montana while many breeder/owners go to Clackamas. Montana is a handlers circuit, just look at the panels.

Steve

[distaff]

Sheila,

If I read your table correctly, it takes 16 bitches and 13 dogs to make a 3 point major. I know some Pom breeders from BC so I am not surprised by the entry requirements for a major in your breed. For us, showing a less popular breed, the minimum is lower but still it is a challenge to get an entry.

I agree with Steve's remark that the Montana circuit is a handlers circuit, but we don't mind that. We don't have a lot of handlers in our ring, and we have taken group placements in Montana even though we usually handle ourselves. Obviously it depends on the judge, and having a lot of handlers (or even one) in your ring can make things ugly. Montana gets a mix of the usual hacks and some good judges.

In any case, since we are looking for majors it is easier to attract a good entry when the circuit is as tightly scheduled as the Montana circuit.

[PNWGirl]

Hi Steve & Paul,

I know the Canby show, been going there since 1995. In fact it used to be my favorite show, now St. Helens is- Canby second.

In my breed the Montana show doesn't do anything but split the entry and three of the top Toy handlers- in the region- stay here.

Nice suggestion though

Sheila

[Wicked Whippets]

We showed the whippets at the Glendale show last weekend. It was greatly improved over last year. We didn't park the RV at the event, though.

The clubs are really hurting themselves by jacking up the cost of RV parking as I believe as diesel and gas prices climb the number of entries will continue to drop. As an example, the Whippet National Speciality next week in Tucson has about 30% fewer entries than last year. Certainly, the recession is responsible for the bulk of this, but by charging high rates for "dry" parking at the hotel site I believe some entries are staying home. I'll be parking in the Beaudry RV Resort where I can get a hook up and access to an off leash dog area

[Wicked Whippets]

Just got home after 8 days at the American Whippet Club nationals in Tucson. There were about 600 entries. We ran Jonny and Claire, and showed Claire, Mystic, Tigg and his brother Kingston (acquired at the event).

Jonny finished 3rd in the nationals lure coursing event (pictured).



Claire finished 5th.

Mystic won American Bred in conformation. Kingston took 3rd in Open.

[Wicked Whippets]

Anyone attending the White Mountains KC inaugural show in Heber, AZ May 8-9? We will be there and will be showing 4 whippets and 3 affens.

Next up is AKC Lure Coursing in Riverside, CA May 15-16.

Finally, we head out mid-June for the Montana-Idaho circuit. I don't recall the exact # but I think it is 12 shows in 15 days.

[Wicked Whippets]

Got home this morning from lure coursing in Riverside and Chino and heading out on Thursday for the Durango Kennel Club show.

Getting ready for the Montana circuit in a couple weeks: 15 shows in 2 weeks!

[Wicked Whippets]

Stuck in Cortez, CO at a KOA while we wait out a windstorm so we can head home.

We had a great weekend at the Durango KC show. Yesterday the Wicked Whippets won WD and WB, plus BOW and RWD. Pictured are Tigg and Claire, who took points.



Mystic, Claire's brother was RWD and today took WD. Nice people, nice show and lousy weather.