shows like this as they are often work- ing breeds and hardly shown like the Cao de Castro Laboreiro and the Stei- erischer Rauhaarbracke. And even then there are hardly one of two of them. But there are also the non, or not yet, FCI recognized breeds like the Silken Wind- hound, a cross breed between Whippet and Barzoi and the Continental Bulldog, a Bulldog on normal (long) legs. And breeds not in competition like the Silk- en Windspritz before know as the long- haired Whippet, the Belonka Zwetna, a Russian Bichon-kind of dog that can have many colors, the Prazky Krysarik, a black and tan Toy Terrier-like rat dog from Czechia and the Gos Rater, anoth- er rat dog from Spain, looking more like a Brazilian Terrier, especially in color. In the main hall on a platform the visitors could watch a presentation of the Ger- man Breeds and the German Shepherd was certainly present in large numbers. Hall One was reserved for the 185 trade stands, the 62 Kennel Clubs and Breed clubs and the Main ring. There were lots of trade stands but they were worried the first days, afraid that exhibitors would not leave their dogs and belongings behind and walk a long distance to go shopping in Hall One. The first two days their turnover was relatively low, but thanks to the high number of visitors during the weekend, most trade stand holders were happy. The Kennel Club village welcomed a newcomer, the Sudanese Kennel Club and main street was one of the busiest corners of the showground. The main ring was large with stairs on three sides while one long side was reserved for the podium and a large screen. The opposite side was open in the middle, leaving a view to the background and an entrance for the VIPs. The press area was on the right side while the VIPs had the middle and the left side. The press people were not happy as only a few of them were allowed to take a seat while the rest had to sit on the right stairs with no way to enter the ring for taking photos. But under pressure the committee agreed to let them in at the end, from then on there were no prob- lems. Thanks to the strict uniformity of judging with an emphasis to the right side of the ring, the press was able to take good moving shots. The main ring was unevenly lit due to the spot that was unable to follow nicely every dog that entered the ring. It also distracted
several dogs when they entered the ring and suddenly found a spotlight over them. Some even jumped aside for it. A similar problem was the case for the podium where the light should always be bright and very even. Another prob- lem were the marks on the floor, small dots in striking different colors to indi- cate where certain things or persons should be placed in order to get uni- formity. Several dogs thought it were treats to eat and were distracted while entering the main ring. While taking photos in the main ring I found a bright red medical capsule on the floor with- out a brand mark on it. Luckily no dog picked it up. What it was I don’t know, but there was a rumor that a dog had been poisoned but that proved false. It was a dehydrated dog that could be saved quickly. The timing of the judg- ing was good and I had the impression that the judges briefing had a penetrat- ing impact, only one judge forgot how he was supposed to act, but he was kindly asked to start over correctly. All dogs that entered the ring for the finals received a new number, no longer their ring number and that was a real pity. Maybe it helped for the organization but there was no way to find out what dog was entering the ring each time, one was forced to rely on the speak- ers comments. Alike in Luxembourg, the numbers could have been scanned and displayed on the big screen, so at least the spectators could see what dog it was with all the details from the cata- log. What a missed opportunity as there were so many interesting rare breeds to see. The show in general was perfectly organized, “Deutsche Gründlichkeit”, but lacked an impression of a special show, the highlight, the canine top event of the year. Also, the cake was missing icing! There was hardly enter- tainment in the main ring, at least not during the finals or the flag ceremony, nor the opening with the exception of a nice short performance of a young pop- singer and four dancers. The speeches were short, the flag ceremony very sober. However, during the day there were a few treats for the public. One of them was the Frisbee demonstration which is always spectacular, another was a demonstration of the police dogs in action, but most impressive was the sheep dog demonstration. Four Border Collies were guiding four big beautiful
Walliser goats while a young girl was coming up with a white horse, probably a Lipizzaner. At a certain moment she made the horse lay down while the dogs were forcing the goats to climb over the back of the horse. Then the horse was standing again and the goats were driven under the belly of the horse. And finally the goats were driven on top of the roof of a Landrover, while one of the dogs was watching them laying on the motor cap. That was a lovely show, but there was nothing like that during the finals. That is probably the reason why the BIS judging could start in time and end at a reasonable hour. BIS Juniors were judged by Rafael de Santiago, FCI president. His BIS winner was the Bel- gian Papillon “Planet Waves Forever Young Daydream Believers”, owner Roosens Kathleen, Belgium. What a win it was as this little dog was entered for a show for the third time only. Mr. Horst Kliebenstein was honored with judging Best In Show. At his 16th he got his first dog and he started judg- ing in 1964 and can look back on a long career. Like we often see, and this show was no exception, national breeds are often awarded with the ultimate title. He had to place four. I still wonder if this is an FCI invention as in no other competition, as far as I know, there are four places, always three! The BIS went to the fawn Great Dane, a breed claimed by Germany under the name “Deutsche Dogge”, “Queenie Eye Del Castel Levante”, owned by Vidano Patrizia Maria from Italy. I was personally more impressed with the beautiful Miniature Dachshund, also a German breed, but it’s the judge's choice. The other three dogs on the podium were all three Brit- ish dogs and that is amazing! On the second place we had the Fox Terrier, Wire-haired “Hampton Court's Monte Cristo”, owner Malzoni Victor, the third was the Beagle “Dialynne Peter Piper” owner Spavin Melanie and the fourth was the American Cocker Span- iel “Afterglow Miami Ink” owner Lynn Jason and Da Silva Rui Jorge. In fact this is a Great-Britain/Belgium dog. So this show puts another mark in history as the biggest dog show ever! It was not the most glamorous show ever but technically probably the best. It would only have been nice to have some feedback afterwards with extra interesting facts and figures, other than only the results.
158 • S how S ight M agazine , J anuary 2018
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