by Karl DonvilMechelen 2006 Sint Romboutscup
Unfortunately I have to announce another dropdown in subscription for this otherwise splendid show in one of the nicest halls of Belgium and situated in the centre of the country.
It was only after thinking a while on what happens to the Belgian shows that I found that the explanation was very simple and has nothing to do with anything else but the overloaded summer months.
Belgium has 15 shows a year and as a lot of Belgian exhibitors go to Luxemburg too, there are 17 shows a year in a very small geographical area. No problem unless we see that 7 of them happen in 3 months while all others are spread over the remaining 9 months. Suppose that a fanatic exhibitor wants to attend all shows with an average of two dogs every show at an entry fee of 40 EURO, then he will spend 560 EURO in 3 months. This is only the entry fee, but there is also the transport, food, drinks and snacks and other expenses. It is also the holiday season and everyone knows how expensive a vacation is and more litters are planned in the very same season which results in less time and more expenses and care. During this period the children have examinations, followed by two months of holidays and many parents need to spend more time and money for them. It is simple, most exhibitors need to make choices and let drop a few shows. If 80% need to make such choices they get more selective on what shows they will enter their dogs. No wonder that the entries drop drastically. See at the other shows during the rest of the year, nothing special to report, some did very well with big increases.
What happened then? In my opinion it has everything to do with the rescheduling of the Brussels Dogshow from December back to end of June. This was a surprise for most other shows and some rescheduled wisely, but most of them decided not to. The result is that half of the yearly cake needed to be eaten in 3 months and divided between almost half of the shows.
I hope the organisers will read this report and agree with me that the only solution will be to spread the shows more evenly over the year. This is not only my opinion, but it is based on complaints of exhibitors and stand holders.
Anyway, Mechelen did not deserve this as the show was very well organised and ran smoothly. With only 1093 entries for an International dog show with CACIB, coming back from 1376 last year, there was a drop down with over 20% ! 16 Judges officiated and were invited from 9 different countries (5 Belgian judges), mainly from Scandinavia. On Saturday there were several judges with over 50 entries. Marja Talvitie from Finland had 59, Moen Borghild from Norway had 63 alike Pieter Burema from Holland. Mr.Drouillard from France had 71. Best scoring judge was Eva Eriksson from Sweden with 76 entries. She had 44 dogs to judge on Sunday. With her 29 Newfoundlanders she had the second highest breed score. Mrs.Davidovic Natasa from Serbia-Montenegro had 55 dogs on Sunday, the second highest score that day but had the highest score for breeds with 30 Golden Retrievers. Mrs.Wynsouw Anette from Holland had 49 entries, 28 of them English Bulldogs, which is her breed. Mr.Deschuymere from Belgium had 41 entries on Saturday, but scored the best on Sunday with 66 dogs to judge. He was also honoured to judge the Best In Show. As there was no Best of Day, all groupwinners from Saturday needed to come back on Sunday to compete with the Sunday groupwinners. All 10 were of high quality and deserved to be in the large BIS ring. Mr.Deschuymere finally chose the Irish Setter “Ardan of Funny Home” as Best In Show. This dog is 5 years now and already a champion. He was bred by Mertens-Marcelis and owned and handled by Smits Joannes from Belgium. The owner was so happy that he ran no less then 3 times around the main ring. Second BIS went to the whippet “Almaglo Halston”. This dog was entered in intermediate class as he was only 18 months old. He was bred by the famous Mr.Carpone Mauro and owned and handled by Mr. Delabelle Dominique, one of the most successful whippet breeders in the country. 3rd BIS went to the Lhasa Apso “ Ch. Pranja Corniche Whit Tamseugani”. This 5 year old dog is also already a Champion. He was bred in the United Kingdom by M.Benfield and is owned and handled by Mrs.Pagani from the Netherlands.
The Nekkerhall, where the show took place, is one of the finest in the country. It is so large that only a part of it is used for the show. It offers spacious rings and plenty of parking accommodation. In fact it is one big long hall that is very bright inside. The only minor point is the acoustic inside which results in a noisy overall impression. The time schedule was more then OK as the show ended well in time. Another bonus is for the results. Not only the main results are ready immediately after the show, but even all the results of the show.
The next edition is again planned at the very same weekend next year and I’m afraid that the very same disaster will happen next year as not only this show is already planned, but most others are too. If no drastic measures will be taken, foreign shows will take advantage of the situation. Something must be done!
