Dreams do come True

 When you begin to compete at dog shows, you either become obsessed, or you decide that it’s just not for you.  There are very few who fall into the middle, those who enjoy it, but are not committed to the sport.  When my family members first started showing collies, I didn’t understand their ardent dedication to these competitions.  This was partly due to a lack of understanding on how dog shows worked.  All the different classes can be a bit a confusing.  I have always been a dog lover, and loved to watch the Westminster dog show each Winter when it was on TV.  But on TV they only show the judging of the groups and the Best in show judging, not everything that happens beforehand.  (I think I may write a post, to explain all the classes, and how the dogs earn points and titles, for those who are interested in learning more.)

So not having much understanding or interest in dog shows, I didn’t get why my family was excited about the competitions.  Then one day my 9 year old daughter went to a handling class with my sister, to learn about junior handling, and decided she wanted to try competing at dog shows as a junior handler.  We started going to shows, and had so much fun, that we ended up developing a serious interest.  Eventually, as we became more involved in the competitions, my sister gave us our first collie puppy….and we were hooked.

When you start showing dogs, you can’t help but imagine what accomplishments and titles you might achieve with your dog. As you watch the big winners at the shows, you may catch yourself dreaming of your own dog earning that kind of recognition one day.  I’ve had a few of those daydreams myself, and this past weekend one of those dreams came true!

On Saturday, my daughter showed our Addison in the bred by exhibitor class at a dog show.  Our Addi won her class, and then competed against the other class winners for Winners Bitch, and won Winners as well!  As there were so many smooth class bitches entered, this win counted as a major.  A dog or a bitch needs a total of 15 points to become a champion, but of those 15 points, they need to win two majors.  (That’s a win of 3, 4 or 5 points.) Addi had already won 7 points from previous dog shows, and this was her first major, so we were so excited!  This gave her 3 more points, so she now had a total of 10 points. 

Once the smooth judging was over, my daughter showed our rough collie, Rosie.  This was her first real show, so we weren’t sure how she would do.  And we were so happy when she won her class!  Then when all the class winners went back in, our Rosie won!  It wasn’t a major, but it was her first 2 points.  I had dreamed of going to a show and our collies winning both smooth winners bitch and rough winners bitch, but I never expected it would actually happen!  It was a very proud moment for my daughter and I.

Addison

Then Sunday came, I got up at 5:00 AM, to get ready and drive to the dog show.  (Dog shows always start very early!) We arrived at the show and started grooming Addi, as smooth collies are always one of the first dog breeds judged for some reason.  My daughter took her into the bred by class, and Addi was perfect.  She was completely focused on my daughter and she looked beautiful.  They won the class!  Then when it was time, they went back in to compete against the other first place winners, and Addi won winners again!  This was her 2nd major, so we were beyond happy.  After winners were judged the finished champions, along with the winners dog and the winners bitch, get called into the ring.  The judge examines all the entries individually, and decides which dog or bitch is the best example of the breed, or “Best of Breed.” Usually Best of Breed is awarded to one of the finished champions, but that’s not what happened.  The judge kept looking at our Addi, and she ended giving Addison both Best of Winners, Best owner handled and Best of Breed!  This gave Addi 4 points, so she now has 14 points and both majors.  She only needs one more point to finish her championship!

Rosie

My daughter showed Rosie again in the afternoon, and Rose won reserve winners bitch.  (Which is kind of like winning first runner up). The judge kept looking between Rosie and another bitch, we could see she was having a hard time deciding, so it was very close.  While it would have been amazing to win rough winners bitch too, we were still appreciative of the attention and consideration our little girl received.  A dog show weekend is always fun, but this was a weekend we won’t forget.