par Karl DonvilThis show, held every two years, can no longer be called a small show since it has also an increase of no less then 28 % in entries or from 1164 dogs to 1490 this year.
The atmosphere at the show was one of happiness and satisfaction, also because the weather was very good. Usually good weather results in a low number of visitors, but here, it seems to work in the opposite sense. Exhibitors usually exhibit only one day of the weekend, which means that they have one day extra. Many of them stay a day longer at the beach that is only 100 meters away from the halls. Oostende is also the capital of the coast and therefore has plenty of accommodation at a fair price, shopping center and a vivid nightlife. All you need for a good weekend!
The club that organizes this show is in fact the club of Bruges, which is only minutes away. This city, UNESCO heritage, is perhaps the most popular touristic city of Belgium. Unfortunately it has no suitable hall for a dogshow. Oostende offered the solution with its very nice Media Center. Unfortunately, due to the construction of the new sports hall behind the halls, parking facilities have changed and unless you arrive early in the morning, you could have difficulties to find a place. Strange enough, there were no complains in this regard, contrary to what the committee had expected.
It is obvious that Oostende aims for British exhibitors as the connection is very fast and easy and Oostende is very well known as some years ago it had an intense Ferry connection to Dover and could be called the doorway to the continent for the British. You can hear pretty much English talking in the city streets. But not only there, also on the showground and even in the mainring on the podium! As usual the neighboring countries were best represented. Belgium had 928 entries, Holland came next with 275, followed by France with 159. Many Germans come to our coast as Germany has only a short coastline in the north of the country and for many Germans, the Belgian coast is much closer. They had 54 entries, which is relatively more then on other Belgian shows. 43 Dogs came from Britain and that was not for nothing as a lot of them with success. In total 13 nationalities were together turning this show into a really international show, worthy of offering the CACIB titles.
It is also for sure that the committee did some efforts too to make this show very attractive and professionally organized. One new good idea is worth mentioning. A Dutch exhibitor came to me to ell me how nicely surprised she had been that morning when she found an steward directing all arriving exhibitors to way to their cages and ring. This saves time, confusion and frustration and prevents obstructions in the passages between the rings and hall connections by people, loaded with dogs, bags and other stuff, looking to find their rings. A really good idea that should be followed by other organizers.
A total of 16 judges were responsible to bring this show to a good end. They came from 8 different countries, only 5 of them were Belgians and 4 were invited from England.
Mr.Hans Muller from Switzerland, the president of the FCI, judges both days and had 100 dogs in total. Mrs.Brenda Banburry from England is also a famous judge, known from the Crufts finals. She had 39 Bulldogs and 30 Newfoundlanders on Saturday. Sunday was a very busy day for her as he ended with 120 dogs to judge, the record of this show. Mr. August Dewilde, probably our most famous judge in Belgium, had a busy day on Saturday. Beside all the Dachshunds he had a good deal of dogs of group 5, Nordic and primitive breeds, and ended with no less the 117 dogs. On Sunday he was more comfortable with only 36 dogs, but was also asked to take the honorable responsibility to chose the Best In Show. Mr.Lokodi Zsolt from Roumania was invited to judge the Amstaffs, Staffordshires, Bull Terriers and Miniatures Bulls. He had 55 in total. On Sunday he too busy to go to the beach with 86 dogs to judge.Mrs.Paula Heikkinen-Lehkonen from Finland had only 27 dogs on Saturday, but for her too, there was no time for sunbathing on Sunday. Although a Fox Terrier breeder, she made many Companion Dog owners very curious to find out about her opinion and this resulted in a very nice score of 81 dogs to judge. That was exactly the very same number of dogs that showed up for Mr.Schemel Andreas, who shared the rest of the Companion Group with Mrs.Heikkinen, except for the 47 Poodles, as they were reserved for Mr.Carter Marlene from Britain, who was specially invited and judged only that day. Mr.Gaffney Michael from Holland was also invited to judge on Sunday only, and this for two breeds only. He had 20 Labradors and a nice score of 42 Golden Retrievers.
It was rather striking that it was so quiet on this show, alike British Shows. Lots of people were outside as much as possible, due to the very nice weather, but I assume that the halls have very good acoustics too. The main rings was only used for the handling competition during the day and this hardly produces any noise. That changed in the afternoon for the main program. As all groupwinners of Saturday were invited to come back on Sunday to compete for Best In Show, Saturday evening left enough time for a coastal walk and a taste of the famous seafood dishes. But for the winner of group 5, Mrs. Morris Jill from the UK, it was a real dilemma as it was choosing between going home as planned or making extra expenses and rescheduling the Ferry in order to stay in competition for the Best In Show, one chance to 10. She decided to stay and unfortunately got the 10th place. It was not only a very sportive decision, but remember that ending 10th of 1490 dogs is not bad at all. Of course, if she would have gone home on Saturday it would have been the very same result, unfortunately.
Having all groupwinners gathered for the BIS is the best option for the public and the most logical solution, but choosing a Best of Day saves money for the committee and less trouble for exhibitors. And perhaps it could be considered to not place all 10 groupwinners, but only the 3 best ones as, alike in this case, the number 10 looks like having lost the show, while this is absolutely not the case.
As mentioned earlier, Mr.August Dewilde, had the honor to pick out the winners and offer the Trophy. Third place went to the Fox Terrier “Glamorgan's Chum-Chum Caecilia” owned and bred by Bastiani-Aan 't Goor Esther from Holland. Chum-Chum was entered in Junior Class, only 18 months old and was judged by Mrs.Steer Liviana from Romania. Mrs.Monique Van Brempt from Belgium made him win the Group. Second place went to the Golden Retriever “Dylogan van 't Canisvliet” Dylogan was bred and raised by Note-Stevens Chris & Sabine from Belgium.This 3 year old boy was judged by Mr.Gaffney Michael and made best of its Group by the very same Judge. Overall winner and Best In Show went to the only entered dog in male class “Ch. Kokomo Simply Red” . This beautiful Lhasa Apso was bred and is owned by Reuvers Joep from Holland and will soon become 4 years old. He was judged earlier that day by Mr.Schemel Andreas from the UK/ Mrs.Dianne Degryze from the committee and judge too, made him Best of Group.
You have many reasons to subscribe for this show, being Dutch, German, French or British or any other country, you see that there is a good chance of winning. Oostende has a tradition to keep up, being a good host and having something to offer to its visitors. Feel welcome in 2009 and especially to the British, don’t hesitate to cross the sea as Oostende would like to become “the show” for the British in Belgium and even in Europe.
