by Karl DonvilLiège 2006, Masters Trophy in première for Belgium.
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Liège is probably the most inventive and versatile show of Western Europe. Where will this end? Almost every year the show of Liège has something new to offer to the public. This year they started a new tradition, the Masters Trophy, a knock-down competition open to the new champions of the past year. This is an imitation of the kind of competition held already in other countries. During a Gala evening, including a dancing party and a performance given by an excellent group of imitators of the famous Bee Gees, the dogs are judged by a team of 6 judges who are drawn by lots. The dogs compete in pairs and are all judged by the six judges. The winners of each pair are judged again in the second round until only two are left of which the Master is chosen. Of course, if you have bad luck, it is possible that you are already out after the first round, but that is the game. At least you are judged by a team of six judges and that means you are less dependent of the taste of one judge. Of course you are competing with champions of different breeds and it is no secret that in some breeds it is much easier to become a champion then in others, and a champion of a popular breed will have beaten a lot more competitors in his career will show his quality in every detail and make him a much stronger competitor to beat. The two remaining finalists were the Multi Champion and Multi BIS winner Large Basset Griffon Vendéen “CH. JOUR APRES JOUR FILOU FILO DE NOUGAT” owned and handled by CLAES-SMETS Linda & Stef, a lovely dog and a worthy representative of this first Trophy. His competitor and Reserve Master was another lovely dog and result out of Belgian’s Top Poodle Kennel “CACHEMIRE DES SUPERS SUPERS” bred, owned and handled by HEINESCHE Laurent and Jean-François VANAKEN. Those who read my reports will have an idea how many Champions this Kennel has allreday reproduced. No wonder that he would be a finalist too.
Only 32 dogs were in competition for this new challenge and the president, Mr.Yves Boclinville, was a little disappointed, but in my opinion he has no reason. I am very confident that he has started a nice tradition in Belgium, and it will soon grow in popularity. Anyway, thanks to him we will probably have soon a new kind of competition in Belgium which started in Liège. It is also under his presidency that the show of Liège has gained enormously in glamour and popularity. This show is perhaps the most complex of all Belgian Shows due to the many competitions during the show. There is the fifth edition of the Golden Lead, a handling show open to juniors and adults and there is also the 3th edition of the Golden Groomer competition, managed by Laurent Heinesche and Jean François Vanaken. But there is also an exposition related to dogs, another tradition! This year the theme was “dogs in paintings”, and it was really nice and interesting with many originals and reproductions of old and more recent paintings. The exposition was made possible with the support of the cultural department of the city of Liège and its conservators. And we may not forget that Liège is the only show in Belgium that has a Beauty and Performance Award for dogs that compete as well in the field as on shows, a pity that this kind of competition is too much underestimated as this is the best way to preserve our old working breeds and its traditions and prevent certain breeds to deviate from their original standard and turning into new or completely different breeds after a few generations of breeding.
Compared to last year there was a decrease in entries with almost 14%, dropping down from a record entry in 2005 of 1947 to 1685 this year. There is more then one reason for this. The most important is probably that Liège was not a Crufts Qualifying show this year. Another reason is probably the influence of the show of Douai in France the weekend before. Douai is only 200km away from Liège and if we compare the French participation, we can see a decrease of no less the 101 entries. And we may not forget that it was a long weekend in Belgium and very nice weather in the middle of the summer season. This also affected the number of visitors. The expo halls of Liège are known to many exhibitors as very hot in case of sunshine and with temperatures of 38°C it was almost unbearable inside. Most exhibitors know how to comfort their dogs with these temperatures but there was one tragic incident that was spread out in the media and could affect the show in a negative way, undeserved in my opinion. Outside on the parking a camper needed to be forced open as several cats and many dogs were found inside, suffering from the heath and without sufficient water, fresh air and cooling. As far as I know, no animals died and all were rescued. It is always a pity that things like this happen and cast a shadow on our shows, as if all handlers or exhibitors are synonymous to torturers of animals. Fortunately we know better, but we need to keep alert and do all we can to prevent incidents like this.
Liège is a very international show, and undoubtedly the best show in Walony and the big competitor of Kortrijk. Dogs came from no less then 21 different countries and as far as from Ukraine and even one from Peru. Belgium had 840 entries. The highest score for foreign countries went to the Netherlands with 266 entries, followed by France with 247 and Germany with 230. The UK had 18 representatives. The jury was also very international, representing no less then 13 different countries, only 5 of them were Belgians. The judges for the Masters trophy were, Mrs.Liliane Deridder (B), Mrs.Monique Van Brempt (B), Mr.Andrew Brace (UK), Mr.Kari Järvinen (FIN), Mr.Rafael Malo-Alcrudo (E) and Mr.Louis Pinto-Teixera (P).
Credit must also go to the committee and especially to Laurent Heinesche who turned, alike in Luxembourg, the podium into one worth this splendid show. He already started to design the podium for the Golden Groomer competition and did it now for the main ring too. This is a proof that the committee is always evaluating the precedent show and looking for new ideas on how to improve the layout. One of the weakest points of our shows are the podia and the layout of the main ring, but finally, thanks to Liège, we have now a good example of how it can be done and how it can add to the value of the winners and all this without expensive investements. Congratulations and thanks on behalf of the photographers who now at last have photos that they can show to the world and on behalf of the exhibitors and their winning dogs, who finally come to value without fading away in the dark and ugly backgrounds of most expo halls.
During the day there were lots of animations and demonstrations of Guide Dogs, Doggy Dance, A Border Collie team and Clowns. Although the program of the finals was very loaded with all the different competitions, it was kept on schedule so that around six o’clock On Saturday it was the nice Miniature Long Haired Dachshund “Ch. Danny z Ostrozskych Jezer”, handled and owned by Prokupkova-Wastiaux from the Czech Republic that won Best of Saturday. Earlier that day he was judged by M. I. CSIK from Hungaria and Mrs. M. Campbell from Norway, who was probably impressed by him and made him groupwinner. On Sunday it was the Afgan Hound “Ch. Khafka's Exotic Spice”, who was handled by Didier Coton ended Best of Day. No need to introduce the Kafka Afgan Hounds from the Spanish Kneel of Mr.Gallardo. His dogs are big winners in Europe and on many World- and European Dog Shows. He was judged earlier by Mr.A.Brace from the United Kingdom. Mr.Järvinen from Finland gave him the Group award. Mr.Pinto-Teixera had the honour of chosing the Best in Show. It was clear that it was not easy for him and that he liked both dogs very much. After a long deliberation he finally gave the Golden Dog Trophy to the Miniature Dachshund, which I think is a very courageous gesture as too many judged have the habit of placing the dachshunds back in favour of more glamorous dogs in case of comparable technical and objective qualities in order to please the audience. Dany is a Multi Champion and Group Winner and shown on most big shows in Europe. He has also been a competitor to the Kafka Afgan Hounds on several World and European Dog Shows.
Liège is ambitious and this results in big sacrifices of the committee members affecting their private life. The president, Mr.Boclinville confided me that his limits are nearby. Probably he was exhausted and disappointed in the relative interest in the Masters Trophy and the decrease of entries. I am sure that by now and after a few weeks of deserved relaxation, he will gain new energy to go on. Liège has become another highlight in many calendars of exhibitors and with regard to quality and show aspect finds itself on the top of best European Shows. My advice would be to keep there and stabilise, look back from where you came and try to find the routine for layout of the show as it is now, as it is a “splendid achievement”.
Photostudio Karl DONVIL and www.123dog.net give you the opportunity to memorise this victory and offer you a free studio photograph 13 x19 cm.
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Félicitations, votre chien est devenu meilleur de race.
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Important: votre bon est seulement valable en combinaison avec une commande de minimum 16 EURO et après payement. Votre photo gratuit doit être fait sur le show ou votre chien est devenu meilleur de race.
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