door Karl DonvilDecember Show Genk 2007
With 3 weeks difference to Kortrijk and the only show in December Genk was again very successful this year and equaled the number of subscriptions of last year, 1664 to be correct.
People came from no less the 16 different countries to participate with their dogs, a nice figure indeed and raising this show up to a very international level. As usual the Belgian were in the majority with 907 entries, then Holland with 351 and remarkably many Germans compared to other shows, 212. There was even one dog entered from as far as the USA and one from Russia. The British have also found the road to Genk and were with 19 dogs in competition.
Not only the exhibitors were very international, the panel of 14 judges were too, with 6 from Belgium and the rest coming from 7 different European Countries. They were well chosen and had very nice entry numbers, while the Belgian judges looked after some less popular or represented breeds. Best scoring judge for one day was Mr.Ortlieb Lothary from Germany. He only judged on Sunday but had no less then 125 dogs from only 4 breeds in his ring and also the highest scoring breed, the American Staffordshire Terrier with 75 specimen!
Mr.Paunovic Dusan from Serbia had 111 dogs on Saturday (Poodles and Chihuahuas) and 53 on Sunday, of which 31 Afgans. Mr.Erwin Deutscher from Germany had 102 on Saturday including all the Dachshunds and Companion breeds. On Sunday he could relax a little bit more with only 63 dogs. Unusual for Belgium is that he had no less then 12 German Shepherds. Most German Shepherd owners prefer their own special shows and hardly attend the regular dogshows. A regular guest on the continent is Mr.Seamus Oates from Ireland. He also had over 100 dogs on Saturday, 33 Bernese Mountaindogs and 29 Bordeaux Dogs. On Sunday he had 74 entries, amongst them a remarkably high number of 31 Shelties. Mr.Boris Spoljaric from Slovenia was the best scoring judge of the show with 91 dogs on Saturday and 95 on Sunday. Mrs.Skyrme Pauline from the United Kingdom was invited on Sunday for the Rough Collies only and had 18 in her ring. Mr.Norman Deschuymere from Belgium had no less then 40 Leonbergers in his ring and Mr.Theo Leenen had the highest single breed score after the Amstaffs, with 54 Golden Retrievers. Mrs.Lilian Deridder will probably have been surprised on Sunday to see two nice specimen of the Ciobanesc Romanesc Carpatin in her ring. One of them ended second in the groups finals.
Mr.Piotr Kroll from Poland was honored with the choice of Best of Saturday. He chose a French Bulldog from Holland with a very typical name “Sjarel van de Mestreechteneerkes” as his winner. Sjarel is hardly over one year and bred and owned by Irene Meerten-Derks. It was Mr.Paunovic Dusan who judged him earlier that day and made him not only BOB, but also BOG.
On Sunday Mr.Boris Spoljaric was on term to judge Best of Sunday. He was most impressed by the very typical Clumber Spaniel “Clussexx Chance Encouter” , a 2 ? year import from the USA, bred by Johnson and now in the hands of Jan & Danielle Counotte-Devree from Belgium. He was judged and made BOB by Mr.Piotr Krol and made BOG by Mr.Theo Leenen from Belgium.
The supreme honor to judge Best In Show went to Mr Paunovic Dusan from Serbia. He must have fallen in love with Sjarel that he judged twice on Saturday and stuck with his choice and made him finally BIS. Some people and judges disagreed with his choice, probably due to the glamor the Clussexx radiated, but Sjarel was not only funny looking with his one big spot on the right eye, but he stood there like he wanted to tell us: “if you don’t see that I am the more beautiful, then you don’t have a sense of humor at all”. Fortunately I didn’t need to make the choice as to me I would have loved to take both home with me.
The main hall was nicely decorated in a Christmas atmosphere. The main sponsor Eukanuba had even asked for Father Christmas to pass by. I had the impression that the number of visitors was pretty high especially on Sunday. And a very good point is that the show ended very early, thanks to a very strict time schedule. Along with the very complete catalogue, taken care of down to the smallest details and including all statistics needed, and matching background music, all ingredients are there to keep on going for more successful shows in the coming years.
Are you coming too on 13 and 14 December same place? See you there!
