par Karl DonvilBRABO Dog show 2009.
In 2003 the number of entries dropped down to only 1446, but since then there seems to be a revival of the show as this edition had a nice entry of 1627 dogs. Since this year there is finally plenty of parking space nearby as the camping area behind the halls has been shut down and used as parking space. This has always been one of the major complains of the exhibitors in the past and many of them found a ticket on the window or even the car pulled away by the police. This is all past now as there is enough secured parking space for everyone. Perhaps this good news will affect the entries next year as the news is yet widely known.
Perhaps it will affect the number of visitors too in the future. Many trade stand holders complained about this. They need visitors to make a profit and compensation for the expensive fee they need to pay here. They will not come back if they lose money, which is logical. Their fee must be used to make publicity in the city, on the local radio and the local press and attract possible customers.
Outside the halls there was a Flyball competition, inside there was Doggy Dance and Obedience. In fact there is enough space available to turn the Brabo show into a total spectacle. Let us hope that the new parking possibilities will help to bring back the glory of the old days.
The dogs were entered from 16 different countries like Ireland, Finland, Russia and even as far as from the USA. 27 Judges were invited from 8 different countries, 13 of them were Belgians. Mr.Van Hummelen (Belgium) judged only on Saturday. He had 80 dogs to judge, 42 of them were Leonbergers. Mr.McCoy from Ireland had the highest entry on Saturday with 92 dogs to judge. He judged mainly Retrievers. On Sunday he had only 38 dogs to judge. Mr.Francis , also an Irishman, judged Newfoundlanders only on Saturday and found 43 in his ring, the highest scoring breed of the show. Mr.Brandt from Denmark judged the Poodles and Chihuahua’s on Sunday and was pretty busy with his 88 entries. Mr.J.Walsh, however, was even more busy as he had 112 dogs to judge that day. Mrs.Chwalibog from Poland had the highest total entry on both days with 67 on Saturday and 70 on Sunday.
In general a lot of judges were not very busy. 27 Judges for 1627 dogs means only 30dogs/judge/day. Compare this to Luxemburg that had an average 56 dogs/judge/day and you will understand that this affects the financial results significantly. A well balanced international panel of judges with a good reputation is affecting the total success of a show more than anything else. If a judge attracts 50 dogs at a show and suppose the entry fee for a dog is 30 EURO, the result is 1500 EURO. This money serves not only to pay his expenses, but also to pay for the general expenses of the show. But if a judge is good for 100 dogs, the result will be 3000 EURO, while his expenses remain the same. Suppose the average expenses per judge(plane ticket and hotel) are 500 EURO and invite 30 judges, the profit will be 30.000 EURO in the first case and 75.000 EURO in the second case. This simple example shows the importance of a good selection of judges. The definition of a good judge is not only a question of qualities and reputation, but how he fits in the whole plan. If the emphasis of inviting judges is too much focused on service in return you will never end up with high entry numbers. A judge must fit in the plan, must be invited for his qualification, for his reputation in certain breeds. It is important how many times he judged the breed, in what countries, etc. There are so many elements that count. All-round judges can not only fill the gaps in some breeds, but can increase the total number of dogs significantly on condition that they are not invited to judge always the very same breeds everywhere.
The main ring was nicer and brighter this year, but I am still not very happy with the podium. The color is just awful and dominant. I don’t mind publicity of the sponsor on the podium, but it must have style and must be modest, not a flag and a color that distracts the attention from the dogs. With very simple things much can be realized. See what happened in Brussels!
All Group winners were invited to come back on Sunday to compete for Best In Show. Mr.Dewilde was granted the honor to judge them. His 3th BIS was the Papillon Queen Bless JP Royal Connection from Roosens–Abeloos–Devos. This very same dog was the Toy Group winner at Crufts. He was judged by Mr.Spruyt and made Group winner by Mr.Heinesche. The Weimaraner Grey Classic’s Fox Mulder TST , bred and owned by Lenaerts Edwin was made BOB by Mrs.Chwalibog and won the group under Mr.W. Van den Broeck before he was awarded runner up to BIS. The winning dog was the Pomeranian Mesuri from There Own Home . This 3 year old male was bred and is owned by Verdonk Ben from the Netherlands and was judged by Mr.J.Walsh in Champion Class. His compatriot Mr. O’Brien made him winner of Group 5.
Next year the show will be on 1 and 2 of Mai. Don’t forget that there are no longer problems with the parking and thus no excuse to skip this show.
