Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Making a Difference
NBRAN (National Brittany Rescue and Adoption Network) recently asked photos to be submitted for their 2011 calendar. They received over 600! They have chosen 5 as finalists for the cover, and the one I submitted of Izzy made the cut. To vote, click here and add to your cart the photo you are voting for. Each vote costs $1, and can purchase as many votes as you wish. NBRAN does a lot for less fortunate Brittanys, and is supported by a wonderful network of volunteers as fosters and transports. Please vote for your favorite, but just in case you need help deciding... here is the photo of Izzy I submitted!
Friday, July 16, 2010
ABC Summer National
Whew! I don't know how nearly a week goes by before I have a chance to sit and update for the blog but it sure does and quickly at that! The heat we have here in Maine isn't helping either, it's so humid I could almost wring out the air around me. Yuck. Not very comfortable for anyone here on the farm, regardless of how many legs you stand on!
I apologize in advance of a distinct lack of quality photos. My camera did not mosey over ringside nearly as often as it should. Five full days of showing was truly a lot. On the lightest day of Brittanys we were in the ring for 2 solid hours, on the heaviest, over 4! To say the least with such a multitude of Brittanys from across the country I was really hoping to get in the ribbons at least once! And we did!
Giving Oliver some words of encouragement Weds morning
For a quick answer to how we did... Oliver took a 5 point major on Weds!!!!!!!!!!! No one expects a 10 month old puppy to take such a large major, and it goes without saying how stunned I was! Weds was the lightest day of judging with only 10 class dogs entered (4 points) but my little boy held up with being in the ring almost 2 straight hours to also go Best of Winners which gave him 5 points since the bitch had won 5. This is known as "crossing over", and as BOW he effectively beat out 26 class dogs. The bitch was a absolutely beautiful roan girl handled by Donna Harrison (who also happens to own Oliver's full Uncle, Diesel) and it was nice to see a judge not only unafraid of putting up a puppy, but of color and putting up such a nice roan. Isabella made the cut Thursday in a extremely tough Specials ring, and Sunday Oliver was given another very considerate look from the judge, eventually taking Best Puppy. He then went on to place 3rd in the Puppy Sporting Group! Thank you to Kellie Miller and also the women from New England Brittany Rescue for coming ringside to cheer him on. What good experience for him!
Oliver and I in the ring Sunday
Photo credit to Ann Short
Sooo.... how about those other Brittanys? For one New England certainly represented well I must say! Congratulations to Peggy with Eve, Kim with Libby, and Ann and her Pippin, all took 5 point majors on their girls! WOW. Debby and Nemo (CH JMAT's Find Just Keep Swimmin') went Best of Breed Weds, followed by a first place in the Sporting Group!!! Go Nemo! Also in our "camp" was visiting celebrity Tally who flew away with BOB on Sat (the BIG day!), followed by a Group 1 and BEST IN SHOW!!! Tally is a half sister to Izzy's grandfather Adam (another BIS dog), Sporting Group winner at Westminster this year and this is her THIRD BIS! Brittany Girl Power!
If I were to talk about all the other visiting Britts I would have one heck of a long post for sure. Over a hundred Brittanys from all over, along with their owners, breeders, and handlers, came to Springfield, MA last week. I met some wonderful people, and had a great time with friends, old and new. The Central New England Brittany Club outdid themselves in hospitality and put on a wonderful dinner. With everything going on I am still catching up! Amazing amazing amazing is what the week was. I am so glad I didn't miss it.
Izzy and Ollie waiting together as I pack up Sunday
And on the home-front... Hero is halfway through her now obvious pregnancy... :o)
I apologize in advance of a distinct lack of quality photos. My camera did not mosey over ringside nearly as often as it should. Five full days of showing was truly a lot. On the lightest day of Brittanys we were in the ring for 2 solid hours, on the heaviest, over 4! To say the least with such a multitude of Brittanys from across the country I was really hoping to get in the ribbons at least once! And we did!
For a quick answer to how we did... Oliver took a 5 point major on Weds!!!!!!!!!!! No one expects a 10 month old puppy to take such a large major, and it goes without saying how stunned I was! Weds was the lightest day of judging with only 10 class dogs entered (4 points) but my little boy held up with being in the ring almost 2 straight hours to also go Best of Winners which gave him 5 points since the bitch had won 5. This is known as "crossing over", and as BOW he effectively beat out 26 class dogs. The bitch was a absolutely beautiful roan girl handled by Donna Harrison (who also happens to own Oliver's full Uncle, Diesel) and it was nice to see a judge not only unafraid of putting up a puppy, but of color and putting up such a nice roan. Isabella made the cut Thursday in a extremely tough Specials ring, and Sunday Oliver was given another very considerate look from the judge, eventually taking Best Puppy. He then went on to place 3rd in the Puppy Sporting Group! Thank you to Kellie Miller and also the women from New England Brittany Rescue for coming ringside to cheer him on. What good experience for him!
Photo credit to Ann Short
Sooo.... how about those other Brittanys? For one New England certainly represented well I must say! Congratulations to Peggy with Eve, Kim with Libby, and Ann and her Pippin, all took 5 point majors on their girls! WOW. Debby and Nemo (CH JMAT's Find Just Keep Swimmin') went Best of Breed Weds, followed by a first place in the Sporting Group!!! Go Nemo! Also in our "camp" was visiting celebrity Tally who flew away with BOB on Sat (the BIG day!), followed by a Group 1 and BEST IN SHOW!!! Tally is a half sister to Izzy's grandfather Adam (another BIS dog), Sporting Group winner at Westminster this year and this is her THIRD BIS! Brittany Girl Power!
If I were to talk about all the other visiting Britts I would have one heck of a long post for sure. Over a hundred Brittanys from all over, along with their owners, breeders, and handlers, came to Springfield, MA last week. I met some wonderful people, and had a great time with friends, old and new. The Central New England Brittany Club outdid themselves in hospitality and put on a wonderful dinner. With everything going on I am still catching up! Amazing amazing amazing is what the week was. I am so glad I didn't miss it.
And on the home-front... Hero is halfway through her now obvious pregnancy... :o)
Sunday, July 4, 2010
On the Road again...
Okay not quite, but definitely already in prep-mode to leave! A quick look back on last weekend...
Joan, Dottie and Jean all came to visit bringing Isabella's sister Monique, uncle Mac, and er... 3rd cousin(???) Leana with them. We started the festivities off with a small birthday party for Izzy and Momo, their 2nd! I had made a frozen yogurt and peanut butter swirl birthday cake, topped with puppy cookies for the dogs. Us humans had chocolate cake of course (what else?)
Joan, Monique, Isabella, Hero looking weird, Oliver, Leana, and Jean.
Saturday was the Central Maine Brittany Club Specialty Show. I gave Isabella up to good friend Marisa and focused on showing Oliver and Leana. Oliver was awful, completely lost his little head. Note to self: do not bring food in the ring with Oliver... Leana was perfect, and a joy to show. Oliver did win his class (thanks judge for seeing past his wiggles!), and Leana took second in a tough Open class. Isabella went on to win Best of Opposite to "JR", also taking her first Grand Champion Major, 4 points! Monique was Select Bitch, also taking a 4 point major for GCH. We were able to watch friend Kristyn of Triumphant Kennels judge her first Sweepstakes. She did a fantastic job!
Pretty Monique
Sunday we did it all again, only Momo was at the end of my lead for Best of Breed due to Joan not feeling up to showing her again. Oliver did MUCH better sans food, taking a Reserve Major! Go Ollie!!! Not bad for his 10 month birthday. Leana did not fair as well, though she showed like a dream! She took 4th in Open. Mo and I showed wonderfully together. She moves like her sister! Alas, the judge declined to give Select Bitch... Isabella however (after getting into 6 Portuguese bread rolls the night before and still looking much rounder than normal) was very competitive. The judge walked between her and JR quite a few times before finally giving JR BOB and Izzy BOS. I count that as a win, since JR is a Group Placing dog! Isabella picked up her 2nd GCH major bringing her to a total of 12 points in only 4 shows. I love my girl! Mac was Select Dog both days. I am quite enamored with him too, he was my lap dog all weekend.
Isabella
Now we're gearing up to drive to Massachusetts for 5 days of showing, including 3 Specialty Shows! One of those (Sat) is the American Brittany Club Summer National. Let's just say, I'll be happy with ANYTHING this coming week, as there are top dogs, breeders, and handlers converging in Springfield from all over the country. I have Oliver entered 3 days, and Isabella entered 3. Izzy is in all 3 Specialties and Oliver just in the big one on Sat. I will be handling both my dogs myself, no matter what (do you hear that? You know who you are! I will not fall for your sneaky tricks this time! LOL <3 ) Isabella and Mo go into the ring together as well with their father Morgan, competing for Best Stud Dog. Grampy Adam will be in there too. A BIG thank you to friend Cindy for giving Joan and I a hand Saturday!
And on a side note... I can't tell for absolute "certain" yet... but Hero is off her food and looking much plumper than normal... I am willing to bet we'll have puppies here at New Horizon sometime the 2nd week of August...
Mom, I don't feel quite right anymore...
Joan, Dottie and Jean all came to visit bringing Isabella's sister Monique, uncle Mac, and er... 3rd cousin(???) Leana with them. We started the festivities off with a small birthday party for Izzy and Momo, their 2nd! I had made a frozen yogurt and peanut butter swirl birthday cake, topped with puppy cookies for the dogs. Us humans had chocolate cake of course (what else?)
Saturday was the Central Maine Brittany Club Specialty Show. I gave Isabella up to good friend Marisa and focused on showing Oliver and Leana. Oliver was awful, completely lost his little head. Note to self: do not bring food in the ring with Oliver... Leana was perfect, and a joy to show. Oliver did win his class (thanks judge for seeing past his wiggles!), and Leana took second in a tough Open class. Isabella went on to win Best of Opposite to "JR", also taking her first Grand Champion Major, 4 points! Monique was Select Bitch, also taking a 4 point major for GCH. We were able to watch friend Kristyn of Triumphant Kennels judge her first Sweepstakes. She did a fantastic job!
Sunday we did it all again, only Momo was at the end of my lead for Best of Breed due to Joan not feeling up to showing her again. Oliver did MUCH better sans food, taking a Reserve Major! Go Ollie!!! Not bad for his 10 month birthday. Leana did not fair as well, though she showed like a dream! She took 4th in Open. Mo and I showed wonderfully together. She moves like her sister! Alas, the judge declined to give Select Bitch... Isabella however (after getting into 6 Portuguese bread rolls the night before and still looking much rounder than normal) was very competitive. The judge walked between her and JR quite a few times before finally giving JR BOB and Izzy BOS. I count that as a win, since JR is a Group Placing dog! Isabella picked up her 2nd GCH major bringing her to a total of 12 points in only 4 shows. I love my girl! Mac was Select Dog both days. I am quite enamored with him too, he was my lap dog all weekend.
Now we're gearing up to drive to Massachusetts for 5 days of showing, including 3 Specialty Shows! One of those (Sat) is the American Brittany Club Summer National. Let's just say, I'll be happy with ANYTHING this coming week, as there are top dogs, breeders, and handlers converging in Springfield from all over the country. I have Oliver entered 3 days, and Isabella entered 3. Izzy is in all 3 Specialties and Oliver just in the big one on Sat. I will be handling both my dogs myself, no matter what (do you hear that? You know who you are! I will not fall for your sneaky tricks this time! LOL <3 ) Isabella and Mo go into the ring together as well with their father Morgan, competing for Best Stud Dog. Grampy Adam will be in there too. A BIG thank you to friend Cindy for giving Joan and I a hand Saturday!
And on a side note... I can't tell for absolute "certain" yet... but Hero is off her food and looking much plumper than normal... I am willing to bet we'll have puppies here at New Horizon sometime the 2nd week of August...
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