NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
Sunday 1st September saw Marie Corin and Adam Camm make an early start to head off to the Forest Edge Arena in Norfolk, for the Sheringham & District Premier Open show .Sarah Bothwell was the Buhund judge and she awarded BOB to Marie and Adam’s homebred Mazads Nom de Plume(Dexter), Marie said he was beautifully handled in the challenge by Adam, who later said he was not planning to become a professional handler! Dexter’s dad Ch Kilgenthal Almuric (Bergen)was RBOB and not to be out done he later won the ‘The Jack Alpe Memorial Champion Stakes’ winning treat money, the judge was Matt Garnham who gives CCs in a Terrier Breed, so great that he also appreciated a good Buhund.
Pastoral day a Richmond Ch was Friday 6th September. The show is one of the oldest Championship dogs shows in the UK, beginning in 1895. When I first started showing it was held on Ascot Racecourse, but when the course was refurbished, the show moved in 2004 to the grounds of the ancestral home of the More-Molyneux family, at Loseley Park Nr Guildford Surrey. It is a complete outside show under marquees and as we know recently the summer weather can play havoc with outside shows, with the cancellation of Driffield due to wind damage. Here in the southeast we have had a very dry period recently not too hot but dry with our lawn going brown, whereas when I spoke to Debbie Fleming in Scotland, she said could not remember a dry day, with the famers still trying to gather in the hay never mind the harvest. Then of course it was all change for the Richmond shows days with thunderstorms and torrential rain in the southeast, west and Wales with much of the rest of country staying dry on the Friday, although the rain did spread further north over the weekend. Luckily the marquees and benches were all set up before the rain set in. It has been a difficult time for Richmond with the resignation of their chairman and secretary earlier in the year, Becky Johnson is now acting Chairman and Darren Clarke acting Secretary. It is not an All-Breed Show, and some of its scheduled breeds lost CCs there this year including ours, with the sets being given to clubs so that they could have two Ch shows a year. One numerically small breed went down from 11 to 3 entries with only one turning up on the day. Whether they will go on scheduling these breeds we will have to see, it is also difficult when exhibitors are spread all over the country, and it is a weekday with some not being able to take holiday on weekdays particularly those working in schools. The only shows where we have CCs now are the All-Breed shows and our 2 club Ch shows. It is hoped that the shows without CCs will continue to schedule the breed, as it is not only a good training ground for puppies and new exhibitors but also judges. We were third in the ring after 24 OES and 51 Rough Collies, our judge was Christina Bailey with the famous Zottels affix of Old English Sheepdogs. Her first 2 OES were born in 1974 & 1975 and when she moved to England from Germany in 1985, she had already bred or owned 13 Champions. She has bred a Top Dog All Breeds, won the Pastoral Group at Crufts and as you would expect has judged all over the World. She awards CC in 5 Pastoral Breeds and judges the Pastoral Group. I understand she was the first judge to short list Jenny Shorer -Wheeler’s Ch Koromandel Tusen Takk (ai)JW (Muchly) in a Group, so I am sure here she was pleased to be able to award him BOB, and later see him go G4 under Marion Sargent, who awarded him BOB at Manchester this year. This was his third Group placing this year, so certainly putting Buhunds on the Group map. Thanks as always to ‘Our Dogs’ for streaming the Groups live, so great to be able to watch sitting at home with a cup of tea! It was certainly worth the long trip from Yorkshire for Jenny as Muchly was also 2nd in the Good Citizen Dog Scheme Stakes under Bethan Evans winning very good treat money, so hopefully after such a successful day the trip home did not seem so long. RBD Marie Corin and Adam Camm’s Ch Kligenthal Almuric(Bergen).BB & BV Maddy Norman’s Ch Arnscroft Delilah At Veekay(Lottie) BP Mary and Coralie’s Leggatts Part Time Lover (Barnaby).
On the Friday less than 100 miles north of Loseley Park in Keysoe Bedfordshire, it was not the rain and mud that competitors had to contend with but the heat it was 27 degress for a L8 Scentwork UK trial, with ice-lollies being handed out. Sarah Stonton’s Ch Arnscroft In Di Ana Jack RL1 L7EX proved that being a Pastoral Dog is no set back, he can compete against the best of the Gundogs and Hounds, by being placed 3rd with only 4 qualifying. Congratulations.
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