NORWEGIAN BUHUNDS
Pastoral day at Manchester was the Sunday, it is one of the few shows that has Hounds on the same day rather than Working Breeds which of course the Pastoral Group was combined with until they split in 1999.
The show started in 1860 with a few pedigree dogs from sporting breeds and apart from not being held during the war years it has run ever since. It has a mixed history with the breed. When I came into Norwegian Buhunds in 1992 the show was held in Manchester in the GMex, which originally was Manchester’s Central Station and was the Northern terminus from St Pancras and became a Grade 11 listed building in 1963.It only had breeds with CCs as space was so limited. Parking was a nightmare, if you were there earlier enough you could use the underground car park which was a maze of tunnels originally used as sidings for trains, otherwise you had to use the local car parks. One year I drove up there on all three days, showing a Papillion, an Elkhound and the Buhund, at least the breeds never clashed! but I would not do it now not only because of the traffic but also the cost of fuel! The last time we had CCs at Manchester while it was still at the GMex was in 2003, after that we lost CCs and the show decided not to schedule the breed without CCs. Permission was sort from the KC to move the show from the Manchester area to Bingley Hall on the Staffordshire County Showground, the KC agreed, and the first show was held there was in February 2004 moving to January the following year. Although there was more room at Stafford for the show to schedule breeds without CCs it was not until 2016 that we had classes back there. The same year the KC announced that it was going to introduce 6 new Ch shows that would award CCs to all breeds that had them, this was for a three-year trial to start in 2019, one of these all-breed shows was Manchester, so in January 2019 we had CCs back. The following year there was talk at the show about a new illness in China but no- one took much notice; we all now know that was Covid and some 8 weeks later Crufts and Manchester were the only two all-breed Ch show to be held in 2020.In 2021 Manchester like Crufts was cancelled with the show scene not really getting under way till last summer. This year we hope that with Boston having taken place and now Manchester and with Crufts scheduled to go ahead, there is the hope that there will not be any further setbacks to the 2022 show season, although I do know that a number of Open shows have already been cancelled or postponed.
We were third in ring after 63 Welsh Corgis Pembroke and 25 Cardigan Corgis. The ring was in the Prestwood Centre which leads off the main Bingley Hall.
Our judge was Lorraine Bolton nee Smart (Rikarlo which was registered in 1972) Lorraine started in the breed in 1973 with her mother Moira having previously had Elkhounds, German Spitz Mittel and Cardigan Corgis which she also judged at Manchester this year, and thanks to Vince Hogan of ‘Our Dogs’ walking round the show in the morning filming some of the rings we were able to watch Lorraine judging them for a few minutes, and also wave to Jenny and Kirsty who were standing by the ring.
Lorraine’s first Buhund was Thordown The Bold Vandal, he was originally intended to be an obedience dog at which he did compete successfully but he also proved to be a successful show dog winning a CC and 4RCS. Over the years Lorraine has bred and made up many Champions in the breed including the multiply CC winners Rikarlo Ulrika and Rikarlo Ivar who can be found in the pedigree of many Buhunds, and the first black Champion in the breed Gru’s Penny Black who was owned in partnership with Michael Quinney.
Lorraine has awarded CCs in the breed many times the last being at SKC in 2017.She first awarded CCs in 1984 at the East of England Ch show prior to that in 1981 at Hammersmith Open show she judged 16 Buhunds and 17 at West Torrington Open show, the following year she judged 11 classes at the Norwegian Buhund Club Show with 54 dogs making 76 entries. Of course, we do not get entries like that now, but with increased interest in the breed and with Pet Passports and AI allowing for a wider gene pool I think things are looking up.
Judging started just after 1pm with Lorraine finding her BOB & DCC his 18th in Nancy Kent & Jacqui & Michael Cobb’s Ch Koromandel Best Served Cold at Knytshall (Jamie) by Am/Can/Uk Ch Kynon’s Bold Norseman x Ch Maidofcopper for Koromandel JW (Imp Fin) (Pikka) he also has 13RCCs and was handled as usual by his breeder Jenny Shorer -Wheeler. RDCC his 2nd Marie Corin and Adam Camm’s Kligenthal Almuric (Bergen) by Ch Arnscroft Di NA Mo Farah x Koromandel Gild The Lily (Hildy) who is Jamie’s litter sister. BPD at his last show as a puppy Kirsty & Alex Irvine and Callum Gillies Tapui Let’s Blaze, he is homebred by Jamie x Kimura’s Vera with Tapui. BCC her 2nd Lesley and Liz Butterworth’s Hildy she also has 2RCCS.RBCC her first Jacqui & Michael Cobb and Nancy Kent’s Knytshall Eloise by Blakk Exstacy Von Koekie’s Ranch (Imp NLD) x Ch Trollheimen Elske to Knytshall(Imp US). BPB & BP Michael Patrick and Leigh Ashman’s Tapui Starla who is Blaze’s litter sister, she was later shortlisted in the puppy group under Ron James.BVB &BV Jacqui & Michael Cobb and Nancy Kent’ Ch Trelowen Veryan To Knytshall she has 7CCs & 9RCCS she is 12yrs old but you would never know it.
Jenny had a good day as apart from being the breeder of the dog and bitch CC winners, her Koromandel Tusen Takk (AI)Muchly was 3rd in the Junior stakes class under David Guy,wining money. He is by Multi Ch Trollheimen JR Made For Cascilius x Sturtmoor’s Ffascination With Koromandel
I would like to thank Lisa Strong for updating me on things as they happened as for obvious reasons, I could not show ‘Time’ being bred by Lorraine, if I lived nearer, I would have gone to watch. It is great though now to be able to watch the groups shown on a live feed by Vince Hogan of ‘Our Dogs’.
Stay safe everyone.
Margaret Deuchar margaretdeuchar@gmail.com
The 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