NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
If the breed day at a Ch show is on a Sunday, I often write as much I can before the show, just leaving a few things like weather etc and obviously the results to be filled in, so that I can get the notes in on time. With Pastoral day being on the Friday at Manchester I did not do that, and I was so glad I had not started, as it turned out to be a such a memorable day for the breed which I could not have anticipated. I was driving home when Debbie phoned (I do have a hands free) to tell me her friends at Stafford had phoned to tell her Muchly had won the group. It is the great thing now that immediately I arrived home, I could watch a recording of the group, and I am sure most of us will have watched BIS live albeit from home, and not just in the UK and I hope Jenny knew we were all cheering her on. The pair of them could not have done more, Muchly showed beautifully and Jenny showed him to perfection, what an amazing advert for them both and the breed, the fact that he is home bred made it even more special for Jenny I am sure, what an achievement and of course for first time the win was at an all-breed Ch show.
I came into the breed 40 yrs ago and started showing straight away having shown horses before that. In all that time, I can only remember five occasions when a Buhund has won a main group, so the win at Manchester 24 made number 6. Muchly of course is Jenny Shorer-Wheeler’s Ch Koromandel Tusen Takk(ai)JW he is by Multi Ch Trollheimen JR Made For Cascilius x Sturtmoor Ffascination With Koromandel, the group judge was breed specialist Chris Chapman who has given CCs in the breed 16 times . Muchly is the ultimate showman and certainly deserved the win the group, he has been shortlisted on several occasions but not been placed so did it in style this time. Chris Chapman really knows and understands the breed, as back in the 80’s she bred and showed them with the Bukris affix, and her first Buhund gained his title at Crufts in 1980 and became Ch Adoram Wouer. Muchly had earlier gained his BOB & 12th DCC he also has 4RCCs under Marion Sargent who gives CCs in 56 Breeds across 6 groups. This was the 6th time she had judged the breed the last being in 2019 in Manchester, when all the dogs being exhibited this time except one were too young to be shown under her. RDCC his 4th Mary and David Dosson’s Kligenthal Bran Mak Morn (Teddy)he is by Ch Arnscroft Di Na Mo Farah Of Koromandel JW ShCM x Ch Koromandel Gild The Lily. Very sadly Mo passed over the Bridge last week and I will write an obituary for him in the next couple of weeks.
BCC her 6th she also has 4RCCs Kirsty Irvine’s young lady from down under, Blackcombe Bodil At Tapui (Bodi), Kirsty imported Bodi from Australia in May 2022, she was bred by Roberta Crouch in Australia and is by Aus Ch Kynon’s Urban Legand(Imp Can) x Nor/Aus Ch Rennedal’s Brynhild Skoldmoy(Imp Nor). RBCC her 13th she also has 16CCS Jenny’s Ch Maidofcopper For Koromandle (Fin Imp) JW(Piika)she is by Nor Ch Gnipagrottens QU x Swe/Fin Ch Cipacan Mila Magia she was also BV.
Special Beginners was won by Bethany Guilld -Rees handling her parents Draccus Obsidian At Bucamereru (Ruby), she is by Ch Rikarlo Gable (JW) x Ch Leggatts Dancing Queen At Draccus.
When you enter a Ch show you do not know until the details are published when you will be in the ring, in case we were first in again as last year, especially as it was a weekday and getting out of London can be difficult, I booked a room for the night before but in the end we were fourth in the ring after 53 Pembroke Corgis 34 Cardigan and 34 Elkhounds, not going in until about 3pm ,but that was great as many of you know we had Elkhounds together with the Buhunds for many years,so I was able to catch up with friends and watch the breed being judged. Marion Sargent also judged the Elkhounds and had a good day judging as her BOB Elkhound was 4th in the Group, he belongs to Treena Maun the late Elisabeth Coleopy’s daughter. Elisabeth of course breed and successfully showed Buhunds with the Fullani affix for many years. The Elkhound puppy was 3rd and the Special Beginners 4th so with Muchly’s win a good day for the Nordic Spitz breeds. The exceptional cold weather did have one plus, certainly on the Thursday and Friday as the grass at Stafford was so frozen there was no worries about getting stuck, although I could have done without the snow shower the night before which did make everything very slippery.
Buhunds have over the years had many group placings at Ch shows and 3 have been placed at Crufts, and there have been puppy group wins and veteran group wins most recently by Piika, but wins in the main group have been elusive. In the 1990’s when Southern Counties was at Ifield Wood near Crawley in Sussex, Cheryl Denham Horton’s Ch Olpenden D’Zimba won the then Working group before it was split, under Steve Hall and BIS under the late Ann Arch. In 2007 Di Stirling’s Ch Arnscroft Di Claudius won the group at Richmond under Derek Smith and in 2012 Debbie Flemings AKC Ch Visons Dino of Trollheimen(Casper) won the group at Driffield under Peter Radley, he had not been in the Country long and was still in the ownership of Brenda Soloman and her husband, then in 2015 the late Shirley and Alf Dobson and Sue Cale’s Ch /Ir Ch Arnscroft Di To Be A Sailor won the Group at National Working and Pastoral Breeds and went onto go BIS under Jeff Luscott. I am sorry if I have missed any out, but these are the successes I remember since finding the breed all those years ago.
I am sure you were all saddened and shocked to learn of the sudden passing of Mark Cocozza. He did not give CCs in the breed but had shown an interest in judging them, and had his third mentoring at Manchester last year, showing he not only had an interest in the breed but also understood them. He then attended our Ch show last October, finding time in his busy schedule to judge our 3 special awards classes, these are held so judges can gain more experience of judging a breed. We were looking forward to him giving CCs in the future, condolences to his family and as so many have said a very sad loss to the world of pedigree dogs worldwide on so many counts.
Stay safe everyone,
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