NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
Boston Ch show is a relatively new Ch show compared with many, run by Boston and District Canine Society which was formed in 1948 with the Society being given Ch show status in 2007, so this year is the 20th anniversary of their first Ch show which was held on the Newark and Notts show ground. Most of the breeds scheduled then were those that were numerically large and had CCs at every show. In 2010 the show moved to the East of England Arena on the E of E showground; with the building being relatively new at the time. The show was held in January and was popular as it ran over 4 days and was a qualifier for Crufts, so giving those that had not qualified a chance to do so along with Manchester Ch show held a couple of weeks later before entries closed. Now the show was larger it had room for non-CC breeds and added Buhunds in 2011. When the East of England Agricultural Society disbanded in 2023 taking the dog show with it, the showground also closed so Boston moved to The Ruland Showground Oakham taking over the East of England Ch show dates. We had our open show there in 2024 after which it was decided it was too far east for many exhibitors, so that a more central venue in the country was needed. The show ground is run by The Rutland Agricultural Society which was formed in 1830 and hosts many varied events including car boot sales, the 3day County show in May, a Global Bird Fare, and the RKC Agility Festival which this year takes place from 6-9 August.
Pastoral and Working Day at Boston was Friday 3rd July. Our judge was Mrs Michelle Colborne who breeds, shows and gives CCs in Australian Shepherds and is a Level 2 judge for a number of breeds including Buhunds. She is originally from South Africa and is a FCI judge for Pastoral, Working, Hound and Gundog breeds.There were no benches, but all the rings were the in /out, we were in Ring 5 but did not go in till early afternoon as there were 23 Australian Shepherds 15 Smooth Collies 14 Briards and 3 Estrela Mountain Dogs in front of us. There were another 2 Breeds after us so a long day! There was a quality entry for Mrs Colborne, all the dogs and bitches having at least one CC or were Chs It was a day to remember for 11yr old Bethany Guillod Rees handling her and her parents Dr Jo and Nick’s Draccus Obsidian at Bucamereru (Ruby )who was BB and BOB with RBB going to Ruby’s dam Lisa and Alex Strong’s Ch Leggatts Dancing Queen at Draccus (Eris) she was also BV .Marie and Adam Camm’s homebred Mazads Nom De Plume (Dexter)was BD with the RBD going to Cheryl and Paul Denham-Horton’s Tapui Haraldsson at Jjavacobe (Hogan).
We all know what it is like when you enter other classes and you think they may clash with the breed. Bethany was entered in 2 YRKC classes that were being held in ring 1 so Mum Jo had to keep an eye to make sure Bethany did not miss them, which was just as well as she was 3rd in the YRKC Members Stakes under Yvonne Cannor and won the AV Pastoral YRKC members handling stakes 6-11 under Sami Bellamy, this win qualifies her for Crufts next year, but she will have had a birthday by then so will be up with the big boys and girls 12-17 yrs old.
It is not just in the UK where shows are cancelled at the last minute, Jennifer VanNiman who lives in the US and breeds and shows Buhunds, was attending Ann Arbor Kennel Club show when a sudden storm ripped through the showground taking down many of the tents, the following day the show was cancelled as the power had not been restored. She also found she had damage at home with tree debris which had to be cleared using chain saws.
Margaret Deuchar margaretdeuchar@gmail.com
Any views expressed in Margaret’s Breed Notes are hers and hers alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Norwegian Buhund Club of the UK