Spring Garden Party 2025
Main Event Day – Sunday 4th May 2025
Since we moved our events to Hollowell Steam Rally field in Northamptonshire, we have had what can only be described as “WEATHER”! Whatever the weather gods have had in their grasp, they have literally thrown at us – in buckets!! Hurricane force winds, blistering hot sun, driving rain, cold biting gusts – you name it we have had it & this year’s Spring Garden Party was a mixture of most of the above – except for the rain!
The set-up week was absolutely gorgeous – warm, sunny, no wind – perfect for putting up the marquees & preparing the grounds for the main event. The Thursday before we were baking in 28c sunshine, dogs in cool coats, and the paddling pool in constant use. We even commented that there was no movement whatsoever from the flags in the marquees! On the Friday though, the tables started to turn as the wind started to pick up so we strapped the marquees down – just to be sure!
Friday night for our Evening Dinner it was cooler but pleasant while we enjoyed a delicious freshly cooked PROPER Dinner of Mushroom Bourgignon, Pork & Apple with Cider Sauce or Chicken in an onion & red pepper sauce – scrumptious till the last drop. After dinner the dishes were done, (as it was a PROPER Dinner we decided to use PROPER plates & bowls – not your usual camping attire! Thanks to the team of ladies & gents who washed up the mountain of dishes – many hands certainly do make light work & lots of tea towels to be washed!). We then had a right laugh a rather challenging picture quiz with lots of eyes looking at us as well as some gentle Karaoke.
The Saturday daytime was a lot cooler – bordering on the chilly which was fine for the dogs and us as we had named the day a Saturday chill day. The Schipperke club held there funday which was well attended, while Bernese folk were treated to an excellent grooming demonstration by member Jess Love, with Bramble, Ivy & Pixie being very patient models. We had sent mailchimps out to the membership, inviting people who were new to the breed to come along and have a chat with us as we would have more time to talk & answer their questions on the Saturday than on the busier Sunday & we were delighted with the take up – we talked to people in several small groups about the breed, the pitfalls, what to look for etc. Members who couldn’t attend on the Sunday also came along to say hello, to support the club as well as to spend pennies in the BernerShop. By early afternoon there was a large group of people asking questions so Debbie Buck gave an in-depth breed talk as well as a Q & A session with people being reminded that no question is a silly question if you don’t know the answer- people said they had enjoyed the talk and left with a more confident view of the breed and what to look for when searching for a new member for their family.
The Carting team were very busy over the Friday, Saturday & Sunday, with people & their dogs wanting to do their carting course run & also start their dogs First Draft. Over the course of the whole weekend, I believe a massive 15 dogs started their First Draft journey (2 (Betty & Bubbles) coming all the way from Durham with their owners for the day!). An impressive 4 dogs completing First Draft over the course of the weekend & 1 of these dogs with their handler took part in the Fancy Dress class on the Sunday – Mr Texas Ranger you know who you are & Peggy Sue looked suitably proud pulling her training log or was the log a weapon?? – cryptic clue – read on!!
On the Saturday evening, we welcomed back Monty The Pie Man & the food was again delicious, this was followed by the second part to the quiz & more “singing” on the Karaoke – we wanted an early night but the several demands for encores continued the party till well past our bed times!!!
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SUNDAY – THE BIG DAY DAWNS
It was a cold, cold start with a cold, cold wind whipping up the Hollowell Hill but we were off to have the best of times regardless. Our judges turned up wrapped for the elements and were kept busy all day – Our very own Belle Owen judged the Obedience, returning judge Alison Smith & her husband took charge of the Agility, Chris Handley, Di Crawshaw & Elaine Spalding were officiating in the Working Carting course & First Draft, Caroline Lindsay judged the Decorated Carts & Barbara Peter judged the novelties.
The Party opened with a display of 13 Decorated Carts in a perfectly timed procession and as the date was May the 4th we chose the theme from Star Wars for the carters to parade to – the FORCE was certainly with us!
Then the work began – each class was well attended and the judges had their work cut out but Barbara had the best job of all – cuddling the many puppies in the Puppy Parade – oh my goodness – so many gorgeous puppies!
Rosie, Dilly, Poppy, Iris, Rosie, Annie, Lexi, Rosa, Murphy, Sasha, Lettie, Tresor, Carlie & Klara, amongst others were all applauded in the Veteran &/or Rescue Parades where we cried many happy tears hearing the lovely stories of each dog, their journey, their life & how much their owners clearly loved them.
Over the course of the lunch break we were treated to a Carting Display where the team explained how to get you & your dog involved with what they were bred for – Carting. From the new beginner starting to do their First Draft right the way through to Carting Veterans – every stage clearly demonstrated with happy dogs & wagging tails.
The games and mayhem also took place during the lunch period where the winner of the Markie & Spoon race was Lily Colquitt with Clara. The highly competitive Musical Sits saw a new Champion Crowned – not a Bernese but a Schipperke by the name of Benjamin, clearly adored by his owner & fellow camper Hilary Lamb. Then it was the one every dog loves to practice for – The Biscuit Catching competition – after many rounds and tummies full of biscuits we crowned our Spring Garden Party 2025 Champion Biscuit Catcher Teddy – owned by a very delighted Lee Wighter & an even more delighted Teddy!!
Late afternoon saw what has now become synopsis with the Garden Parties – The Decorated Carts Fancy Dress class – the theme this time was the game “Cleudo”. Each dog, cart & handler were dressed as a character, a place or a suspect murder weapon from the game & the audience had to vote for who did it, where and what with – hilarious with such great audience participation. Professor Plum – Annie New & Moshi were voted to have done the deed, Di Crawshaw & Carrick were the Billiard Room where the deed took place & Colonel Mustard – aka Andy Burge & Gus had the weapon – the lead pipe – well a silver foam pipe!!
Our final parade of the day is our We R Family parade with loads of related dogs in the ring making friends with relatives – such a nice way to see how litter siblings are growing up.
After the novelties & parades were over, we eagerly awaited the results of the Working classes. A very kind, anonymous donor offered prizes to each winner of the working classes & each first place was handed an exclusive Spring Garden Party 2025 mug, that was especially designed for the event & is NOT available anywhere else – The Autumn Garden Party will have similar prizes although a different exclusive design, again not available to buy – thank you – you know who you are!
Over the course of the day the raffle table groaned with many prizes including a large Bernese Robert Duncan print & lots of food goodies & toys for the dogs. Our BernerShop was busy throughout the day & I think they must have sold out of wooly hats & jackets as it was so cold. The new range of mugs, cushions, keyrings etc seemed really popular & I’m sure the restock will be available to buy on the BernerShop website soon. There were several extremely well attended Breed Talks throughout the day for people new to the breed, Sharon & Stephanie Watson happily shared their years of Bernese & indeed dogdom knowledge – Thank you ladies & also to models Nala & Olaf who thoroughly enjoyed all the attention.
Our catering team were kept busy over Saturday & Sunday with delicious homemade burgers, freshly made fillings for sandwiches & jacket potatoes as well as hot & cold drinks & cake – a HUGE & I MEAN A HUGE SHOUT OUT & THANK YOU TO SIMON & BEVERLEY for keeping us all so well fed all weekend.
Then it was Sunday evening Chippie tea – our usual chippie was closed so we tried a different one who seemed to take ages to cook and pack our vast order. Back to Hollowell and the wind was picking up something dreadful, the marquess were secured down even more and it was so cold! Simon put the ovens on to reheat the tea & Owen, Nicola & David moved cars & vans in front of the Marquee to act as windbreaks which really did help. Several people took their tea back to their warmer caravans but the die-hards amongst us stayed in the marquee chatting well into the night – sadly we never got to finish the quiz and no Karaoke so it was a bit of a damp squib to the end of the weekend but hey ho – that’s camping & that’s Hollowell!
Monday morning dawned and the wind was again picking up somewhat so the breakdown team had an early call & got the marquees down safely & packed away by 10. As the wind was forecast to be really quite bad for the rest of the day & evening, several people went home early but the rest of us still had an evening get together & empty the fridges night in the shop “Beer Tent”. Cold but happy that we had had another successful Garden Party weekend.
On the whole though I think everyone who attended had a great weekend with a fun & relaxed atmosphere prevailing all week & first timers said they would definitely come back, even people who had never dreamt they would ever camp are already planning the next trip (see you soon Lisa & Lauren!) – lots of new friends made & memories of great laughs with great people.
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We can’t finish our review of the weekend without a list of thank you’s – an event like this simply cannot take place without the numerous hands that help with everything from serving food, washing dirty dishes, unpacking & packing the trailers, grass cutting, toilet cleaning, bin emptying, pyrotechnics, rope tying guru’s, breakdown & demolition crews & the million other jobs that have to be done before, during & after any event- so THANK YOU ALL – we’re sorry if we forget anyone – give us a kick so we can update the list but we are forever in your debt – thank you’s to
Owen Copeland
David Robertson
Simon & Beverley Gould
Nicola Whyte
Malcolm & Barbara Peter
Margaret Bailey & Tim Williams
Family Dedman & The Little King’s!
Carol Dunnill
Andy Smith
Lisa Joslin
Jayne & Stuart Adam
Sharon & Stephanie Watson
Richard & Sandra Hallam
Robert & Caroline Lindsay
Mike & Kath Moore
Jess Love & Dad
David Walton
Kev Hatton
Keith Brown
Cliff Mills
Michelle Barsby
All our judges – Alison, Barbara, Belle, Caroline, Chris, Di, & Elaine
And anyone we have forgotten – THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU xx
Michelle Copeland, Lianne Marsden & Debbie Buck
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More Photos
A series of pictures of the whole event, and many others, can be viewed on our Smugmug viewing platform
If using this facility you can view an automatic slideshow of all the pictures by clicking on the ‘play arrow’ the exact location of which will vary depending on your viewing platform. Either from within the slideshow or not you can use the forward and back arrows to progress the photos at your own pace.
NOVELTY CLASSES: Judged by Barbara Peter
Most Handsome Dog
1st HuggyBear – Jane Mitchell
2nd Yolo – Debbie Johnson
3rd Tresor – David Foster
4th Bollo – Kieran Webb
5th Monty – Karly Fairclough
Prettiest bitch
1st Carlie – Karen Wheeler
2nd Nora – Victor Nicholls
3rd Dilly – Louise Oakaby
4th Izzy – James Mobley
5th Summer – Lee Wheeler
Dog with the most appealing eyes
1st Cora – Andrw Swindlehurst
2nd River – Caroline Frye
3rd Delilah – Michelle Jones
4th Yolo – Debbie Johnson
5th Bramble – Jess Love
Best Smile
1st Monty – Robert Dollery
2nd Sasha – Cia Magnusson
3rd Lara – Lisa Joslin
4th BudSpencer – Megan Smith
5th Ralf – Cia Magnusson
Waggiest Tail
1st Ivy – Samia Dixon
2nd Teddy – Robyn Frye
3rd Carlie – Karen Wheeler
4th Eva – Lindsay Brittenden
5th Izzy – Jen Goff
Cutest Dog
1st Rumble – Rhys Christie
2nd Albert – Allan Trotman
3rd Ernie – Alison Smith
4th Rosa – Linda Dadd
5th Ivy – Josh Grimmett
Dog most like it’s owner
1st Tresor – David Foster
2nd Clara – Lily Colquitt
3rd Bear – Tabby Hall
4th Izzy – Jen Goff
5th Ola – Josh Grimmett
Junior Handling 6-10 years
1st Rosie Fairclough with Monty
2nd Harry King with Barney
3rd Victor Nicholl with Anya
4th Holly Goff with Izzy
Junior Handling 11-16 years
1st Jack Mobley with Bear
2nd Poppy Billings with Nessa
3rd Josh Grimmett with Bramble
4th Jess Mobley with Izzy
5th Samia Dixon with Orla
Best Bad Hair Day (dog or human!)
1st Womble & Sasha – Cia Magnusson
2nd Orla – Jenna Dixon
3rd Lettie – Larrain Hatton
4th Ralf – Cia Magnusson
5th Bramble – Julie Sneddon
Best Condition
1st Yolo – Debbie Johnson
2nd Bodhi – Michelle Barsby
3rd River – Nickii Black
4th Kipper – Sarah Noall
5th Izzy – Pip Mobley
Best Brace or Trio (of dogs!)
1st Orla, Ivy & Bramble – handled by Samia, Jess & Josh
2nd Anya, Nora & Yogi – handled by Sarah McTighe
3rd Sasha, Ralf & Womble – handled by Cia Magnusson
4th Kippy & Boycie – handled by Sarah Noall
Best Trick
1st Annie & Lesley Messih
2nd Orla – Samia Dixon
3rd Bear – Sam Hall
4th Ozzie – Doug Smith
5th Zorro – Janice Philpott
Best Hello – Paw shake or cuddle
1st Annie – Lesley Messih
2nd Clara – Lily Colquitt
3rd Amigo – Jo Park
4th Izzy – Pip Mobley
5th Zeta – Janice Philpott
DECORATED CARTS: Judged by Caroline Lindsay
Thirteen carts decorated in a Swiss theme opened the BMDGB club’s Spring Garden Party to the Star Wars theme. All the handlers and dogs were beautifully groomed despite the freezing wind and the Swiss outfits and carts were truly impressive. It would have been a very difficult task for me to choose the winners, but I was ably assisted by my 5-year-old granddaughter who had very definite views.
1st – Carol Dunnill and Jana who had a lot of toy Bernese puppies in the cart that were particularly appealing as well as the colourful sunflowers.
2nd – Annie New and Moshe who as well as a colourful display of flowers and flags also had a massive bar of a well-known triangular bar of Swiss chocolate in the cart. Did she know the judges were chocoholics?
3rd – Rebecca King and Paddy. I think it was the fact that Becca’s two young children joining in swayed my assistant as she obviously felt that it was lovely to see the younger generation taking part. Plus, she liked their smart outfits and maybe Grandma could make her one?
4th – Chris Handley and Riley had a lovely display with flowers, a milk churn along with both Swiss and Bern flags.
5th – Di Crawshaw and Carrick with a lovely display of red and white flowers going over an arch. My assistant also liked the horn on the back of the cart.
Others taking part were:-
Richard with Arthur
Elaine with Rosie and Ciara
Andy with Rodney
Bev with Morgan
Simon with Henry
Tim with Tigi Mai
Ty with Monty
Dave with Tresor
A huge thank you to all the carters for taking so much time and effort to decorate their carts. Thank you also to the committee for asking me to judge, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and my assistant was chuffed to bits to be given her very own Judges badge.
OBEDIENCE – Judged by Belle Owen
A great entry. Thank you all for Having a Go!
Class 1 – Have a go – BMD only
1st Clara & Sue Brown. A very nice round, with a clear recall. Just some instances of a tight lead.
2nd Nessa & Russel. Quite a sniffy round with a crooked sit. Nessa needs to pay more attention to Russel.
3rd Riker & Nikki. A good round similar to No. 2 Sniffing ! Riker needed to focus more on Nikki. Loss of attention caused a tight lead. Another crooked sit.
The main thing for all handlers to work on, is getting a straight sit.
4th Bear & Tabby Hall
5th Jodie & Keith Brown
6th Clara & Lily Colquitt
Class 2 – Triers – BMD only
1st Jodie & Keith Brown. A great up and coming pair. A little lack of attention during heel free and that crooked sit was there again. Also sitting back in the present and finish.
For second and third a run off. Two excellent partnerships.
2nd Clara & Sue Brown
3rd Arthur & Richard Hallam
Both rounds were very similar, falling foul to the crooked sit but in the run off, a recall, Richard and Arthur had a poor finish.
4th Clara & Lilly Colquitt
5th Riker & Nikki
Class 3 – Future Stars – BMD only
1st Annie & Lesley Messih. Annie a lovely Veteran, showed how it was done. An excellent round, with just that crooked sit, creeping in.
2nd Elsa & Yvonne. An excellent round, just needing to tighten up the turns.
A run off for third and fourth place
3rd Arthur & Richard Hallam. A very closely contested place but after an A recall run off, Richard and Arthur took 3rd place with Sue and Clara in 4th.
4th Clara & Sue Brown
5th Jodie & Keith Brown
6th Star & Yvonne
Class 4 – Open – All other breeds
3 lovely Collies but in 4th place Zoro a Schipperke, who brought along Janice his chauffeur. A great round, well done.
1st Delta & Sue Brown. A great round, just a little hiccup with the left turns.
2nd Jive & Sue Brown. A little distracted in the heel free.
3rd Farra & Sue Brown. There was a loss of attention in slow pace and those crooked sits crept in, in the A recall and retrieve.
4th Zola & Janice Philpott
Very well done everyone. I hope you enjoyed your day.
Keep training. It is a marvellous opportunity for one to one time with your dog.
My thanks to the committee and most of all, to all you wonderful competitors.
Belle Owen.
AGILITY – Judged by Alison Smith
Beginners – BMD Only
1st Cora – Andre Swinglehurst
2nd Arthur – Richard Hallam
3rd Nora – Sarah McTighe
4th Cora – Ayelet Bronstein
5th Onyx – Chris Heap
All Breeds – Not BMD
1st Nix – Emma Finch
2nd Benjamin – Hilary Lamb
3rd Zeta – Janice Philpot
4th Ozzie – Doug Smith
5th Wesley – Michelle Junes
Novice – BMD only
1st Anya – Sarah McTighe
WORKING CARTING COURSE – Judged by Chris Handley & Di Crawshaw
Beginners:
1st Moshi – Annie New
2nd Tresno – David Foster
3rd Tiggy Mae – Tim Williams
4th Gwen – Rebecca King
5th Freya?
Intermediate:
1st Paddy – Rebecca King
2nd Cira – Elaine Spalding
Advanced:
1st Arthur – Richard Hallam
2nd Ryley – Chris Handle
Advanced Carting Medals:
1st Rodney – Chris Handley
2nd Carrick – Di Crawshaw
Carting Veterans:
Lexi – Andy Smith
Rosie – Elaine Spalding
FIRST DRAFT:
Cooper – Caroline Lindsay
Tresno – Dave Foster
Monty – Ty Fairclough
PeggySue – Malcolm Peter