par Karl DonvilKortrijk EURODOGSHOW 2007.
BELANGRIJK-IMPORTANT
om de foto's van alle winnaars in de erering te zien klikt u op "bekijk de foto's/snel zoeken"
in order to see photos of all the winners in the main ring click on "view the pictures/ quick search".
pour voir tous les photos des gagnants cliquez sur "regarder les photos/recherche rapide"
Kortrijk EURODOGSHOW 2007
It would be a surprise if Kortrijk wouldn’t profit from the general boost up in entries. With 100 dogs more for the show compared to last year, the total number of entries for the show was 2938, but with the numerous contests that take place during this weekend, the total number of dogs is up to 4000. And again, this 44th edition attracts a lot of visitors, around 30.000, which is the reason why Kortrijk EURODOGSHOW is Belgium's most famous total spectacle and even surpasses Brussels. The huge halls are 33.000 square meters large and offer plenty of facilities to organize not only a large dog show, but many more competitions.
There is the 21th international competition of Junior-Senior handling, the 23th Grand Prix Agility with 300 participants, the 26th Grand Prix Obedience with 80 competitors, the 20th competition of fancy dressed-up children and this year the Belgian Sighthound Club organized the Euro Sighthound competition with 337 dogs, judged by 7 judges. And if this is not enough, there are numerous demonstrations, one given by the Belgian Army, a demonstration of dogs for Blind and for disabled people, there was Doggy Dancing in the main ring, a Fly-ball demonstration and a demonstration of Hunting Dogs. Together with the numerous trade stands of all kind this show is more a kind of fair. Kortrijk has always been a trend setter and an example to many other dogshows in Belgium, aswell as abroad.
For such an impressive event like this it is of utmost importance that all this is lead by a good, smoothly working team. In this respect Kortrijk has always been an example too. It is of course one of the most important factors for growth, and Kortrijk has grown, each year again. It is not easy to keep on top, but since many years they managed to keep up this position.
This year no less then 69 judges were invited. They represented 18 nationalities. The dogs came from 26 different countries and this brings the total of nationalities to 33. Impressive! Kortrijk EURODGOSHOW is certainly the most International show of Belgium and one of the leaders in Western Europe.
Since the liberalization of the quarantine rules in great Britain, Kortrijk has always aimed to become one of the best partners and the number one show on the continent for the British. This year the number of entries from the UK had decreased, but still it was good for 122 dogs and many handlers were also competing in the handler competition. The large majority of exhibitors were Belgians of course, 1425 to be exact. Next came France with 658 dogs, logical seen the fact that Kortrijk is only minutes away from the French border. The Netherlands had 383 dogs entered for competition, Germany 168. The rest of the dogs came from other European countries like Italy (29), Austria (2), Spain (15), Portugal (4), Switzerland (28), Denmark (45) and more remote countries like Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Latvia, Ukraine, Estonia, Finland, Romania, Russia, Hungary, Portugal, Norway and even Israel.
The panel of judges was very well balanced and most attractive. Only 10 were from Belgium and this was more to fill up the gaps, done by our group-judges and all-rounders or judges who were new in certain breeds. Eight British judges were invited.
It is very remarkable to see that most judges were able to judge rather relaxed, not entrapped in a tight scheme. Most of them had a between 35 to 70 dogs, only a few surpassed this, but even then, the top score was 86 (Mr.Ove Germundsson from Sweden). This proves that the organization can afford to focus more on specialized judges, rather then all rounders, and that there is enough room to accept more dogs in certain breeds without judges become overloaded.
Mr.John Burrows from the UK had a total entry of 70 dogs, all Newfoundlanders, a remarkable number. He was only surpassed by Mrs.Barbro Myrseth Gjerde from Norway who had 79 Golden Retrievers to judge, the top score for a single breed. Mr.Javier Sanchez from Spain had 63 American Staffordshires in his ring. Mrs.A.Roberts from the UK had 59 Bulldogs in her ring, also the only breed she judged. Mrs.Edith Gallant from South Africa was a kind of special guest as she is in fact from Belgium but emigrated many years ago to South Africa. She had a nice entry of 77 dogs on Saturday, all Pinshers and Schnauzers, and 23 Bouviers and 26 Beaucerons on Sunday.
For an event like this, it is of utmost importance that the time schedule is strictly respected, especially on Sunday for the BIS judging. The main ring is a real pleasure to see, large, bright, and a big tribune for the spectators. The “light and sound” studio was very professional as we are used to in Kortrijk. A bright white spotlight focused on the main podium, that was very clean and provided by Pedigree, the main sponsor.
Best In Show judge was Mr.Malo Alcrudo from Spain. The winner of Group 8, the American Cocker “Ch.Truly Yours Royal Dream” owned by Mr.Hammerich Michael from Denmark, ended 10th Best In Show. This dog was entered in Champions Class under Mr.Zeferino Silva from Portugal. The Standard Dachshund short-haired “Ch.Kan Trace Bad Luck” was also entered in Champions Class under Mrs.Tanja Backes-Gassner from Germany. He is a Hungarian dog, owned by Mr.Kalecak and handled by Ante Lucin from Croatia. The Belgian Beagle “Florreke Lighthouse Family” was entered in Intermediate Class by his breeder and owner Mr.Dielens Abrams to be judged by Mr.Claudio De Giuliani from Italy. It was not the first time that Florreke climbed the highest podium. Another dog from Belgium, the whippet “Ch.Daydream Di Mahana” ended on the 7th place. He is owned by Dominique Delabelle and won the Eurosighhound show on Saturday. This is also the dog that will represent Belgium at the Eukanuba World Challenge in California. In Kortrijk he was entered in Champions Class under Mr.Jean Louis Brassat-Lapeyreire from France. This dog has won several times the group and a BIS this year. Barbara Gruzzi from Italy entered her champion “Blue Baltic’s Surfn’Catalina” , an English Setter, under Mr.Claudio De Giuliani also from Italy. The dog ended 6th place for BIS. On the 5th place came the American Akita “Melodor She’s a Maneater. This bitch was entered in Intermediate Class under judge Javier Sanchez from Spain, the dog is from Italy. Another Belgian dog took the 4th place. “Ch.Evolution Des Super Supers” is again another Poodle out of the famous “Supers Supers” kennel from Mr.Francois Vanaken. He bred many multi Champions and BIS winners. He was judged by Mrs.Csilla Aradi from Hungary. 3th BIS went to the Bull Terrier “Avonjul Astronomer Royal” from Mr.Andreu Martinez Mestre from Spain. This dog was an Open Class winner under Mr.Daniel Mc Gregor from the UK. Mrs. Lilian Deridder from Belgium made him later the Terrier Group Winner. Second BIS was won by Mrs.Cornelia Verelst-Loest from Belgium. Her Bobtail “Eldorado Aus Dem Elbe-Urstromtal” was recently seen on the BIS podium in Luxemburg and Charleroi. He was entered in Champions Class under Mr.Grenville Francis from Ireland and made Group Winner by Dr.Jevgenij Kupliauskas from Russia.
Belgium has several good and most famous breeders of Bernese Mountaindogs. On the most famous kennels is “Van ‘t Stokerybos” from Mrs. And Mr.Delrue-Vandewalle. They have bred many European and World Champions in the past and have exported many dogs to other countries as they are known for their good and most appreciated bloodlines. This Kennel is situated very close to Kortrijk. Mrs. And Mr. Delrue-Vandewalle entered their Champion “Emerson van ‘t Stokerybos” in Champions Class under Mrs.Petra Schultheiss from Germany who send him to the main ring to compete for Best of Group under Mr.Javier Sanchez from Spain, who made him the winner of Group 2. An impressive dog like this could not be denied by Mr.Malo Alcrudo and it was no real surprise that he made him BIS. As this was not any BIS but BIS of the EURODOGSHOW 2007 of Kortrijk made this victory one of the highest ranking to win.
We hope to see Emerson again on the next edition on 15 and 16 November 2008. Start planning now already to come and compete with him.
