Wichita Premium List Revision

This falls into the WTF?!?!?! category.

We received an email from Onofrio today, as did a gazillion other people, that contained revisions to the Sunflower Cluster (Wichita/Valley Center) premium list.  
Honestly, I rarely look at these things but for some reason I read it tonight, and guess what I found?  
1.  The complete addition of The AKC National Owner-Handler Series for Friday, Saturday, & Monday.   I am sure it will be a pleasure to watch the 'ineligible' professional handlers compete and win in this as always.  I am tired of being the snitch to AKC on  these matters, so I hope someone else takes the lead on this.  
BUT...
THE BIG and WTF THING IS...
RESERVED GROOMING...
The original published premium list that came out around February 9th or 10th had the following requirement: 

"RESERVATIONS OPEN FEBRUARY 20, 2013 ANY RESERVATIONS RECEIVED BEFORE THIS DATE WILL BE RETURNED."

The revised premium list that was sent out today had the following changes to reserved grooming:

"RESERVATIONS OPEN FEBRUARY 10, 2013 ANY RESERVATIONS RECEIVED BEFORE THIS DATE WILL BE RETURNED."

So they back-dated the acceptance date by 10 days.  My question is who did the receive reservations from that they did not want to send back?  And who would have known anyway?

PLUS...
THE PRICES HAVE CHANGED !!!!!
1.  A 10 x 15 has gone up $5.00 to $40
2.  A 10 x 20 has gone down $5.00 to $55
3.  A 10 x 30 has gone down $5.00 to $90
4.  A 15 x 20 has gone down $10.00 to $90
5.  A 15 X 30 has gone up $10.00 to $125

I don't see how they can do this.  It's absolutely crazy.  On February 9, they tell us to wait until February 20 before a reservation will be accepted.  On February 26, they tell us we can send them in earlier? AND they can charge different rates.  What are they going to do when they receive all of these different rates.  You know I'm not the only one that doesn't usually read these updates.  Are they going to have the Cluster Treasurer refund checks to everyone who has now overpaid?  Are they not going to assign grooming to people who have already sent in their reservations, but whose check is now not enough to cover their request?

These changes had to go through someone in the Sunflower Cluster, someone at Onofrio, and probably someone at AKC. Am I the only one that read this?  This is much more than a typo.  Where has happened to quality control, or at very least, a proof-reader?  

I am sending an email to the Cluster Coordinator, as well as Onofrio, and AKC.  

Let it SNOW !!!!

Another 9 + inches in Raymore today.  So we have had about 2 feet of snow within a week.  What fun!

No Grilling today

Tim Helping out a Neighbor

BRT Puppy Varias 

Our House

On the Back Deck - out of the full wrath of the storm

Studley Dudley

Anne Hathaway's Academy Award's Dress

Anne Hathaway in Prada 

The woman is gorgeous, has more money than God, and any designer in the world would make a dress for her, yet she wore this hideous Prada 'gown.'

It looks like somebody took a pink satin apron and some extra fabric and tried to throw a gown together.  If I had made that dress in Junior High Home Ec, I would have flunked.  I am not only referring to the style, which I personally do not like, but the fabric choice and construction.  You can see the seam allowance, the needle holes from the machine stitching, and the darts in the bodice pretty much leave me speechless. 

Des Moines Show Site - The 'BIG' Building

The January Des Moines show was held in the 'regular' smaller looking building, where it usually is. It always feels a little cramped but I think that it is the lower ceilings.  There excitement in the air when 'everyone' was talking about the upcoming February Des Moines show that was to be held in the 'Big' building, right next door, at the fairgrounds.  It was very expensive, $70 for a 2 day show for reserved grooming with electric, so we hoped that it would be worth it.

IT WASN'T...

Des Moines Show Site - February - Yep, it sucked.  No cross-aisles in grooming area.  If you were assigned a spot in the middle of the row, you had to take your dogs at least 50 or 60 feet to the end then down that side aisle, then back another 30 feet or so to the entrance to the side of the building where the rings were located.  Free grooming around sides, exit doors blocked for the most part.  Where were the Fire Marshalls when you needed them?  Heck, where were the club members.  If there had been an emergency requiring an evacuation of the building, people and dogs would have been trampled at the doors.  We were supposed to have some sort of tag for our electric cord to prove that we paid for it.  We must have tried 5 or 6 times, and were never able to get one.  They made a boat load of money on reserved grooming, and yes, the building was more expensive than the other building, but NO MATS!  Polished concrete, people falling in the ring and out, what a dangerous mess.  Finally, by midday Saturday, they put down carpeted runners on the slick ramps exiting the grooming room to outside.  They never did anything for the ramps going down from the grooming room to the rings.  It seemed like they were just waiting for someone else to get hurt before doing anything.

From our arrival on Friday afternoon, the consensus among handlers seemed to be that they would much rather have been in the other building.  This 'BIG" building had very high ceilings, lots of natural light coming in up high, but it definitely seemed to have less grooming space.  If it had more, it definitely was not laid out, or as easy to maneuver, as the 'small' building.  The rings were a bit larger, but they either need to limit the entries if the show is held in that building again, or go back to the small building. 

NOTE TO OTHER DES MOINES CLUBS THINKING ABOUT MOVING TO THE BIG BUILDING AT THE FAIRGROUNDS>>>>PLEASE DON’T.

BeBe X Benson Puppies

The BeBe X Benson puppies took the rings by storm last weekend.  Holly, picking up a 3 point major, and Rocky, Reserve to a 4 point major!  Both owner-handled!  

Congratulations to these wonderful families, we are so proud of you all!

If anyone else is interested in getting in on this great litter, let us know, we still have a couple of pups available to great homes.

Cyclone Country Kennel Club, February 16, 2013

Congratulations to Jeanne Woods with both of her Havanese today:

Puppy 6 -9 months:  Rocky - That's The Eye of The Tiger - 1st/ Reserve Winners Dog to a 4 pt major!  A fabulous job for his first time in the ring. 

Rocky
That's The Eye of The Tiger

MBIS BISS CAN GCH Havntyme El Vengador X AM CAN CH That's Hot To Trot In Bedlem
Benson X BeBe

Open Bitch:  Serena - That's a Bewitched Cousin - 1st in the Open Class. 

Serena
That's A Bewitched Cousin
CH That's Havanney Truckin' Along X CH That's Just Desserts

Judge Vicki Abbott

Plum Creek Kennel Club of Colorado, Friday February 15, 2013

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO KATHY & JIM MIDYETT...

They have Holly, a BeBe X Benson puppy girl, that just turned six months old.  Her first time in the ring was at the Plum Creek shows in Denver on February 15.  Owner Handled to Winners Bitch, Best of Winners, and Best of Opposite for a 3 point major!!!

They have done such a fabulous job with their first Havanese from us, Luke, CH That's Luke of Summerhawk, we are expecting great things!!!

Photos of Holly from the beginning for February can be seen here:
http://s1120.beta.photobucket.com/user/weshowdogs/library/BeBe%20Benson%20Puppy%20Girl%20Holly

Holly
That's The Original Parti Girl Eh
MBIS BISS CAN GCH Havntyme El Vengador X AM CAN CH That's Hot To Trot In Bedlem
Benson X BeBe

HEYYYYYY ABBOTTTTTTT!!!!!!!

Cyclone Country Kennel Club, Saturday, February 16, 2013

It was a slow day at the dog show, Dave was recovering from knee surgery, so I did my best.  Sorry that it wasn't good enough for the judges this weekend.  Too bad their choices weren't always the most correct when compared to the standard. 

Because we only had two dogs to show, that does not mean that we didn't interact with many of the handlers on their way home from Westminster.  I will have comments about that later.  

For now my thoughts on Saturday:

HEYYYYYY ABBOTTTTTTT!!!!!!!  

(hopefully, some of you are old enough to remember that obnoxious call)

Well, I think I would rather have sat through a 24 hour marathon of “Abbott and Costello” than what we witnessed at the Des Moines Show on Saturday.  As usual with a large entry of dogs (any breed) there will be at least a couple of good ones to choose from.  Could Vicki Abbott find them in any breed that day?  Not from what we saw and heard.  Could she be nice to the exhibitors?  Again, not from what we saw and heard.   Ms. Abbot, did you really have to make someone cry?  You thought that her dog was good enough to place 1^st in a the open class, the largest class of entries.  All she wanted to know was why you didn’t like him well enough to even give him reserve.  You told her to never bring a dog in that horrible condition into your ring again.  If he was that horrible, why did you give him the open class?  Could you not have just advised the owner to work more on growing and conditioning the coat?  In my opinion, that dog had more hair on his head than some of these specials whose handlers have razored in their head coat so the handler doesn't have to deal with hair falling in the dog’s eyes and face.  The difference:  this amateur-owner-handler showed her dog natural, not curled back and sprayed in place so the hair doesn’t move.  This was just one breed that you judged on Saturday.  Ms. Abbott, if your intent was to be the talk of the show, you succeeded.  It has been a long time since that many handlers, and owner-handlers, complained about a judge with no obvious medical issues.  If you have health problems that are effecting your judging, then you need to resolve them before accepting any more assignments.  If you don’t have health problems, and are basically just being a B****, then I guess there isn’t much else that we can do about it, except to not enter under you again.
-------
I learned a long time ago to not waste time asking a judge what they didn’t like about my dog, but some people still do it.  It doesn’t matter what the judge says, chances are it is mostly BS.  I just wish that they realized what an impact their comments have on that exhibitor and in turn the entire sport. 

Raymore Snow & Stuff

OK, OK, OK. 
Yes, I have not blogged in a while. 
I have lots of stuff in the works and just don't know where to start. 

Below is a photo taken in our driveway of last week's snowfall.  Being on the south side of the city, we got quite a bit more than the reported amount at Kansas City airport 55 miles north of us. 

Raymore, MO Snowfall February 22, 2013

We are expecting more of the white stuff tomorrow.  Yay!

WESTMINSTER - BLACK RUSSIAN TERRIERS

ZOE WINS, ZOE WINS, ZOE WINS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some brides do look great in black...

GCH VALKYRIE'S FUNNY GIRL RN
Handled to Best of Breed by Rhanda Glenn
Owned by our dear friends Victoria Vest and Bev Sothcott.  With extreme emotional support from our favorite rocket scientist, chauffeur, sherpa, and purveyor of fine wines: Bob Smith.
Full successful OFFA testing:
http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1481210#animal

Thank You Judge Dorothy Colier

GOOD LUCK IN GROUP LADIES...WE ARE ROOTING FOR YOU. 

Best of Opposite Congratulations to Zil & David Harper.  I know you are used to winning, and having Zoe be the bridesmaid, but it's time for someone else to wear the ugly dress.  This is still a great honor.  Look at all of the nice dogs, and a couple of crappy ones, especially the really big, crappy one, that you beat.

Zil - MBISS Zilya's Chicago Blues Fusion at Runes CD RN
Owned by our good friend Donna Patterson.
Full successful OFFA testing:
http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1434373#animal

Select Dog went to BISS CH Aristes Paint it Black, handled by Jorge Olivera.  Owned by Donna Poulson, Cindy Stumm, & Frits Dilsaver.  
Everything but hips OFFA testing (just like his sire):
http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1505511#animal

What a tough class all around!  Of the 10 entries (including a nice class dog - move up?), there were  3 National Specialty Winners, 3 or 4 All-Breed Best In Show dogs, a Best of Winners at a National Specialty, and multiple dogs in the ribbons at Nationals, Eukanuba, and Westminster. You should all be very proud. 

Westminster - IT"S ABOUT TIME!!!

I have been saying for years, to anyone that would listen, "It's New York City, entertainment capital of the world, and they have to play a scratchy recording of the National Anthem?  There are probably thousands of fabulous vocalists that would sing here for free."  Finally, this year world famous Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan sang this evening.  

Thank you, WKC, for stepping things up a notch.

Westminster NON SPORTING GROUP

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO LISA AND HONOR for Winning the NON-SPORTING GROUP!  GOOD LUCK TOMORROW NIGHT IN BEST IN SHOW !!!

Judge Florence Males

Westminster Kennel Club BICHONS FRISES February 11, 2013

Congratulations to GCH Vogelflight's Honor to Pillowtalk expertly handled by Lisa Bettis to Best of  Breed.  GOOD LUCK IN GROUP!!!!

Best of Opposite Congratulations to Anibal handling another gorgeous Whitebred critter:   GCH Whitebreds A Diamond In a Pearl

Select Dog Congrats to Ellen showing GCH Glenleigh Gangs N' Roses

A small but very competitive entry.
Judge Jone P. Scott

Westminster Kennel Club HAVANESE February 11, 2013

Congratulations to David Stout and GCH Yup's Malibu Dream on their Best of Breed win at the Pier. 
Best of Opposite Congrats to Taffy McFadden (GLAD YOU ARE FEELING BETTER!!!!) with GCH Oeste's Flirt'n With An Outlaw.
Select bitch was really nice too, GCH El Divo's Oh No You Didnt.
Congratulations to all - even the matted one who was select dog - GCH Fuzzy Farm Qbin Who's On First. 
If the judge was going to award mats, she should have given something to the little black one from Canada - he actually had a correct topline going around the ring. 

Judge Shirley Limoge

The video is available on www.westminsterkennelclub.org.  If they don't edit out a bunch of stuff from the live stream, and you watch while they are waiting for photos...close your eyes.  We saw way too much of Oompaloompa's ass when she bent down to pet the dog and her jean went way down.  Scary.

Another Kansas City Show Update

While at the St. Joe show last weekend, I was informed that I was incorrect about the basketball tournament at Municipal Auditorium from March 13 - 19, across the street from the dog show site. I just checked the Ticketmaster website for Municipal Auditorium ticket sales at it is still on.
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/06004986F5D19EAD?artistid=857205&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=7
It's not one of those things that 'just get changed' but I didn't want to start anything without checking.  So based on my research, all of the activities listed in my previous posts about the Kansas City Dog Show in March, are correct.  
As tempting as a local show is, I still don't know if I can bring myself to do it.  My assistant did offer to drive me back and forth, but what I would spend in gas, I would otherwise spend in parking, just wouldn't have the hassle, but then I would be trapped there all day.
I hope they get a good turnout, but it is going to be a royal pain-in-the-you-know-what.

St. Joseph Kennel Club, Sunday, February 3, 2013

Havanese
Selena - Best of Breed
Zeus - Select Dog
Thank You Judge Jan Paulk

Bichons
Nurple - Best of Winners & Best of Opposite 3 Point MAJOR !!!

St. Joseph, MO Show Saturday February 2, 2013

I am confused (I know, what's new?).
I have had this happen before and now I wonder if it is just a sign that the judges are getting senile and we shouldn't show to them again.  They ask for one thing and put up the handler that does the opposite.  Yes, it's the 'loose lead' instruction.  If the judge specifically requests that you move at a certain pace, or a certain style as in "don't string them up, use a loose lead," that is their prerogative, but don't reward the handlers who ignore that instruction and do whatever they want.

So you pretty much guessed it, almost all of the people in the ring listened to the judge and showed their Havanese on a loose lead.  There were plenty of good dogs to choose from.  The only two that were not shown on a loose lead were awarded Best of Breed, an Best of Winners and Best of Opposite.  Their dogs were strung up worse than Shelly or Scott showing a Bichon or a Poodle, front feet barely touching the ground.

Ask us to do whatever you want, but all we ask is to only reward the people who give it to you. 

The best we did today was at the B Match: 
Bichon Frise 
Nurple - Chilleyking's That's A Little Twisted - Best of Breed, Group 1
Thank You Judge Jan Sigler

Havanese 
Spudz - That's The Original Parti Dog Eh - Best of Breed, Group 3
Thank You Judge Terry Sigler