11 Sep 2017 Autumn Garden Party
Sunday 3rd September 2017
Priors Marston Sports Club, Byfield Road, Priors Marston.
Sunday is of course the main event day but this event is spreading back across the whole week-end and on Saturday there was the Rally O training followed by an informal competition and also carting practice with First Draft available on Saturday. All this followed by the relaxing Pre Garden Party, Party & BBQ in the evening, setting us up for a great Garden Party day and as usual many people chose to camp on site for several nights between Thursday and Monday. On Sunday itself the weather was just about kind to us with some very light rain during the middle of the day which didn’t affect the running of the events but I think it did reduce the numbers present for the afternoon which did get brighter and warmer, (eventually!)
Don’t forget to use the link, repeated throughout the page, to visit the gallery where many more photos of most of the classes and activities can be seen. Several people have commented on how enjoyable it is to activate the slide show and just relive the event by watching the photos scroll past, you can still use the arrows to fast forward (or backward) if it gets too boring so why not give it a go.
This year there was an additional feature with the sale of some unique items kindly donated for Rescue fund raising by Rita Doggerell following the death of husband Mike. These included a unique small cart and some genuine authentic Swiss cow bells which were auctioned off from the Main Ring. A huge thank you to the people who bought them, and those who contributed to the bidding, raising almost £300 for Rescue and grateful thanks to Rita herself too.
We have to thank everyone who contributed to the success of the day whether by working to assist in putting the event on, judging or training or taking part in the events or ‘simply’ by attending and contributing to the feelgood factor of the day.
We cannot name everyone who assisted us but David Robertson deserves a special mention as always for his efforts over many days and Peter Thompson has made himself extremely useful in recent years with a knack for regularly being around at the right time when help is needed. Maxine Price and Tony Fayer always keep the Garden Party raffles well maintained but to everyone who helps we can only say a really big and sincere thank you for being a part of the latest Garden Party success.
CLICK HERE FOR THE GALLERY OF ALL PHOTOS FROM THE GARDEN PARTY WEEK_END (This link is repeated elsewhere through this page. Once the link has opened, click on any photo to enter the gallery proper and scroll through using the arrows OR click on the ‘play’ arrow near the top to watch a slide show of all the photos)
A Week-end of Amazement
As always there were several amazing things to behold at the Garden Party and, as is often the case, one of them was in the Decorated Carts with the theme of ‘Songs’, judged this year by regular competitor in, or should that be contributor to, this event, Yvonne Boyd.
As you can see the winner, with the agreement of everyone inside and outside of the ring was the stunning version of Yellow Submarine by Chris Handley. When you looked around the ring you couldn’t help notice that, as always, this class brought colour and inventiveness to the ring and a smile to everyone’s face inside and outside the ring but maybe there were a few bigger than usual smiles this year due to the sheer impact of Chris’ entry.
We have to comment on another amazing sight, namely Malcolm Peter’s waistcoat. Our main ring judge, a Garden Party enthusiast and stalwart of many years, had a splendid, specially tailored waistcoat just for this role. I’m sure we have never had anyone officiate in clothing specially made for the Garden Party. Malcolm enjoyed his day in charge but found many of his decisions really difficult to make as they were all very close calls.
The BBQ was it’s usual success and everyone seemed to have a good evening thanks to the hard work of the volunteers who help, Jeanette Green for pulling it all together, Lee Boot for cooking hundreds of burgers, sausages and chicken portions, Alison Cliff for frying onions for 5 solid hours on Saturday, Alyson Boot helping to set things out and all those who chopped salad and helped prepare food on Saturday afternoon including Fiona Hallam who also contributed the quiz instead of that usual idiot who just likes to pretend he knows what he is talking about!
Most of those present were also amazed at the post BBQ party by the ‘Cornflake packet’ challenge competition. This involves picking up a cardboard box from the floor with your teeth without putting anything other than feet on the floor, (just try it!). As people succeed an inch or so is trimmed off the box so it gets closer to the ground each time. After a few people mostly embarassed themselves, but they should be applauded for at least trying, we were left with a shoot out, or should that be a bend off, between youth and experience but eventually youth won and a valiant Alyson Boot had to give way to Kirsty Brodie who picked up the box when it was cut down to just about 5 mm in height. If you look closely you can see the narrow strip of the remaining side in the photo but what you can mainly see is the base of the box. Wow!!
Presentations
At the end of a long day the Working Cart presentations were presided over as usual by Tom and Wendy Murray. However, this is the last time they will do this as they are retiring from the management of the Working Cart Group. To mark this a small token of appreciation from the club was presented by club President Mark Wakeland.
At the end of all the general presentations the overall Top Working Dog of the Day, awarded on points gained from Working Carts, Obedience and Agility was announced. This was, not for the first time, awarded to Lilly with Sue Maddox.
Again, the presentation was made by Club President Mark Wakeland.
CLICK HERE FOR THE GALLERY OF ALL PHOTOS FROM THE GARDEN PARTY WEEK_END (This link is repeated elsewhere through this page. Once the link has opened, click on any photo to enter the gallery proper and scroll through using the arrows OR click on the ‘play’ arrow near the top to watch a slide show of all the photos)
Competition and Class Results
A big thank you to everyone who took part in any of our classes from Saturday’s Rally O right through to the very last event on Sunday.
Rally O
Training and judging by Ann Jordan (also with thanks to Sue Brown)
- Sandra Hallam with Fiz
- Karen Reeves with Tasha
- Dave Biggins with Cassie
- Barbara Peters with Zara
- Malcolm Peters with Badger
Working Cart Course judged by Elaine Spalding
Advanced
- Tolly with Bruce Hellingsworth
- Bollinger with Belle Owen
- Tattinger with Belle Owen
- Norman with Chris Handley
- Bear with Jean Hellingsworth
Intermediate
- Alfie with Ian Soame
- Chelsey with Richard Hallam
- Gracie with Pam Fagg
- Florence with Debbie Morgan
- Lucy with Geoff Stelmach
Beginners
- Fiz with Sandra Hallam
- Lexi with Andy Smith
- Tobi with Sheila Cantrell
- Jenna with John Flippance
- Gina with Geoff Stelamach
Decorated Carts judged by Yvonne Boyd (her report is incorporated with the results).
Thank you to everyone for entering the decorated cart classes. I thoroughly enjoyed my day judging you all. I especially enjoyed the fancy dress which brought great amusement to those watching.
Swiss Theme
- Norman with Chris Handley A lovely Swiss theme with cheeses, fruit, churn and alpine horn. Norman looked very smart in his lovely collar and harness, Chris completed the picture in her Swiss dress.
- Bollinger with Belle Owen Her cart theme was a Swiss farmer’s lunch complete with a lovely Swiss cake. Bolli looked very happy pulling his cart and Belle completed the picture in her Swiss tunic and hat.
- Wallace & Ramsey with Tom Murray The cart contained a lovely churn, vegetables and a floral arch. Tom was very smart in his Swiss outfit and the dogs looked well matched as a brace.
- Tobi with Sheila Cantrell First time for this pair in the competition and Tobi looked very happy pulling his decorated new cart.
Songs Theme
- Yellow Submarine – Norman with Chris Handley (see above) Yellow Submarine – Chris pulled out all the stops with this entry and it was certainly appreciated by everyone watching. Norman was resplendent as Sergeant Pepper, the cart contained the yellow submarine and Chris and “friends” were the Beatles. All parts of this entry had been hand made by Chris. Each individual Beatle was obvious, well done Chris for handling Norman and for keeping all of the group in step.
- Bat Out of Hell – Murdoch with Di Crawshaw Thank you for doing my favourite song, Murdoch made a super bat, Di looked resplendent as Meatloaf in shiny pink shirt and with white handkerchief on her wrist. The cart was a reproduction of the album cover with a silver black phantom bike and skull emerging from hell.
- Crocodile Rock – Wallace with Wendy Murray A large crocodile rested on a rock in the cart, Wallace made an excellent Elton John in his star-shaped sunglasses.
- Strawberry Fields – Tobi with Sheila Cantrell Sheila and Tobi both wore strawberry outfits, the cart contained a large strawberry.
- The Urban Spaceman – Bollinger with Belle Owen A good effort but unfortunately Belle was short of time to complete the outfit.
Carting Turnout
- Alfie with Ian Soame Alfie sported a lovely genuine Swiss harness which was beautifully polished. The cart was in excellent condition polished to a finish like glass, Ian’s Swiss costume completed the picture.
- Torin with Di Crawshaw Another young dog making his debut in the class, he had a lovely braided harness and looked very happy.
- Tobi with Sheila Cantrell Tobi was very happy in his cart and I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as I have.
CLICK HERE FOR THE GALLERY OF ALL PHOTOS FROM THE GARDEN PARTY WEEK_END (This link is repeated elsewhere through this page. Once the link has opened, click on any photo to enter the gallery proper and scroll through using the arrows OR click on the ‘play’ arrow near the top to watch a slide show of all the photos)
Good Citizens
As usual there were KC Good Citizens Awards assessments available at this event with the following results.
Silver Pass
Teddy belonging to Suzette Mohammed
Bronze Pass
Rosie belonging to Elaine Spalding
Phoebe belonging to Andrew Tyrell
Fergie belonging to Angela Heslam
Paddington belonging to Sheree Round
Monte belonging to Linda Stevenson
Wiggins belonging to Jane Ellis
Amber belonging to Sarah Peacocke
Thomson belonging to David Bickley
Tallulah belonging to Karen Reeves
Congratulations to everyone who passed and maybe we will see you back to try the next level, (if so, don’t forget to book in advance).
Agility judged by Di Dunkley
Novice
- Ruby with Sarah McTighe
- Dice with Marie Northway
- Gina with Geoff Stelmach
- Lucy with Geoff Stelmach
Any Variety
- Dixie with Bruce Helligsworth
- Raynor with Bruce Hellingsworth
- Bella with Aaron Louch
Beginners
- Lilly with Sue Maddox
- Fiz with Sandra Hallam
- Dice with Marie Northway
- Gina with Geoff Stelmach
- Lucy with Geoff Stelmach
Obedience judged by John Harding
Have A Go
- Paddington with Sherry Round
- Gina with Geoff Stelmach
- Beamish with Deborah O’toole
- Losley with Annie
- Misty with Jenny
Triers
- Oskar with Sue Schofield
- Georgie with David
- Lucy with Geoff Stelmach
- Gina with Geoff Stelmach
- Fiz with Sandra Hallam
Future Stars
- Lilly with Sue Maddox
- Tolly with Bruce Hellingsworth
- Birley with Lucinda Hughes
- Gracie with Pam Fagg
- Georgie with David
Open
- Lilly with Sue Maddox
- Birley with Lucinda Hughes
Main Ring classes judged by Malcolm Peter
Please scroll down the page to read Malcolm’s ‘uniquely styled’ report of his judging experience and don’t forget to visit the gallery for many photographs of the classes.
Most Handsome Dog
- Jenson with Gayle Perry
- Chester with Dave Biggins
- Beamish with Deborah O’Toole
- Thompson with Kathryn Bickley
- Monte with Frank Stephenson
Prettiest Bitch
- Cassie with Steven Biggins
- Dream with Alan Perry
- Fiz with Sandra Hallam
- Cleo with Glynis Sawyers
- Elsa with Gina G Hotson
Dog With The Most appealing Eyes
- Belle with Josh Marchant, Avah Kelly & Neeve Anderson
- Sybil with Robyn Burnett
- Dylan with Maia Sherratt & James Roslyn
- Wallace with Reesha Porter
- Dream with Gayle Perry
Best Six Legs
- Elsa with Gina G Hotson
- Teddi with Sheila Cantrell
- Dylan with James Roslyn
- Cassie with Steven Biggins
- Jenson with Alan Perry
Waggiest Tail
- Peggy with Glynis Sawyers
- Elsie with Sarah McTighe
- Wallace with Reesha Porter
- Beamish with Deborah O’Toole
- Dylan with Maia Sherratt & James Roslyn
Dog The Judge Would Most Like to Take Home
- Thompson with Anna Bickley
- Dream with Alan Perry
- Nina with Avah Kelly
- Dylan with Maia Sherratt & James Roslyn
- Rayna with Jean Hellingsworth
Dog Most Like It’s Owner
1= Millie with Andy Worrall AND Tasha with Karen Reeves
Best Brace or Trio
- Keiva and Bean with Georgia Stephenson
- Lucy and Gina with Geoff Stelmach
- Thompson and Amber with Kathryn and Anna Bickley
- Chester and Cassie with Dave Biggins
- Benson and Misty with Nigel Cowley
Best Party Trick
- Annie with Lesley Cross
- Elsa and Alfie with Ian Soame
- Gracie with Pam Fagg
- Thompson with Kathryn Lickley
- Amber with Sarah Peacocke
CLICK HERE FOR THE GALLERY OF ALL PHOTOS FROM THE GARDEN PARTY WEEK_END (This link is repeated elsewhere through this page. Once the link has opened, click on any photo to enter the gallery proper and scroll through using the arrows OR click on the ‘play’ arrow near the top to watch a slide show of all the photos)
Junior Handling
6 – 8 years
- Rupert Buchan with Bob
9 – 11 years
- Kathryn Bickley with Thompson
- Luke Schofield with Oskar
12 – 16 years
- Sadie Schofield with Elsa
- Anna Bickley with Thompson
Fun and Games
Biscuit Catching
- Ruby with Sarah McTighe
- Duke with Richard Fraser
- Belle with Tania Fraser
Biscuit and Spoon Race
- Jenson with Alan Perry
- Nina with Avah Kelly
- Belle with Josh Marchant
Musical Sits
- Oskar with Sue Schofield
- Badger with Malcolm Peter
- Bear with Jan Brassington
- Tasha with Karen Reeves
- Ruby with Jess McTighe
During the afternoon the scheduled Obedience team demonstration had had to be cancelled at short notice (due to injury) and with no time to look elsewhere an impromptu Bernese grooming demonstration was given by Emily and Jeanette Green, ably assisted by Mavis who sat well behaved on the grooming table all the way through, even when being ignored whilst working on a volunteer. Emily and Jeanette briefly covered the basics of Bernese coat care and gave the audience many tips on managing their Bernese’s coat with some ‘do and don’ts’
We wish Carol Davies a speedy recovery from her horrific sounding injury and hopefully she can take part in the Obedience demonstration at a future date.
Parades
As usual we had a series of parades through the day in the main ring. These are not competitions but are to celebrate different aspects of (mainly) our breed.
Firstly, we had the Rescue Parade for dogs who have come through a Rescue scheme. As well as celebrating the dogs and their new lives we highlight the new owners because however much money was raised and however hard the Rescue managers work there would be no Rescue without the people who offer new homes for dogs in need. As usual the stories of these dogs caused a few tears to be shed and they and their owners received extremely warm receptions and generous applause as they paraded individually around the ring.
Next we have the Puppy Parade giving us chance to see some of tomorrow’s generation of Bernese and this is usually the biggest class of the day, for a change this year (thank you Karen!) we arranged the puppies in date order for the photo. So, oldest from the left …….. (Next year we will use handlers ages instead!!)
Finally we have the Golden Oldies where we take joy in reminding ourselves that we do have some older dogs in the breed and things are not always as bad as some people would paint them.
CLICK HERE FOR THE GALLERY OF ALL PHOTOS FROM THE GARDEN PARTY WEEK_END ((This link is repeated elsewhere through this page. Once the link has opened, click on any photo to enter the gallery proper and scroll through using the arrows OR click on the ‘play’ arrow near the top to watch a slide show of all the photos)
JUDGES REPORT
We are extremely grateful to Main Ring Judge Malcolm Peter for his report, below. Written in his indomitable style he encapsulates the spirit of the Garden Party and his enthusiasm for the breed shines through in every sentence.
Following an invitation from Lianne Marsden, BMDCGB Membership Secretary, I became the Judge for the Novelty classes at the BMDCGB Autumn Garden Party at Priors Marston, on Sunday 3rd September 2017.
I felt very honoured to be asked, and not a little daunted.
In the event I enjoyed myself enormously. I got to pet and have fun with a great many dogs, and hopefully didn’t upset too many proud owners.
Thankfully I didn’t upset my own two wonderful BMDs who watched jealously from the sidelines, with my wife Barbara.
I must state from the outset what a fantastic bunch of dogs entered these novelty classes. Beautiful dogs, superbly groomed, presented well and ready for fun, fun, FUN!
Well; after all these were the novelty classes. Winners and places purely my opinion. The Breed Standard virtually ignored!
After all, the top BMDs vis á vis Breed Standard, in Great Britain will be judged at our National Championships at Stoneleigh Park at the end of September.
During the judging I was supported fantastically by Mark Avery on the microphone, who assisted enormously, and kept up a constant stream of patter which entertained us all!
Mark’s quips, ‘one liners’ and ‘entendres’ are legendary at our garden parties. A diamond!
And of course the redoubtable Steve Green, whose photographic skills are matched only by his ‘sound-engineer’ skills with the p.a. Steve makes tricky tech seem so easy.
He kept us up to schedule and bubbling along nicely, so that we easily beat the forecast late-day drizzle. Another jewel in the BMDCGB crown.
So here are the results of the Novelty Classes:-
Class 1 Most handsome Dog
What an impossible task. The dogs lined up were simply stunning. Even ignoring their Breed Standard parameters – they were all winners in my eyes.
They were all superb! And handsome alright!
So I was to choose 5 dogs because they had that certain swaggering handsome ‘look’.
The ‘look’. You know exactly what I mean. Handsome! So here is the list of winners:-
- Jenson handled by Gayle Perry
- Chester handled by Dave Biggins
- Beamish handled by Deborah O’Toole
- Thompson handled by Kathryn Buckley
- Monte handled by Frank Stephenson
Class 2 Prettiest Bitch
Oh my goodness. Now a lineup of drop dead gorgeous girl dogs.
My task was exactly as difficult as for the ‘boys’ in the previous class. These ladies had to sashay and grin winningly at me. Err, they all looked glamorously fabulous!
But with a heavy heart, I had to choose five – in order.
In my heart, they really all did win. But choose I must, and choose I did.
These girls were all absolute stunners! So here are the results:-
- Cassie handled by Steven Biggins
- Dream handled by Alan Perry
- Fizz handled by Sandra Hallam
- Cleo handled by Glynis Sawye
- Elsa handled by Gina Hotson
Class 4 The dog with the most appealing eyes.
Oh my; oh my.
Dogs eyes. All seeing. All knowing. All twisting owners round their little finger for a walk, a chase, a ball, a MarkieTM.
Eyes that show love, devotion, pleasure, pain, annoyance and occasionally mardiness!
Oh my; oh my.
Just gaze into your dog’s eyes as you do a million times a day, and I know you’ll just melt like I did to the dogs in front of me.
So I gazed into the eyes of all the beautiful dogs on parade and came up with my list.
The winner, Belle, a BMD, had two startlingly dissimilar eyes. One soft brown in colour; the other with a pronounced bright white sclera.
‘Once appealed, never forgotten’
So here is the list
- Belle handled by Josh Marchant, Avah Kelly and Niaimh Anderson
- Sybil handled by Robyn Burnett
- Dylan handled by Maia Sherratt and James Roslyn
- Wallace handled by Reesha Porter
- Dream handled by Gayle Perry
Class 5 The best 6 legs.
Gosh! This was a fascinating one. Owners had done their best to match the colouring of their dog’s legs and paws. Dogs will always win out where I’m concerned, however.
Nevertheless the various sextets of leggery were absolutely amazing.
The two joint winners with BMDs had gone to amazing lengths with Berner leggings etc. Well done to everyone!
I was very impressed indeed. The results
1=. Elsa accompanied by Gina Hotson and (joint 1st) Teddy accompanied by Sheila Cantrell
3. Dylan accompanied by James Roselyn
4. Cassie accompanied by Steven Biggins
5. Jenson accompanied by Alan Perry
Class 6 The dog with the waggiest tail.No problem!
This would be easy – I thought. Just pick the dog-with-the waggiest-tail??
Yeah right. They all had the waggiest, happiest, lovingest tails.
What to do?
Well, I scrutinised them. I beamed jovially at them. I scowled sternly at them – well I tried to. They saw through that one; all of them sniggered and wagged. And wagged. And wagged. I swear some of them winked at men. In the event I think I came up with a list of the waggiest. A minute or two later it would be different, of course.
Here we are anyway:-
- Peggy handled by Glynis Sawyers
- Elsie handled by Sarah McTighe
- Wallace handled by Reesha Porter
- Beamish handled by Deborah O’Toole
- Dylan handled by Maria Sharrett & James Roslyn
Class 7 The dog the judge would most like to take home.
Well I was of course blessed to be taking my two gorgeous babes home anyway, so this choice was for an extra! A kind of compilation of handsome, pretty, waggy eye appeal and that special huggy snuggy look of the dog that grabbed at my heart. Not necessarily a BMD.
The dog just had to reach out to me emotionally. No biting!
Impossible! I loved them all.
Nevertheless……..
- Thompson handled by Hannah Bickley
- Dream handled by Alan Perry
- Nina handled by Ava Kelly
- Dylan handled by Miah Sharrett & James Roslyn
- Rayna handled by Jean Hellingsworth
Class 8 The dog most like its owner.
Only two entries in this one. And they were certainly like their owners! Chicken and egg. Egg and chicken. Owners and dogs dressed alike! Rather clever!
Two dogs plainly very loved, pampered and adoring of their ‘staff’.
Tough to judge, but here it is:-
- Millie accompanied by Andy Worrall
- Tasha accompanied by Karen Reeves
FUN AND GAMES
Biscuit catching
It’s a wonder the dogs entered in this didn’t put on about 5 kilos during the competition!
They were just amazing at catching biscuits. So there were a whole bunch of biscuits to catch, to sort them out! A bag full.
Eagle eyed dogs. Tremendous coordination. Wound up to pounce on the airborne snack.
After a dozen rounds; each round being made harder and harder vis á vis distance of throw, sneaky suddenness of throw etc; here are the results:-
- Ruby handled by Sarah McTighe
- Duke handled by Richard Fraser
- Belle handled by Tania Fraser
(Genuine) Markie and (plastic) Spoon race
Well! After various firm instructions to the humans in training, not to put a thumb on the MarkieTM, not to lick the spoon first to provide adhesion, (hang on, just what was supposed to be on the tongue that was like Uhu?), not to break the spoon and above all not to trip over the dog; THEY WERE OFF!
I’ve got to say that the dogs performed way better than the handlers, but then they knew that come what may, they would get at least one MarkieTM out of this fandango; more than one if they sneaked someone else’s dropped biscuit.
After various heats, stumbles and general mayhem, to enthusiastic applause and great laughter, here are the results:-
- Jenson who had Alan Perry firmly trained up!
- Nina who had Avah Kelly very well trained!
- Belle who’d trained Josh Marchant very nicely!
The Fastest Sitter in the West.
(Well; at Priors Marston; this weekend’s hub of the Bernese universe)
I was relieved of judging duties for this one, since my fabulous BMD Badger had entered me for this one. You know – when the music stops, the dog sits. Last one to sit exits the ring. And so on, until 5 remain. Then it continues until there are just 2. Then a winner.
And so you get 5 places………..
Bless my soul, we were all so good. Blooming good!
Badger looked at me. I looked at him. Had he got the hump because I’d been gazing at other BMDs during my judging? Nah! My Badger never has the hump with me. Because we are best of best mates. He is me and I am him. We are one. Period.
Out blares the music. Not the delightful Swiss flugelhornery we’d had thus far, but rather more Essex based techno. Steve Green on the Knobs and Sliders, making like ‘Sam Feldt’.
Yay! Way to go!
Obviously, this comp. took a bit of time. Many musical ‘rounds’. We rocked; We rolled; We sat.
Inevitably disappointed ‘ring leavers’ – dogs having performed brilliantly until that last single ‘slow’ sit.
Err let’s be honest – about 100 milliseconds behind the next dog. Too close to call on some rounds. We were all so good.
The dogs were all brilliant.
(And Badger and I came second!)
Here are the results:-
- Oskar, whose disco partner was Sue Scofield
- Badger, whose disco partner was Malcolm Peter
- Bear, whose disco partner was Jan Brassington
- Tasha, whose disco partner was Karen Reeves
- Ruby, whose disco partner was Jess McTighe
Class 10 Junior handling for ages 6 to 8
Let’s remember that these approx 50 kilogram BMDs are being handled by children who’ve got much less avoirdupois. So these Junior Handling classes show dedication and love on behalf of the children, who plainly walk their dogs competently on a regular basis. If the dog decided to go west, whilst said child was walking east, it would all fall apart. Or fall over. So Junior Handling requires skill rather than strength control.
We had only one entry for this particular age group; Bob, handled by young Rupert Buchan. Rupert walked Bob around the triangle I prescribed, very competently. Lovely dog, and a super young handler.
Nicely done Rupert.
Class 11 Junior handling for ages 9 to 11
Two entries in this one. Both displaying beautiful handling round my triangle. So difficult to choose 1st and second, but in the event, Kathryn handling Thompson, won by the shortest of whiskers.
- Thompson handled by Kathryn Bickley
- Oskar handled by Luke Scofield
Class 12 Junior handling for ages 12 to 16
Again, just two entries, but both of a very good standard. I’m a million years older than these children, and I’m still learning, so hats off to them all.
In this class:-
- Elsa handled by Sadie Soamé
- Thompson handled by Anna Bickley
Class 15 The best Brace (or Trio) of dogs!
An impressive line-up for this one! I’d seen some stunning dogs today, and this was different. The combination had to impress. And impress they did.
Wow!
I could dilate at length on the excellences of these pairs, but my babes and I need to go walking soon; suffice it to say that they were good; very good.
Here are the results:-
- Keira & Beau handled by Georgia Stephenson
- Lucy & Gina handled by Geoff Stellman
- Thompson & Amber handled by Kathryn & Anna Bickley
- Chester & Cassie handled by Dave `Biggins
- Benson & Misty handled by Nigel Cowley
Class 16 Best Party Trick
Oh my goodness. These were very clever dogs indeed! I mean amazing, fabulously clever dogs. They were so good – they were smug! They knew they were smart. Really smart.
They beamed and performed so nonchalantly; they knew they were playing to the crowd. And the crowd loved ‘em!
It was so difficult to choose between them. They were such clever dogs, and their owners plainly besotted with their fabulous charges………….
So here are the results:-
1) Annie handled by Lesley Cross. Annie weaved in and out of Lesley’s ‘dancing’ legs. I know it’s been done before, but this was beautifully fluent, coordinated and magical. One of the best examples I’ve ever seen. Well done!
2) Alfie handled by Ian Soame. Alfie lay down, paws ahead, smiling whilst food of a very tasty delicious kind was balanced on his paws. He inspected it with his eyes only, didn’t even touch or sniff it; gave his owner the eye, who after a while gave permission to Alfie to eat the treat’ which Alfie obligingly did. As Berners do! I’ve never known any dog to do that before! Right on!
3) Gracie handled by Pam Fagg. Gracie performed exquisite rollovers on command. Not just one, but several closely coordinated neat rolls. First to one side; then the other. ‘You’ve got to roll with it.’ Captivating!
4) Thompson handled by Kathryn Bickley. Thompson performed a bunch of little tricks. Shake-a- paws; rolls; and an impressive ‘high five’. Nice one Thompson dude!
5) Amber handled by Sarah Peacooke. Amber ‘spoke’. OK she couldn’t do Hamlet, but when asked by Sarah as in ‘Amber speak’, she woofed once. Simply brilliant! And she repeated this for Sarah a number of times to prove the deal! Amazing!
Well that was the end of the novelty classes today.
I had an absolute ball judging them. I know that many dogs and owners were disappointed, and so you should be! Your dogs were absolutely wonderful, and really you all won. And you know you did!
It was so difficult to score one dog over another when you love dogs as much as I do; but that was my task.
So, please forgive me for not choosing you and your dog this time round. I’m truly sorry. But then again: Every single one of us took the best dog home.
Malcolm Peter. September 2017.
CLICK HERE FOR THE GALLERY OF ALL PHOTOS FROM THE GARDEN PARTY WEEK_END (This link is repeated elsewhere through this page. Once the link has opened, click on any photo to enter the gallery proper and scroll through using the arrows OR click on the ‘play’ arrow near the top to watch a slide show of all the photos)