par Karl DonvilGenk 2006, 25th edition!
Another big event covered with no less then 1700 photos. In order to find your photo click on the tab "SHOP" and then on "help". Read this carefully or print it out. It is a step by step explanation which will guide you straigth to what you need without missing any photos.
Before 2002 this show was held in Hasselt the capital city of Limburg, one of Belgians provinces, bordering to the Netherlands. Due to troubles in the club and the fact that the halls in Hasselt were very expensive, the show was moved to Genk. Although this hall is not so extraordinary it was big enough to organise an International CACIB Show
The ambitions were high and it must be said that this show has become the main show of Limburg and one of those that Belgium can be proud of. In 2003 it had only 1013 entries and since then it grew until the very nice score of this edition, 1706n ranking 4th on the list of best scoring shows in Belgium, with regard to number of entries, after Kortrijk, Brussels and Gent respectively.
One of the reasons was that the show had to move its date from summer to December due to the rescheduling of the Brussels Dog Show. For many shows in summer this wasn’t very good (see my previous articles on Belgian dog shows), but as Genk is the only show in December and with almost one month of difference to Kortrijk, it proved to become a hit.
The number of visitor on Saturday was less then on Sunday, but this has to do with the fact that a lot of working people need to do their weekly shopping. It was decided to give a second entry ticket to one paying and this has resulted in a nice overall number of visitors; this is important, of course, for the different stand holders as they need enough visitors to cover their expenses. Most of them seemed satisfied.
A tent was rented to have some extra space for rings, but it seemed to be too chilly inside and it was decided to rearrange the rings so that everyone could be inside the halls. Although it was not really overcrowded inside, there could be a certain risk in case of fire or panic. This is something all organisations should pay more attention to. At least two exits should be accessible and the way to it should be kept open by security people. Exhibitors have the bad habit to block the ways between the benches and spread out seats and tables. Not only is this very inconvenient for the visitors, but imagine the chaos and danger in case of panic.
As space in the halls is limited, the main ring was divided during the day into 4 rings. That meant of course that there was no possibility to have some demonstrations or entertainment. On the other hand, I was impressed but the main ring, once set open for the main program. The ring was beautifully ornamented with flowers and completely covered by attractive Christmas illumination, resulting in thousands of twinkling starts.
Unfortunately the sponsor has not a new podium yet to offer and thus still uses that unattractive and uncomfortable podium that we have seen the last years over and over again.
It was covered by flowers but this didn’t work very well for the photos as well as for the dogs. When will Belgian Shows finally get rid of that ugly podium that spoils all efforts of committees in order to make the main ring attractive?
Genk had invited 20 judges from 8 different countries, only 5 of them were Belgians, except for two extra ones for the main ring program. Three Star judges were invited from Croatia. They were good for almost a quarter of the entries. Mrs.Kuleshova Elena from Russia had the highest score with 113 Group II dogs to judge on Saturday and 61 Group I dogs on Sunday.
Mr.Igor Silimovic from Croatia was next with 110 entries for him only on Saturday and a remarkable score of 50 Newfoundlanders. Mr Matacovic Bojan, also from Croatia, had another nice score on Saturday, ending up with 86 dogs, 45 of them being Bulldogs. Mr.Piotr Krol had 86 entries on Saturday, 53 of them were Great Danes.
On Sunday Mrs. Heine Martha from Germany had no less then 90 dogs, all belonging to Group IX. In general the scores were less high, although there were considerably more dogs to judge. Mrs. Marelin Nightingale was specially invited to judge the Labradors. 55 Dogs were subjected to her experience. Mr.Erwin Manders from Holland was also invited to only judge one breed, the Poodles (all colours and sizes) and ended up with 50 entries. Mr. Istas Francois from France had only two breeds, Amstaffs and French Bulldogs, but ended up with 66 specimens, 37 and 29 respectively.
Best in Show went to the Saluki ABU BAQR’S DAFTARDAR, Multi Champion, owned and Handled by Mr.Brunenberg. He was Mrs.Martha Heine’s Best of Breed. Later that day she made him Best of Group in the main ring. Mr.Krol and Mr.Silimovic made him finally Best of Saturday. On Sunday it was one of Mr. Francois Istas’s Poodles, the Standard Black Poodle, ENTERTAINER VOM KASTANIENECK, from Mrs.Huppert Uta, who became best of Sunday. Mrs.Vanherle-Stevens was asked to judge Best in Show. She gave preference to the Saluki to become overall winner of this 25th edition.
The show was very well organised, without significant problems at all, and this is certainly a merit of the committee. The whole team showed humour and a good mood all day, working hard and efficient. This is certainly something to be said as without this a show could never rank so high. What can we expect for next edition? We will certainly need to wait until the next edition which will take place in the very same halls on 8 & 9 December 2007.
Let’s hope for a more efficient and nice looking podium, which will bring this show close to perfection!
